A couple questions about sand

[Inimicus]

In about two months i'l be moving all my tanks across town (about ten minutes away and abotu 14 tanks).

I only have one SW tank at the moment and i'd like to set up another. My current tank is FOWL but i'm almost more obsessed with the live rock than the fish (but i'm not givin Pokey up for anything ).

I was wondering about the BB vs DSB, i wont ask for info on that hear i can surf up the threads eventually i just have a couple questions.

1. i have been wanting to do a tank with strictly live rock and what ever comes in with it. this bein said it seems to me that the best tank set up for a pile of rock and hitch hikers would be a DSB for the natural use of the critters. Also i hope it would help keep the nitrates down to a moderate level. Is it just my bias towards DSBs that leads me to think like this? Is it going to become a nutrient time bomb in a tank stocked only with what comes on the rock and with feeding only going to the hitch hikers that looks like they could use it?

2. In a 60 or 75 gallon would a 4-6 inch deep bed be appropriate?

3. If i were to try BB i think the current i could use would do a good job of cleaning the bottom but i'd worry that it would blast the day lights out of any critter unfortunate enough to fall off the rock. For me a reef tank is the small details and life forms on the rock. I love corals but they dont really draw my eye as much as say the 1/8 inch long little snail i was watching last night. I cant really think of a reason to really consider BB for the set up that i'd like to do.

I guess i'm just wondering if i'm overlooking some aspect to BB other than the lower weight of the tank, the cost of the sand (good god straight live would be pricey) and the potential nurtient sink problems.

Thanks for any comments on this..once again i'm trying to get my ducks in a row so I do mess up and harm more than is typical for live rock in transit.

Jason

[Bruce]

this is a hard one...Really i dont see the point to a reef tank without sand...i mean, if you go to any coral reef you will see some kind of substrate...really bare bottom just makes cleaning somewhat easier. I would say "MAYBE" its better for sps only because you can get alot of water movement with out alot of sand blowing everywhere.

I say go DBS

[Inimicus]

Thats what i'm honestly leaning towards because i like the look and because i love watching the worms and pods puttering around on it. i figure in my case i'm more interested in the barely visible than the big and showy. seems only natural to include another element that would be near the rocks in nature.

just wanted to make sure i'm not overlooking an aspect of it.

now to ponder a plen or not....oh well so much to learn...good god RC threads are LONG to read bt i'm patient....most times.

jason

[Monacle]

I would definitely do a sandbed, and I don't believe you would ever have to worry about it crashing on you because you won't have a large bio load. No fish right? I don't think your sandbed would have to be very deep either. I would make it however is in your taste. I am a very deep sand bed kind of guy. My friend hates the dsb and uses a little tiny sandbed that just covers the bottom of the tank. There is a DSB/vsBB thread on here that is real interesting, I will bump it to make it easier to find.
Gl to you and am glad to hear you doing another sw tank
13 fw tanks what do you do breed something?
GLTA

[Monacle]

haha.... my bad.. that thread is a sticky at the very top.. you probably already read it. oh well