Fuge DSB???

[gman0526]

Why is it that a lot of people diss DSB's as being bad for nitrate levels, but turn around and recommend DSB for refugium set-ups to lower nitrate levels?

[MikeS]

DSB's are not bad for nitrate levels....mine keeps my nitrate level undetectible. The main purpose of a DSB is denitrification. Most opponents of DSB usage cite the eventual reduction in the areobic zone of the bed and its habit of building up undesireable wastes and byproducts over time. To the extent to which either of these occur is of some debate... :D

More on DSB's....
http://www.coralforum.com/ftopic1687.html

shhhhh....I think I hear Mojoreef coming....hide the sand.... :lol:

Mike

[icereefer]

I've always used DSB. as mike said I've never had problems with nitrate.
myself the problem people have with there DSB's is poor maintenance.
if your running a DSB for one you don't want, sand sifting ,fish and things like that in your tank because there after the critters, that maintain your DSB.

[gman0526]

My tank has a DSB right now, my 10 gal. nano that was set up for 8yrs. had a DSB, but I have noticed that a lot of the people that have something negative to say about DSB's tell you to put a DSB in your fuge I just don't see the logic behind making such statement. If is not good for ur main tank then why is it good for ur fuge?

Personally I'm all for DSB's and have read that thread 100 times over, and agree with most (if not all) of ur points in it Mike. Also I have been following the thread on the modified Plenum in another forum that Mojo and urself among others have been working on, and I think that is something I will be giving a try.

[cich1]

i've been trying to make a sump/fuge work in a 10g tank and have come to the conclusion that its just to small to do either well so i'm going to use seperate 10g for a sump and a refuge, is a 10g to small to do a dsb in? is 4" deep enough or should i go deeper?

[MikeS]

I'm going to move this to the Advanced Discussion forum... :D

Cich1, what sort of problems are you experiencing with your remote DSB?

I have read several opinions that state DSB's don't function well in smaller tanks. The logic behind this varies from person to person, and I am unsure on the topic.

Many also don't believe remote DSB's are practical or particulalry effective. One of the main arguments against remote DSB's is that in a sump/fuge, the DSB does not recieve enough "food" to keep the sandbed critter populations high enough for the bed to function properly. This may necessitate direct feeding of a remote DSB, which ultimately is self-defeating. I am also unsure on this. The arguement does make sense, and if true, than it makes plenum wasting systems more appealing in a remote DSB setup IMO.

In your case, cich1, it could be that the volume of sand in the 10 gal. sump simply isn't enough to handle the needs of the larger tank. You could perhaps make up for this a bit by adding additional depth to the sandbed, but that solution comes with its own set of problems as well.

Mike

[cich1]

i'm not using a dsb at all right now i do have a 10g set up as a sump/fuge but the problem is its not big enough to provide the benefits of a high flowing sump and the nutreint export of a refugium i have alot of bubbles that could be easily taken care of with additional baffles and my pump area is so small that if i don't top off everyday the pump would run dry also thew refuge area is so small that i doubt its actually benefiting my system at all so i was thinking of redoing the sump with additonal bubble traps and larger pump area and adding a seperate 10g tank as a dedicated refugium to stand beside the main tank, heres a pic of what i have now
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/cich1/sump_3.jpg