Newbie Question - Plants same as Reef?

onefish2fish

i have to disagree here, i suggest LESS then 1'' OR 4'' - 6''

those 2'' - 3'' sand depths seem to build up to issues.

mnewcomb

Thanks for all the advice! I'm going to keep researching & planning. We ive in a rural area so very few LFS around here. The 2 closest - about an hour away each - are not very impressive. Each had a few tanks that did not look very well kept. I don't think I'll be buying anything from either place. The closest PetCo is about 2 hours away. I'll be going by one next week so I'll stop in there just to see what they have & how knowledgable they are.

I suppose I can order equipment & live rock/live sand online but that's probably not a good idea with the fish & plants. Has anyone tried that & what type of luck have you had?

Thanks!

Reefing Madness

they are just like the DSB, as long as you don't stir them up, they will not give issues. Most think they have to vacuum them out, which should not be done, unless you are using large CC

onefish2fish

reef,
IMO thats the issue, they collect debris, get stirred and release it, spiking the nutrients of the tank. i just like to have 4'' - 6'' of sand myself. even my refuge gets a 4-6 inch bed

Reefing Madness

Now I totally understand your Fuge having a DSB, that one makes sense. But, in my experience, one should not stir up a sand bed, at all. especially one with a DSB, if its a mature system, stiring that up will release toxic gas into the tank, and then you have all kinds of problems.