dsb or ssb wich is bettter

T

thomas712

Guest
Example of eggcrate material that I have over my overflow, to prevent fish from getting through and my plastic grid to prevent the nudibranches (now gone) from getting into the overflow through the slots.
A normal sheet of this material can be had a most hardware stores or Lowe's or Home Depots.
Thomas
 
shawna

shawna

Member
thanks I'm going tomorow for a busted pipe any way I'm going to get me some:D
chris tom squid Kip and DS kid. you are all just awsome people! awsome! I was so frustrated for so long. I finally feel like maby the poor beautiful critters wont be murdered at my hand. you all could never understand how much I really do apreciate the time you took for me and the knowledge that each of you shared so kindly is just fantastic. I really feel like i've learned so much more from you all over the past several days than I have reading various boks over the past few years (trying to be ready to be a resonsible reef owner ...that doesn't kill natures beauty) I can't wait to be set up again and be stable (the tank- I am a lost cause) I'm going to order my critters over the next week!
thank you all so much!
shawna
 
dakota

dakota

New Member
Look into starboard to cover the bottom in case of rock slides. It won't trap a lot of detritus. More expensive but looks great without all the problems.
 
dakota

dakota

New Member

Originally posted by sw65galma
Just throwing in my 2 Cents.
We are making a close as we can replication to the Ocean.
And last time I checked the Ocean isn't a SSB. Granted it has a lot more water.
And the ocean doesn't have man made skimmers, hang on back filters, open loops, Closed loops or Fluidized Sand bed Filters.:thinking:
See we could argue all day about this but get no where. I say look at steveweast tank. His is bare bottom except for a thin layer of crushed coral down the center canyon for aesthetic purposes only. He changes out that cc regularly also.
Look at 64Ivy's tank, it's bb and it ranks high up there as one of most beautiful ever seen.
 
shawna

shawna

Member
I never realized so many people went bear bottomed that must make cleaning a snap! do you still need critters?
 
montidanae

montidanae

Member
BB tanks rock, i hate sand, last night my sand shifted, rocks fell and frags de-tached before they could encrust! :mad:
i HATE sand, not only does it make the tank look liek crap when it gets blowsaround, its hard to get good flow in the tan without it screwing up, and the algae that comes with it.
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member

Originally posted by MontiDanae
... and the algae that comes with it.
Algae doesn't come with sand...It comes from excess nutrients in the water...
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
If the eggcrate doesn't solve your rockslide problem, there's always underwater epoxy. You have to get your aquascaping right the first time though, can't easily restack it diffrently later. Try just the egg crate first. You can also apply a cold chisel and drill hammer to the rock to make flat sides that stack better. Consider carfully before doing something irriversable! (And don't do the chiseling inside the tank.) :)
 
shawna

shawna

Member
Ive heard of the epoxy and wondered if it would be of use my (soon to be? ex husband went out and got the rock well most are smaller so it is like a jig saw puzzle I'd love to try the epoxy but I wouldn't want it to harm the chemistry of the tank would it? how does it work and lastly would I have to recycle the tank all over again by the time it dried? (some epoxys can take days to dry and I am not sure wich to even try! well that just goes back to the fact that if you ask store "kids they say "yea you can use anything"
(well i can use anything to clean the hulls of my hobie cat to but I use only products that won't pollute the water I next put it into
so is there a product that would work with out putting the chemistry of the tank at jeprody ? or that I wouldn't have to leave out for a few days to start the cycle all over again? that you all -l the life time experts would trust?
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
First let it be "known" I am not against sand beds per se...In fact i have one (SSB) in my 210 Aggressive
Mostly for the type of fish that need a more "open" rock work and large sand bed surface to be comfortable...
And with proper flow, filtration and nutrient export it is clean, stable and algae free...
However it is not what would be classified as a "living" sand bed...again due to my fish "choice" I can only keep a limited clean up crew (they keep getting eaten :rolleyes: ) and minimal "bugs"
It's only because of the "success" I've had with "non-living" sand that I chose NO sand in my reef...Again "MY" vision of a reef is to mimic a "small part" of the reef rather than "the whole ocean"...in this case "the upper left hand corner of the rock wall...right about ...there"
And yes that does limit somewhat the choice of critters I can put in there...No sand sifting Gobies in my BB :D
The biggest factor "for me" is I don't mind the "mechanics or look" of it and "choose" not to get excited over "bugs and worms"...
For "others" it may be all about the "mini ecosystem" they have created and are maintaining OR some combination of the above...
It really depends on what the Aquariest is comfortable with as there are many different ways to maintain a "successful" tank...
I think the question of "Which is Better" is a moot point as we have seen all three...DSB, SSB, and BB have proponents, success stories (and pictures) horror stories and detractors...
So really folks...The statement "Your Tank...Your Choice" truly applies here...
Just depends on what YOU are comfortable with...
 
sw65galma

sw65galma

Active Member

Originally posted by chriscobb
What is the purpose of Fluidized sand bed filters in a Reef tank??? They are possibly a hazard waiting to happen and if not maintained properly they will cause trouble as well. Fluidized Sand bed filter are utilized more for Bioloads of fish only systems. Sounds like you have more stuff waiting to cause a disaster then you really need.
Well if you check, everything is the devil! lol
Everything is potentially "BAD".
Everything is a Nitrate factory. If we took everything that "could be bad" out of a tank, we'd all have empty tanks.
The best thing to do is get opinions on both sides and make a decision.
Like you said there is no "Right" or "Wrong", it's just what ever fits the hobbyist.
 
montidanae

montidanae

Member

Originally posted by Squidd
Algae doesn't come with sand...It comes from excess nutrients in the water...
i never said they have people stuffing algae into the bags at the store.....:rolleyes:
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
I'm sorry I thought you said...
Originally posted by MontiDanae
...i HATE sand... and the algae that comes with it.
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member

Originally posted by shawna
Ive heard of the epoxy and wondered if it would be of use my (soon to be? ex husband went out and got the rock well most are smaller so it is like a jig saw puzzle I'd love to try the epoxy but I wouldn't want it to harm the chemistry of the tank would it? how does it work and lastly would I have to recycle the tank all over again by the time it dried?
Check out various saltwater supply websites and see what they're selling. You might be able to find the same thing at the hardware store, but the saltwater places will tell you which epoxies are safest. Since your tank is cycled, you probably want one of those ones that cures underwater and is fish safe. I have no personal experience, but I recall there are a couple product out there with those claims.
I don't know if it's available at the hardware store, but I've heard a good review for AquaStik.
 
shawna

shawna

Member
well guys this will be one of my last posts for a while hubby has found a new home and of course with that I need to replace all the furnature ,apliances and lastly the electronics so if you guys have any last advice I'm sure I'll be off line for at least 6 months I'll look into the aqua stick thanks
 
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