OT; Can freshwater aquarium have DSB?

[mr. angelfish]

Folks,
I know its non-Saltwater fish-issue. I could not find such as freshwater board like here. As there is a lot of DSB talks in this community and I question whether freshwater can be DSB? In the nature yes they are DSB anywhere so why not in FW? All I have been told gravel. Never DSB. I am in process to upgrade to a 29 gallon for my two orament goldfishes and I am getting tired of nitrate problems and upkeeps with their wastes. I am planning to have such as EcoSystem filtration for that tank for that should take care of nitrate.. If FW can be DSB and what kind of sand is very suitable to FW. Any postive benefit to have DSB in FW just like SW?
Thanks!

 

[aggie05]

I have a DSB in my brackish tank which was formally FW. It seems to be fine with the DSB. I don't have any problems with trates either. I think it serves the same purpose in both SW and FW so I don't see a reason not to do it. I used playsand from HD for mine. Cost me 3 bucks for 50 pounds of sand.
Here is what it looks like in my tank.

 

[sebae0]

i had a planted fw tank with tetras and the like and i put down a 40lb bag of kitty litter(clay) for the bottom and then just put regular playsand over the top of it and it worked great.

 

[vasilithegreek]

i used to be in fw water for a while and just now switched to saltwater...but when i had my brackish and regular fw tanks i had sand in them..sand is also beneficial for the fishes gills or even really small pebbls..ill find my book and let you know why it better to have sand or realy small substrate.

 

[krishj39]

aggie, how long have you had that brackish water tank set up? It looks pretty new to me. Not saying you aren't correct, I know FW tanks can be kept with DSB's. Really the only problem is that there aren't FW equivalents to pods in a FW tank to clean up the waste. All debris/poop sits on the top of the sand and stays there until it is consumed by bacteria. So, it often doesn't look too good when the system gets old. Siphoning it out can be a pain too, since the sand is so fine it just gets sucked up with the detrius.

 

[mr. angelfish]

Is there any specific type of sand for Orament (fancy) Goldfish?
How deep?
I have an extra of aragonite sand would this do ok? If not then is playsand equal to southdown-type? Care to give us the product number so I can go HD or L to get it.
Thanks

 

[mr. angelfish]

Originally posted by sebae0
i had a planted fw tank with tetras and the like and i put down a 40lb bag of kitty litter(clay) for the bottom and then just put regular playsand over the top of it and it worked great.
40lbs of clay for bottom in what gallon tank? How deep? I am going to use a 29 gallon for Orament Goldfish.
Gotta to upgrade to 29 gallon from 10 gallon asap!
Oh also care to tell me how deep is your sand above the clay too?
Thanks

 

[sebae0]

sorry i didnt post it but it was in a 50 gallon
i put a 40 lb bag of kitty litter on the bottom then i think i used 2 50 lb bags of regular brown playsand from hardware store.
after everything settled down it was very clean and the plants really thrived in it.

 

[ophiura]

I would really strongly suggest you find a freshwater board to ask this question, or a goldfish board. Goldfish, for example, will commonly pick at gravel. They can really stir things up, and I would not recommend sand for the bottom. Planted tanks are a different issue.
Also, I agree that the concept of a DSB, IMO, may not work in a freshwater tank because most of the sand stirrers are different. I am not sure how far this has been experimented with in FW.
Deep fine gravel or clay is not the same thing. That is often used to help root plants. It is not necessarily used for nitrate reduction...not saying that it doesn't, but that is not the reason many people use it.
Anyway, before doing this I really do recommend asking on a FW or goldfish specialty board (just like I wouldn't make major saltwater decisions after asking on a FW board).

 

[aggie05]

Originally posted by krishj39
aggie, how long have you had that brackish water tank set up? It looks pretty new to me. Not saying you aren't correct, I know FW tanks can be kept with DSB's. Really the only problem is that there aren't FW equivalents to pods in a FW tank to clean up the waste. All debris/poop sits on the top of the sand and stays there until it is consumed by bacteria. So, it often doesn't look too good when the system gets old. Siphoning it out can be a pain too, since the sand is so fine it just gets sucked up with the detrius.
It has been brackish now for about 2 months and has had sand in it for about 3. I do actually siphon the bottom every few weeks because the puffer is a big waste maker, but I don't really have any problem with the sand get sucked up. As far as not having pods and all that stuff, I check my levels every so often and have never had a bad reading. It works for me so I am not too worried.

 

[bigeyedfish]

My brother has a 90 gal Frontosa tank with 50 lbs of brown silica sand. its not an issue with FW becuase the silica wont break down and cause an algae bloom. DSB doesnt work though.