Rdsb

[JUNRL]

would like to ask for inputs re: remote deep sandbed. I've read in other forums that this is a cheaper and effective way to reduce nitrate.I've searched Reefland forum regarding this but I guess no one started one yet.
I have been in war with nitrates since I started this hobby years ago and really desperate for solutions.
Started this DIY RDSB project about 1 1/2 mos ago and have yet to see a dramatic change. It's 40mg/l nitrate using Sera nitrate test kit. It would really be something if I can get my nitrate to at least 5mg/l or better yet nil which I have not had since then.
TIA.

[pearl_aqg]

The deep sandbed you describe is also commonly called a Plenum sandbed. If you do a search for Plenum, you may be able to find it. Another commonly used method of nitrate reduction is to grow macroalgae in a refugium or sump - "algal filtration" - you might be interested in looking into that as well, it's a bit simpler than the plenum method.

[Ninong]

The deep sandbed you describe is also commonly called a Plenum sandbed. If you do a search for Plenum, you may be able to find it. Another commonly used method of nitrate reduction is to grow macroalgae in a refugium or sump - "algal filtration" - you might be interested in looking into that as well, it's a bit simpler than the plenum method.

Actually the RDSB is not a plenum sand bed at all. It's an entirely different concept and it should not be constructed with a plenum.

[Ninong]

would like to ask for inputs re: remote deep sandbed. I've read in other forums that this is a cheaper and effective way to reduce nitrate.I've searched Reefland forum regarding this but I guess no one started one yet.
I have been in war with nitrates since I started this hobby years ago and really desperate for solutions.
Started this DIY RDSB project about 1 1/2 mos ago and have yet to see a dramatic change. It's 40mg/l nitrate using Sera nitrate test kit. It would really be something if I can get my nitrate to at least 5mg/l or better yet nil which I have not had since then.
TIA.

Jun,

I don't believe we have had all that many, if any, serious discussions on the topic of remote deep sand beds on this board but they have been discussed on many other boards.

This is a concept popularized by Anthony Calfo. It's nothing more than a deep sand bed that is not in the main display aquarium. It's a separate sand filter refugium that acts as additional filtration. In it's original design it was nothing more than a very deep sand bed in something as simple as an old salt mix bucket. You filled the bucket two-thirds full with aragonite sand and then you plumbed this bucket into your system so that water flowed across this very deep sand bed.

More recently, Anthony has gone to promoting something more attractive, such as a separate tank (refugium) that contains a deep sand bed (~6", or deeper if you like). He has written extensively on this topic. The most recent article of his on the RDSB concept appears in the October/November 2007 issue of Coral magazine.

The argument put forth by proponents of a remote DSB is that it provides all of the benefits of a DSB but requires less maintenance than a DSB inside the reef tank. I understand their point and agree that it provides similar denitrification benefits as the same volume of sediment inside the reef tank but I still believe that there are other benefits to be realized by having a DSB inside the main aquarium. In other words, I would be in favor of having a DSB of at least 3" depth inside the display aquarium and having a RDSB of say 6" depth in a separate refugium.

If you can find the October/November 2007 issue of Coral magazine over there, then I suggest buying it. Besides Anthony Calfo's article on his RDSB approach, it also includes two articles by Dr. Ron Shimek on how sand beds really work.

P.S. Coral magazine is the American version of the German magazine Koralle. It's an excellent publication!

[Ninong]

I almost forgot that Anthony has his own forum over on the Marine Depot board and he has links to his sand bed articles here.

Anthony Calfo's forum on Marine Depot's board.

Ron Shimek's forum on Marine Depot's board.

Eric Borneman's forum on Marine Depot's board.

[pearl_aqg]

I stand corrected Interesting stuff...good to know.

[JUNRL]

Ninong

I'm going to look for Coral magazine, just hope it's available here or just have my sister send me one from there and, thanks for the links.

I do have 2 to 3" of sand in my main tank, however it's not aragonite. It's probably plain old play sand. I did find someone here selling aragonite but it costs a fortune and besides, my tank has been running for years now and it's gonna be a pain to overhaul.
I'll keep you informed on the result of my rdsb soonest.

Thanks again.

[JUNRL]

Hello again,

It's been over a year now since I started my RDSB project and I must admit that I almost gave up on it. My nitrate reading now is down to 5mg/l (ppm) from a constant 40 and up. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to my tank since I started my reef aquarium about 6 years ago.

For the past 6 mos (after RDSB has been on-line), I've been monitoring my nitrate and it stayed at 40mg/l. I did a 60% water change. For a while, nitrates went down but up to 40 again. Didn't do anything else to my tank eversince. Just the routine feeding.

FRUSTRATED, I stopped nitrate testing, until yesterday, and to my surprise, nitrate's 5mg/l. I'm not sure when my RDSB started to kick-in but I'm glad it did and it probably took this long because I used ordinary sand from a garden supplier.

Just an update and Happy New Year To All.

[Poseidon]

Glad to hear it is working for you.