Hi Xrenx,
I recently went through a lot of these same questions myself. Having had reef tanks in the past and being out of the hobby for a few years the DSB (deep sand bed) idea was new to me to some degree. Anyway I recently put up a small reef (29 gallon), and here is what I found:
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- how deep should the sand be, 3-4 inches?
I would go 4-6 inches, I settled on 5 inches.
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- what is southdown sand, and where can i get it? is that the best stuff to use?
Southdown is GREAT stuff. Basically it is the same as CaribSea Aragramax, at a much better price. It is basically aragonite, in the proper grain size to do a DSB. You are in luck, since it looks like you are in Virginia. Southdown is available in this area at Home Depot. You may have to search for the stuff at a few HDs, but it will be worth it. I had some ordered at the HD in Bowie Maryland, but many have not had luck ordering it. The Southdown is definetly the way to go. Here is a picture of what it looks like:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>- i would use the sd as a base, and add a little LS to the SD to seed it
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I am sure there are MANY opinions on this, but here is mine. I would use primarily SD as a base. Seed your sand with some live sand and a detrivore type kit(s). A few pounds of LS from a few different sources would be a great way to get a lot of diversity. I would suggest a kit from Inland Aquatics or IPSF.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>- what is a reasonable price for SD and LS
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SD is dirt cheap, about $3.50 for 50 pounds. Compare that to about $20 for 30 lbs of CaribSea. Live sand prices vary depending on type and vendor. In Virginia swing by the store "The Reef Tank" in Burke and he will sell you a few pounds from his system fairly cheap (also a GREAT source for Calerpa and Corals). MO (Mail Order) prices may range from $1.50-3.00 a pound, but shipping adds up quick. If you order from IPSF you might get some the the live sand they offer as well. Again the more diversity the better.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>- approximately how many lbs. of each would i need
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This is tricky, and very dependant on opinion. I would say I used close to 100 pounds in my 29 gallon, which is the same as a 37, but shorter. So probably close to 100 pounds, depending on how much live sand you do. As far as live sand goes, the more the merrier perhaps, but I think 5 pounds would be more than enough if you get one of the forementioned kits. I am sure there will be other opinions on that.
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- do you have to do any maintenance to the LS, vacumming etc?
NO! I would never vacuum LS. You do need to get the right creatures to maintain your LS bed. Again this is why you seed it with LS and the kits I was talking about. These creatures (bristleworms, pods, etc) help maintain the bed. Additionally some use cukes, and brittle stars.
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- should my LR go down first and then the sand?
People do this both ways and I have heard good arguments for both. In my case the sand went down then the rock on top of it. This was due mainly to the fact that I got the rock after I set up the sand bed. I have heard people say it adds stability to add the rock first. I just pushed my rock firmly into the sand when I added it.
In my tank I actually built a little platform for my rock and have a lot of the rock on the platform (see below). The platform was made out of eggcrate and put in before the sand. I did this to maximize the surface area of the sand bed, since this is such a small tank.
Platform before rock is added.
After rock before corals.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>also i don't plan on keeping corals, but may eventually. is a DSB necessary for a FOWLR setup. any help would be appreciated.
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Do the sand bed now! The fish will benefit. I would continue to plan the tank as if you may have corals one day and when you do the transition will be easier.
Hope this helps! Best of Luck!
