What are the advantages of a deep sand bed in a reef aquarium?
• Filtration, and filtration. First of all, the deeper regions of the sandbed provide a great anaerobic environment for denitrifying bacteria. Live rock may not provide enough living area for sufficient bacteria to keep all the nitrates out of your water, but a sand bed will. Second, sandbeds are home to numerous meiofauna which will enthusiastically devour any uneaten food or waste material that falls from above. Every bit they consume is a little less material to be converted directly into ammonia. • Biodiversity. The key to a natural reef’s success is the wide range of organisms that keep the system in balance. The diverse life in a sandbed ensures that all of the necessary roles are filled, and can compensate if another population crashes for some reason. • Food supply. A sand bed provides a fertile breeding ground for all manner of critters, many of which will prove more tasty and nutritious to your fish and invertebrates than anything you can buy in a store and chuck into the aqu
