Pros and cons of Bare bottom/sand bed?

[BigFeesh]

I'm having a hard time deciding on BB or sb for my new 75 gallon. So I would like to hear your good and bad experiences and opinions.

Thanks

 

[secretreefer]

im tagging along also. i am thinking of setting up my 20L as bare bottom too.

 

[snobored]

Bare bottom are great for higher flow rates and helping to keep detritus in suspension, or at least make it easier to siphon out. For these reasons my azoox tank is BB and requires frequnt siphoning due to the heavy amount of feeding,
Besides that I don't much like the look of them and all other tanks have sand, besides the benefit of incresed buffering and surface area for biological filtration, I like the brighter look it gives a tank, as well as the extra habitat it provides for fish like gobies, pistol shrimp and wrasse.
One thing to keep in mind, especially if you've ever been diving on a reef, is that many corals occur 10-15 vertical feet away from the sand bed.. But many corals also do very well when placed in the sand, like zoas and palys, or as their sometimes called, seamats

 

[Boboli]

Sand a mess goes everywhere
Glass looks like glass
Sand carries beneficial bacteria.
Glass grows algie
Sand looks natural
Glass looks like glass
Sand is great for pistol shrimp and Some snails
Glass. Is hard to set and balance rock on

 

[BigFeesh]

Thanks!! Yes it but you can put something down like starboard or white acrylic. I've been thinking about doing one of the products and then just a small layer so I can have the bilogical filtration.

I haven't seen your guys tanks and I'm sure they're awesome but pros like soccerbag, troylee, Rev, swannyson and many others please share your experiences!


Thanks !

 

[Come Monday]

My 12g Nano and 34g Solana are BB, but in a larger tank I'd go sand. JMO

 

[Boboli]

Sounds like you already know what you want so just go for it.
It will be sweet either way.

 

[BigFeesh]

Sounds like you already know what you want so just go for it.
It will be sweet either way.

Thanks 1smile1 I just wanted to see some opinions!

 

[DeathWish302]

If it is your only tank, I would keep the sand. In my BB sps 58gal, I LOVE the ability to run a MJ1200 maxi-mod, a Tunze 6105, Koralia 4 and a Vortech MP40W. Between these pumps I estimate I'm about at 100X turnover with the 600gph from the return pump and the eductors on those lines. The sps love the random, reef crest like flow and none of the annoying sand storms to deal with. I didn't like the look of glass on the BB at first, but after some coraline algae and some zoas I placed there took hold it looks more natural. Also, I lined the bottom with white paper, so it is blinding if you look from the top down. I was not a believer, but now an advocate for BB in the right setup. The major downfall is you will not have as much pod and worm life with BB, so this is a drawback IMO.

My mangrove/caulerpa lagoon & BTA tanks are slower flow so load up the sand.

 

[florida reef]

Check out WWC's new build. They use starboard to protect the bottom glass and give it a nice clean white look.

 

[swannyson7]

To be honest, I've never run a barebottom tank other than a frag tank that was only up for a few months. Between my love for wrasses and the natural look of sand, I just can't give it up. The BB frag tank was very convenient for siphoning detritus out of the tank, and the bacterial benefits of a shallow sandbed are open for debate, so it's more of a matter of aesthetics IMO.

 

[Mr E Wrasse]

bare bottom always! makes life soooo much easier.

 

[BigFeesh]

Ahhhhh idk what to do!

 

[cparka23]

Are you interested in a sand bed for the looks only or are you worried about missing some biological filtration? Maybe you should consider a remote DSB if you're worried about missing the pros of a sand bed. The pros and cons have been pretty much covered.

 

[BigFeesh]

Just because of the filtration both look good to me.

Filtration or less detrinus/nutrient build up? Tough choice

 

[geaux xman]

i hate sand getting dirty and worrying about sandstorms just b/c i turned my mp60 up a notch. bb is the way to go for me. couldnt pay me to fill my tank up with sand.

 

[florida reef]

Try this then. Just set it up as BB, then if you hate it add sand. It will be a bit messy but at least you'll know what you want.

 

[geaux xman]

my blueline angel doesnt seem to mind eating off a BB. not a single pellet doesnt get eaten by the BL or one of his buddies.

[video=youtube;krcy-FFU17o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krcy-FFU17o[/video]

 

[Akwarius]

I just converted my bb over to sand and I practically needed sunglasses to look at my tank. It's amazing how much light reflects up from the sand, which is nice because it helps to brighten-up the undersides of some of my larger coral colonies.

 

[SunnyX]

Sand....for all the right reasons listed above.

Thanks,

Sonny