Bare bottom difficulties?

[Hungldhcm]

I am going to set a sps tank next week with bare bottom? Could you share any difficulties or disadvantage when setting with bare botttom? Tks!

 

[LAA]

So a sps tank. There is gonna be rock or a frag rack correct? Rock needs sand to be stable. If it’s bare bottom with frag rack then that’s fine. Only downside then is sand holds bacteria.

 

[Garf]

I am going to set a sps tank next week with bare bottom? Could you share any difficulties or disadvantage when setting with bare botttom? Tks!

If you’re using live rock, there should be very few problems.

 

[BrianReefer]

You’ll be good. I did same setup on my large basement frag tank, lots of live rock in sump and a few pieces up top, seeded rock from established tanks, had coralline growing by month 3 and SPS in and thriving by month 4. I’m now dosing kalk and two part to keep up with the SPS demand in month 6

 

[Perry]

So a sps tank. There is gonna be rock or a frag rack correct? Rock needs sand to be stable. If it’s bare bottom with frag rack then that’s fine. Only downside then is sand holds bacteria.

Can you please elaborate? Rock needs sand to be stable? Only sand holds bacteria?

 

[Hungldhcm]

If you’re using live rock, there should be very few problems.

I have dry rock only, tks!

 

[Hungldhcm]

You’ll be good. I did same setup on my large basement frag tank, lots of live rock in sump and a few pieces up top, seeded rock from established tanks, had coralline growing by month 3 and SPS in and thriving by month 4. I’m now dosing kalk and two part to keep up with the SPS demand in month 6

Tks, but i only have dry rock

 

[Garf]

Tks, but i only have dry rock

Ok, so did I :)

Took around 12 months to stabilize and become easier to look at, lol. It’s very easy to look after now though.

 

[shakacuz]

I have dry rock only, tks!

dry rock will take longer to cycle or mature the tank.

 

[LAA]

Can you please elaborate? Rock needs sand to be stable? Only sand holds bacteria?

Rock also hold bacteria but sand is a great place that doesn’t take up much room in the tank and holds bonus bacteria. Rocks are stable without sand but if you bump into one the sand will help it from jiggling.

 

[exnisstech]

I'm running a redsea reefer 170 bare bottom and also a 180 Gallon bare bottom. I have no trouble with rock work staying in place. I did start with live rock tho. If it's a new tank the sand is going to be new too so wont the cycle time and time to maturity be the same regardless if you go barebottom or sand?

 

[SeaworthyAquatics]

If it's a new tank the sand is going to be new too so wont the cycle time and time to maturity be the same regardless if you go barebottom or sand?

Time will only be the same for cycling if you added enough rock or media to equal the surface area you lost by not having sand, which it has a lot of. Barebottom tank can take a bit longer without proper planning in this regard so it really depends on the set up of the tank.

 

[CNDReef]

I took about 14 months before i could say it was stable and now at a little over 2 year mark nothing dies.

 

[LAA]

I'm running a redsea reefer 170 bare bottom and also a 180 Gallon bare bottom. I have no trouble with rock work staying in place. I did start with live rock tho. If it's a new tank the sand is going to be new too so wont the cycle time and time to maturity be the same regardless if you go barebottom or sand?

Live sand can help

 

[ZoWhat]

I have dry rock only, tks!

So you're going to wait until Sept/Oct to put in things like Acros.....RIGHT????

 

[Spare time]

You can also used things like Florida crushed coral sand from Carib sea or other large sized grannuals. I personally would do this since you can keep more critters, and it acts as a big home for things like copepods and amphipods.

 

[G Santana]

I am a BB fan, have been for many years, my only advice is if you can and the price tag is not out of your reach, start with as much live rock as you can afford even if it's only a couple of pieces.
Years ago I started with alot of live rock, my 130 gallon tank was completely filled with live rock and my ugly phase was a couple of weeks rather than a few months which I experienced this go round. 14 months ago all that live rock that I used 32 years ago was now dead rock as it was sitting in my basement for all those years collecting dust.
My first few months were smooth sailing and then for 6 or 7 months I got all the headaches you get from new tank syndrome. But close to the year mark, I achieved tank maturity.
Compared to starting with all live rock, starting with dry rock is hard but not impossible.
Good luck with your build

 

[BrianReefer]

Tks, but i only have dry rock

At a minimum go buy a few chunks of live seeded rock from a friend or trusted LFS, it will make a huge difference in getting the tank cycled and ready for corals.

 

[jmichaelh7]

like others mentioned, using seeded established LR that is cycled will give you 4-5 months before you see corraline algae growing on the bottom. If you go with new live rock, expect a longer cycle time. Someone mentioned 12 months

I went with previous LR and had SPS encrusting on LR within 5 months. Again it just depends on what your situation is

 

[jmichaelh7]

What about bare bottom positives? 14000+ gph flowing in the tank with no sand flying everywhere. Great for SPS