Bare bottom or not to bare bottom??

[alten78]

I'm one of those people who feels really strongly about this, I am totally against the look of barebottom (and to each his own, I'm not saying don't do it or anything crazy), when I see it on those reefs which are just amazing, my rating for it goes from a 10 to a 6. It doesn't look natural at all, and to me it seems a bit to choosy, you can't try to recreate nature and leave out such a huge part.

There were plenty of reefs that I have snorkeled where sand was too deep to be seen, are those areas unnatural? Who's to say I'm not trying to re-create that scene?

If your idea behind a reef tank is to ONLY recreate nature, then I assume you are only keeping animals from certain areas. Fish, coral, inverts that are only found in the pacific would never reside along with those only found say in the Florida/Caribbean, otherwise it wouldn't look natural

I get your point as I used to be just like you because when I thought of a "traditional reef tank" it had a certain look and that look had sand or some other substrate. So to say it doesn't look natural isnt true, to say it doesn't look like a "traditional reef tank"...then you might be onto something. I absolutely hate tanks that look like they have a wall of rocks but hey, to each their own.

There's no right or wrong way to run a reef.

 

[lbacha]

I agree with the above poster about natural, very rarely do the corals, inverts and fish we mix in a tank ever reside in the same area in nature or in the nice manicured patches we shoot for. Most reef tanks are like Dutch planted tanks they are more a work of art than a natural environment. Based on this it's all about what you find visibly pleasing. Natural is hard to accomplish, our systems are too small to ever be truly natural.

 

[jsker]

I like my thin layer of Hawaiian sand, more for looks then filtration. My thought on bare bottom is just to clean and sterile of a look.

 

[Syed123]

Sand is nice. A thin layer of 1 to 2 inches gives a tank a nice look. Just maintain it by weekly, biweekly or monthly vacuuming and you're good to go.

 

[cracker]

Great thread People ! I finally after a year of siphoning,stirring etc, got just about all the sand out of my 75. I'm going to go bare bottom now & see what happens . I may add a little more just enough to barely cover the bottom. If I want a fish that likes to sleep in sand, I'll section an area and add some there.I'm not concerned with looks.I want coral health & growth. We shall see !

 

[Som1else]

I went BB after having sand for several years to solve an nutrient / phosphate issue. One benefit of BB is that you can put corals everywhere on the bottom and nothing gets buried and killed by the sand. Plus you can crank your power heads up and nothing blows around.

 

[glyn]

I went BB after having sand for several years to solve an nutrient / phosphate issue. One benefit of BB is that you can put corals everywhere on the bottom and nothing gets buried and killed by the sand. Plus you can crank your power heads up and nothing blows around.

My experience exactly.

 

[Murica]

Here is another thread on the subject.

The great bare bottom debate
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/The-great-bare-bottom-debate.297696/

Going bare bottom is the best thing I've done to my tank

 

[Piranhapat]

BB with white star board to protect bottom glass. High flow and very low maintenance. Best thing I didn't do was add sand.

 

[Perry]

I have found that without sand, you sort of limit yourself in terms of fish and inverts. Sand can be well kept if you are constantly bumping your CUC and adding fish and inverts that help turn the sand over. With SPS corals, they love bb because they are gaining a constant supply of detritus suspended in the water column, this stimulates feeder polyps and polyp extension in general. However, if you have a fish like a sand sifting goby for example, a couple of sea cucumbers, nassarius, stars, etc, the detritus will export the same way, and stimulate sps like bb does. So, I am of belief that if you wish to run a successful tank with corals that typically demand high flow, which sand typically is not a fan of, then a proper CUC must be employed, yet updated every so often as they do die over time. With bb tanks I ran, I did not need a strong clean up crew, as detritus would not settle on rock work, or literally anywhere in the tank. It stayed suspended, and ultimately exported, my snails and hermits did not do well, as their food supply was limited with low nutrient/ high flow environment. Both work well, and I think it boils down to what you are willing to do to keep a healthy tank. Maintenance is part of the game, and bb will not make this go away. You still have to get your arms wet, break out the test kits, and scrub equipment and do water changes. I have convinced myself that testing, maintenance, and general cleaning are my favorite part of the hobby, because they are a necessary

 

[DSC reef]

Going barebottom never eliminated maintenance for me but it sure is easier sucking out detritus in one spot of the tank weekly versus dealing with the entire sand bed. I've never had a problem with my clean up crew not lasting due to food source? I've still got some snails from years ago when I had a sand bed. For me it's the look combined with easier maintenance.

 

[Perry]

Going barebottom never eliminated maintenance for me but it sure is easier sucking out detritus in one spot of the tank weekly versus dealing with the entire sand bed. I've never had a problem with my clean up crew not lasting due to food source? I've still got some snails from years ago when I had a sand bed. For me it's the look combined with easier maintenance.

I can agree that is certainly does not eliminate maintenance, but sometimes does mislead those without bb experience into this type of setup. I think it really boils down to what is best for the hobbyist, more importantly what appeals to the eye. I do not believe a sand bed should require any siphoning or being disturbed unless done so incrementally throughout the tank, which certain gobies, cucumbers, snails, and inverts do in general. This disturbance sort of mimics what is bb does continuously. For sps corals, IMO and IME, this stimulates feeding response, by and large why so many sps tanks use bb method, and of course high flow. I am just here to share my experience that with proper CUC and sand dwelling fish, this detritus(food source for sps corals) is accomplished similarly to bb run tanks. Cheers, and I could not agree more with your statement Cheers

 

[DSC reef]

I do miss having certain wrasses. There's pros and cons to both for sure. Now that I'm running gyre's it definitely keeps the detritus suspended. In our 125, we had just a fowler and I loved the sand bed in there. Sometimes we toss the idea around setting up another fowler, I loved watching our red coris swim up then dive bomb into the sand bed for the night

 

[Servillius]

I’m sort of right there with the poll result, and personally vote 51% bare bottom and 49% sand. Having added one inch of sand to my wife’s tank, I’ve been warming steadily to the addition.

When you go B.B., you see the detritus and have to remove it. That seems all to the good and intuitively makes you concerned with B.B. with a thin layer of sand though, it seems you can employ a more effective clean up crew, particularly cucumbers. My wife has three huge ones in her 150 and I have one in my 25 side tank. In each case the sand stays pearly white and even. If you don’t want to do regular water changes, I don’t see B.B. working without some perfectly directed flow which is not always doable in every setup (my peninsular for instance). I can imagine flipping to 51%/49% the other way any month now.

 

[Ocean Lotion]

BB with white star board to protect bottom glass. High flow and very low maintenance. Best thing I didn't do was add sand.

That is what I am doing on my upgrade. Have starboard cut and sit ting in my 90 and 30 that will be set up in the next couple months. How thick is yours and did you silicone it to the bottom?

 

[srad750c]

I'm trying BB next, I've had sand on bottom for all three of my reefs, I have just got to try it for my experience to be complete

 

[Haggisman14]

So I'm going to be moving in 2 weeks, and I've been battling issues with cyno, and algae growth...after a bunch of thinking...i have a funny feeling it's due to my shallow little sandbed in my biocube. When I move, I'm ditching the sand and going bare bottom.

Coral encrusting montis, zoas, etc....here we come!

I look at it that i'm gaining more real estate to place corals!

The fact that it will help take away a nitrate factory isn't too bad either!

 

[CC13]

I have sort of decided that I want to remove my sand and go bare bottom.

Question #1 - I have Nassarius snails as part of my CUC. Can they survive in BB tank or should I sell them?

Question #2 - I don't want to place my large rock structures directly on the bottom glass of the tank. Right not I have egg-crage but its being covered by sand, and it will be an eye sore once the sand is gone. What other clear options are there? I have read that some use Starboard. Are there any other or better options?

Thanks guys

 

[GQuinn]

I have done bare bottom, plenum, and thin sand layer through the years. What I prefer is a thin sand layer (1/2 to 3/4 deep). I use Carib sea reef sand and I actually stir it up once or twice a week. This gives me the look I like and the sand seems to stay cleaner. I use sand for the appearance, not as filtration.

 

[CC13]

I have done bare bottom, plenum, and thin sand layer through the years. What I prefer is a thin sand layer (1/2 to 3/4 deep). I use Carib sea reef sand and I actually stir it up once or twice a week. This gives me the look I like and the sand seems to stay cleaner. I use sand for the appearance, not as filtration.

Tanks for the reply.

Can the Nassarius survive with just BB?