Bare bottom tanks

[orthokardia]

If anyone has a question wether to go bare bottom or substrate this pic should help make up their mind. The tank is only a few months old!


Bart

 

[mike007]

And what are we looking at?

 

[shellynjason]

I thought I saw a rabbit

 

[Jordangil]

Not sure what I am looking at .

 

[NanaReefer]

Ok is this some kind of guessing contest? Lol


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[Rob.D]

Am I the only one that can see the nasty brown water?

 

[VB68]

????????

 

[Bow]

I'm thinking its a cracked bottom from an avalanche

 

[orthokardia]

You are looking at the sewage that lives in a sand bed . After removing the sand my hands literally smelled like crap.


Bart

 

[Bishop]

Cleaning the poo bottom is a bit of effort but well worth it in my opinion. Especially if you are wanting a reef tank to atleast resemble looking natural. Basic sand sifting along with filter floss goes a long way to maintaining a clean sandbed.

 

[iiluisii]

Bare bottom is the way to go


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[mixer911]

I am so stuck on the fence. I love the look of a nice clean sandbed, but its nice to be able to ramp up the flow in a bb tank and get the funk out.

 

[Bishop]

Heavy sand works. I use tahitian moon sand. Originally, I got it because it is black but one of the things I like most about it is that it is heavy. You will not find grains of Moon sand floating in the water column and causing sandstorms.

 

[ToXIc]

I love/own certain fishes that depends on a sandbed. Other wise I would definitely give it a try. At least once.


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[schooleyosis]

Hmmmmm. I see the advantages of both deep sand beds and bare bottom tanks. Still can't see a clear advantage one way or the other to steer me in one direction. Until then, substrate for me it is.

Appreciate you posting and sharing your experiences. Keep them coming!


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[NanaReefer]

Bare bottom just ain't natural and looks ugly


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[Dave3112]

I tried bare bottom in a frag tank and will never do it again. Substrate for me.


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[iiluisii]

Bare bottom just ain't natural and looks ugly


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Last time I saw a picture of an sps natural reef I barely saw sand usually sps are high up on the rocks so I think bare bottom looks natural to me lol. It's like you have the top layer of the reef on your tank.


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[Dowtish]

I am running my QT/frag tank bare bottom, and I love the fact that I can siphon out all the detritus so easily.

As far having a SPS dominated tank, I totally see the benefits of BB. You can have insane flow and keep the nutrients removed very easily. I on the other hand have 2-3" of sand in my tank and can run my 2 MP40's at 100% and it doesnt kick up any sand. I have 27" tall tank so I'm sure that helps. I also had a sand sifting diamond goby for over 2 1/2 years that kept the sand nice and clean. I lost him recently and my sand still looks great. I am sure there is a certain amount of funk that builds up, but with proper flow and filtration I know it doesnt cause me issues when it comes to excess nitrates and phosphates. I dont even do water changes from the DT, it is always just from the sump.

Sand looks better no matter what IMO, and I love wrasses, and 2 of mine sleep in the sand, so I will always use sand as my substrate, just not too much of it.