bare bottom vs sand bed, pros/cons, your preference?

[AUSXMD]

Sand. Soley as an aesthetic.

 

[jlitz]

I have special grade sand in two tanks. I like the look of it and the filtration benefits. I actually rarely have to clean it because I keep a diamond goby, nassarius, wrasse and other critters that I like. That said, as I’ve shifted one tank to Acropora from lps and turned my wave makers up significantly, I have spots that get blown away down to the glass bottom, which then I have to cover with rock anyway. I think more than anything, if you’re planning out a tank and having this debate, figure out what species of coral and fish you want to keep and work backwards.

 

[AWR]

When I see the ocean with a glass floor I'll try a glass floor aquarium

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Sand. Looks better, imo. Harbors interesting and maybe important life, too. No downside as I see it.

 

[mjw011689]

Bare sand bottom… get those piles of coral out of the sand bed, looks so much better with open sand space.

To answer the question though, sand all the way. Can’t get over how unnatural barebottom looks

 

[CKW]

I currently have both. While the bare bottom tank is somewhat easier to clean the sand substrate one is much easier to look at. Additionally, it’s much easier to plant tube worms and other sand loving critters.
My vote is sand!!

 

[PolypPocket]

I feel like “no sand” would be harder to maintain in terms of looking nice. Gravity brings all the waste, debris, sheds, etc etc down and there’s no sand to hide it. You’d have to be doing daily clean up/siphoning to keep it looking crisp. And then it would grow algae and be more obvious than if there was a sand bed too. Looks cool though, if you’re willing to maintain it.

 

[reefkeeper919]

We use ReBorn Calcium Reactor Media.
First seen at World Wide Corals and love the unique look. Really great if you want to put things on the sand bed of your tank like Mushrooms since it gives them a surface to grasp without being irritating. Has anyone else used this or seen it before? What’s your thoughts?

 

[advaqua]

Bare bottom for me. I use big Tunze powerheads to blow Jet Streams straight down on both sides of my overflow and 2 more Tunzes to blow circular flow from bottom up. Im only aware of 1 dead spot. I got tired of babysitting sand swirls and endlessly arranging flow patterns and in my former sand bottom tanks I always had undesirable algae. Although I never tested for it, I suspect Silica as the potentional culprit. PS never had a Tunze failure in over 20 yrs of reefing.

 

[Armando Geha]

I like both options; right now, I am using the bare-bottom method, which, in my experience, is more challenging at first but easier after the first year.

 

[Marc G-L]

When I see the ocean with a glass floor I'll try a glass floor aquarium

If we are trying to replicate the ocean in our tanks, then the question isn't what you prefer, or what you can make work. It should be what is closest to the real world (Reefs, estuaries, lagoons, etc) and does that make the inhabitants ...happier, healthier and in balance with what we can supply to our tanks.

 

[captainsmitty]

I'm curious why no one is talking about a rubble base in their tank? I have had this in my tank for 6 years and I honestly prefer it.

 

[vittpsu21]

I struggle with the look of a bare bottom tbh

 

[Marc G-L]

I'm curious why no one is talking about a rubble base in their tank? I have had this in my tank for 6 years and I honestly prefer it.

That certainly can work in a number of situations. Fish like wrasses and creatures that need to hide do require a base that won't damage their fins, tentacles etc. What is amazing is how adaptable nature can be. There are the believed ideal parameters. Then there are many whose water chemistry, rock, incompatible fish and corals all thrive in spite of what experts claim is necessary

 

[MizzouMark]

I prefer the aesthetic of sand in the tank and require it for the wrasses that sleep in it. I started this tank with 500 lbs of real live rock and 100 lbs of live sand, and asked them to send the rock as-is (don't pick off the hitchhikers). I'm amazed at the life on the rock and in the sand. Always discovering new, interesting things.

 

[cobraz]

I like a live sand bottom for allot of reasons.

1. Gives some snails and Sand sifting stars a place to go. Bare you would not need them.
2. Bacteria strains..also help going into rock work.
3. If you poke around tank and have a rock avalanche the sand will stop the rock from possibly cracking the tank.
4. Looks cleaner than a bare bottom..but that's why they have bare bottoms to get all the junk out. It can be alittle work once in awhile but with a 1" bed..they stay pretty clean.
5. Reflects light and makes the tank look like a natural reef.
6. Bare bottom limits some fish and inverts you can have.

In the end - its personal preference either way.

 

[MadreeferNJ]

I did a 30g cube bare bottom but was a pain to keep the glass clean.

 

[BobC6315]

Sandbed here... but I understand the visual appeal of a well-crafted bare bottom system. I will say, though, that if your sandbed looks "dirty" all or most of the time, then you are doing something wrong... newly setup systems usually go through that phase with some dynos or even a mild cyano outbreak - but proper WQ management should keep those outbreaks relatively short in duration. After that, you should have the expectation of a (visually) pristine looking sandbed; if yours is not, then there are either WQ issues, flow issues, lighting issues, or you are overfeeding. Cleanup crews should be a part of any aquarium maintenance effort (unless keeping fish that will eat them) - but a cleanup crew won't 'fix' a dirty sandbed caused by one of the aforementioned reasons.

I will also add that, when done correctly as part of an overall WQ management and husbandry strategy, you really never should have to vacuum the sandbed. I have had systems that ran for years, sometimes close to a decade, without ever really messing with the sandbed - other than maybe a little aquascaping due to cleanup crew activity or an overpowered circ pump, etc. And the sand stayed almost pure white with very little detritus buildup at all.