Barebottom Reefers vs Sand Bed Reefers: Which one are you?

[rishma]

My most successful tanks have been bare bottom. Tons of flow, low maintenance, stable parameters. I didn’t have a tank with sand for 16 of my 25 years of reefing.

So obviously my new tank has sand because why stick with a winning formula?

 

[MillennialReefer]

Ideally I would love a bare bottom reef, because of less maintenance. But I love seeing animals that interact with the sand, such as a gobies and some inverts.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I put other because I'm trying to decide for my new tank. For the small/quarantine tank In going with sand as I always have. For my larger tank I've been preparing for bare bottom with a Starboard insert on the bottom. But I'm still not sure....
Is barebottom really more for SPS or SPS dominant?

 

[Niels V]

Definitely bare bottom.
More export and Flow then in my other tank

 

[Steward92]

Sand. For me the main reason being it looks so much better.

 

[jcolliii]

I've had nothing but success after going BB. I struggled with nitrates and phosphates with sand. Built a gravel vac to keep it clean and still never could keep it spotless, stuff always got trapped in the sand under and behind the rockwork. Got rid of my sand and added some Seachem Matrix to one of the corner chambers and I have to dose phosphate now and my NO3 is rarely above 5 or 10ppm.

A spotless sandbed looks nice, but I don't miss it at all.

Quick recent cell snap - not the best, but you get the idea.

 

[40west]

Although sand may also have a biological advantage, I prefer it for its aesthetical value and to give hermits and other invertebrates more space to crawl around on. I started out with a 1" sand bed, but it has been reduced to about 1/4" inch over the years. It happened so slowly, that I never did add any new sand.

However, my two 16.5-year-old ocellaris clownfish pair, named Wilma and Fred because they spend most of their time in a rock cave, vote "no sand". Whenever any sand gets into the cave, either due to my cleaning or by any unfortunate hermit crab who dares enter, Wilma frantically whips her tail back and forth until the area is bare again. Larger pieces are picked up and spit out of the cave. I don't know if this is normal behavior for most clowns, or it's just her.

 

[SillyReef]

Was sand at first but then moved onto BB.

 

[Combs1ng]

Definitely sand! I've only had two small tanks and the sand can pose some nutrient issues, but of all else, the reason I believe 98% of us are in this hobby is because the aesthetics look stunning. I haven't met a lot of blind reefers (though they may be out there). Sand simply looks better and "feels" more natural. As argued before there may be wild reefs with no sand and others growing on rock as far as the eye can see, however due to the physical constraints of having a tank, thus a bottom to stare at, the sand frames the system as a visually viable ecosystem. Even in tanks with acros and other corals I could only dream of growing, I still find myself always wanting to see a sand bed. It can be argued which of the two aesthetics one may prefer: sand or better coral growth, and thinking one must choose one or the other, but they do not have to be mutually exclusive. There are many examples of beautiful acro-filled aquariums with sand in the bottom. So in the end it may be more of a question of the capability of the individual reefer and choosing where to draw the "line in the sand" [ get it ] in terms of devoted time and effort. I believe 99.9% of all BB owners would have sand if they thought they could get the same level of acro success.

 

[BiggestE22]

Today let's talk about the substrate or the non-substrate of your reef tank! Some reefers like the look of a sand bed and others like the maintenance of a barebottom reef. What about you? Let's talk about it today.

1. Are you a sand bottom or a bare bottom reefer?

2. Why do you choose one over the other?

image via @dr.dator

Not just the look. All the microfauna you can only see when the lights go off. The fact many fish such as wrasses can’t function without it. I get the fact hat it’s easier to clean bare bottoms. The whole issue with blowing sand is kinda mute. Once the sand gets mature the tree is a lot of organic that will make us withstand some the glow. I run a pair of MP40s at 69% reef crest in a 24” inch cube. No sand moves unless it’s me cleaning the sand or the clownfish deciding to change the aqua scape.

 

[Atomicus]

Agree with most of above points - but also know that once power goes out that beautiful sand bed becomes a time bomb - its much much more likely a typical reef with overflow sump setup will survive an extended power outage of days in a bare bottom tank - as long as you can keep the temp between 70-84 and have an oxidator on hand or small battery powered air pump. If you have a complete back up generator this isnt as much an issue

 

[acropora4u]

BB for me, i like the look of a coraline covered bottom, looks awesome!

 

[pnchowdary]

My opinion is that the bare bottom tanks look unnatural. Personally I feel that I am robbing the fish of a part of their natural environment. Also, not having sand means not having any of the sand dwellers.

 

[Ray_rover]

How are we going to live without substrate?

Nice, your face says it all

 

[NY_Sea]

My old Reef went 10 years with sand. Old DSB method 5 inches. I cant argue with the biological diversification sand provides and that it provides a great natural ocean look.
I wound up giving bare bottom a try about 4 years ago and I don’t think I’ll go back to Sand unless it is like only a 3/4 inch layer.

I love the ease of maintenance. Just Turn up the flow to 1000 and tornado clean the whole system. Weekly I just suck out the detritus and move on.

No worries about toxic pockets / old sand syndrome / nutrient sink sand bed.etc.
i may make a custom sump and put a 3 inch sand bed fuge just for the bacteria benefit of sand but I won’t put sand in my display again. I’ll be happy when my bare bottom is covered in corraline and encrusting corals! Good enough for me.

 

[Unitylover]

Today let's talk about the substrate or the non-substrate of your reef tank! Some reefers like the look of a sand bed and others like the maintenance of a barebottom reef. What about you? Let's talk about it today.

1. Are you a sand bottom or a bare bottom reefer?

2. Why do you choose one over the other?

image via @dr.dator

sand because it adds more surface area for bacteria and it looks good in my opinion.

 

[Pghreefer91]

sand under the rocks only

corals > sand