Going bare bottom on an already setup tank?

[craftycamper]

Hey all, I have setup my first reef tank with about 2" of sand. Its been running for a few months and it is doing well! However, I will be moving in the next year and I am considering taking the chance to switch to bare bottom as I anticipate having to move a couple more times with my tanks. Removing the sand will make my life a heck of a lot easier and I wont risk crashing the tank when I disturb it to break stuff down.

Now onto the questions:
Have any of you gone BB and regretted it and why?
How do you deal with the lights reflecting off of the bottom? I was thinking about laying down a piece of starboard - do you silicone it down?
What biological filtration concerns should I have? I have about 35-40 lbs of rock in my 50g system. I was thinking of adding those bio bricks as I remove the sand in order to not crash my biofilter.
How do you keep the bottom clean of algae?
Anything else I should consider?

More info about the system: Red sea reefer 200, mixed reef with mostly lps and sps. I use a roller mat and a skimmer for export, I dont keep any fish that require a sandbed.

If I go forward with this, I plan on siphoning out my sand with water changes over the next couple months and putting down the starboard when I pull everything in my move.

 

[exnisstech]

I don't anything special, just set the tank up without sand.

Examples

 

[1ocean]

Unless you have wrasses that need sand.
I am doing about 30% of the left of my tank sand...Using mp40 to push it to the left and keep it there.

 

[X-37B]

No need to put starboard down.
The bottom will get covered in coralline over time.
The rock is your biological filter. No need for blocks in the sump.
My ext 170 BB.

 

[Freenow54]

I recently did a survey . As far as the outcome I was surprised that Bare Bottom won by a large margin

 

[jonsreef2reef]

Seconding the others — your rock is the biofilter, and 35–40 lbs in a 50g is plenty, so I'd skip the bricks entirely. The siphon-it-out-over-water-changes plan is exactly the right call too; pulling the sand gradually instead of all at once is what keeps you from a nutrient spike during the transition.

The one question I don't think got a full answer is keeping the bottom clean. The whole payoff of bare bottom is that detritus has nowhere to hide — but that only pays off if your flow actually sweeps it somewhere. Aim your powerheads so junk stays suspended and collects in a spot you can siphon out, rather than settling into a dead corner. BB isn't a cyano cure by itself; the low-flow dead spots are still where it'll show up. With a roller mat and skimmer already handling export, you're set up well for it — you'll mostly just be siphoning the odd patch during water changes.

For the regret question: most people I've seen go bare bottom don't look back, and the few who do usually just missed the look of sand or later wanted a sand-dependent fish.

 

[Freenow54]

Seconding the others — your rock is the biofilter, and 35–40 lbs in a 50g is plenty, so I'd skip the bricks entirely. The siphon-it-out-over-water-changes plan is exactly the right call too; pulling the sand gradually instead of all at once is what keeps you from a nutrient spike during the transition.

The one question I don't think got a full answer is keeping the bottom clean. The whole payoff of bare bottom is that detritus has nowhere to hide — but that only pays off if your flow actually sweeps it somewhere. Aim your powerheads so junk stays suspended and collects in a spot you can siphon out, rather than settling into a dead corner. BB isn't a cyano cure by itself; the low-flow dead spots are still where it'll show up. With a roller mat and skimmer already handling export, you're set up well for it — you'll mostly just be siphoning the odd patch during water changes.

For the regret question: most people I've seen go bare bottom don't look back, and the few who do usually just missed the look of sand or later wanted a sand-dependent fish.

How True I loved my Diamond goby fun to watch better than any other fish for entertainment. To your point of keeping the d

etrius suspended is a good thought. I have the perfect filter to collect it . Look at a Marineland water clarifier . It has multiple uses

 

[Freenow54]

You can put a micron filter in it and it works great. Filters available on Amazon