The advantages and disadvantages of a bare bottom tank. Would you go BB?

[Yevoc]

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?
-No sand blowing around, allowing higher flow rates for SPS.
-No nutrient sink slowly building up in kitty litter, oh sorry sandbed.
-Easy clean up. Turn off pumps. Blast the rock,vacuum the bottom.
-Never have to deal with a sandbed gluing itself in a brick and wrecking your biofilter.
-More consistent dosing.

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?
-Generally longer start to stability. Can be combated by mature rock, cycled bio media.

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?
I've run 3 tanks with sandbeds and 2 without. I won't ever have another sandbed unless the biotope requires it ie burrowing gobies or a mangrove tank.

 

[ClownWrangler]

The ocean isn't a bare bottom, so neither am I. But some of the fish I really like require a sand bed, so I don't think I could ever do a bare bottom.

I'm sure there are a at least a few reefs on bare lava beds.

 

[Yevoc]

As to the "it doesn't look natural" complaint...

A large expanse of sand isn't natural in the middle of a reef crest. It just isn't.

stony coral reef - Google Search

Wall to wall coral on a rock base is actually the natural state there.

 

[robospa]

There are generally two ways to maintain a reef tank as far as the substrates are concerned. You can either use some type of sand or you can use no sand and go bare bottom. Which is actually no substrate at all! We talked about sand the other day so today let's talk about bare bottom and the advantages and disadvantages of it.

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?

bare bottom tank image via @irwin_fletch

There are generally two ways to maintain a reef tank as far as the substrates are concerned. You can either use some type of sand or you can use no sand and go bare bottom. Which is actually no substrate at all! We talked about sand the other day so today let's talk about bare bottom and the advantages and disadvantages of it.

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?

bare bottom tank image via @irwin_fletch

 

[fish farmer]

I would like to try a bare bottomed tank if I was going for a high flow system. I only have a 29 gallon and the way my tank is scaped and placed in a wall I really don't see the bottom unless I'm standing right in front of it and it is only about 1/2 inch of sand.

I've always had some sand......fine sand, IMO the "flakey stuff" that is sold as sand today is on the coarser side than what I was told to use back in the day.

Sand is good for isolating corals though.

 

[Bensonthefish]

There are generally two ways to maintain a reef tank as far as the substrates are concerned. You can either use some type of sand or you can use no sand and go bare bottom. Which is actually no substrate at all! We talked about sand the other day so today let's talk about bare bottom and the advantages and disadvantages of it.

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?

bare bottom tank image via @irwin_fletch

I have sand right now but I will go bare bottom soon. I see all the beautiful and successful corals in you tube w/o sand.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

I want to try it, I should have done this with my 75g build but I went the sand route. I have set up a frag tank with a bare bottom, but I don't think I should consider it a win because it only has frags in it, so I don't have a bio load that I would have with a normal tank.

I think from all the research that I have done on here I think I have enough knowledge and skills to make it happen with minimal ugly stage, but it will be a prolonged time frame for it to be ready for SPS, but I am anxious for the flow opportunities for it!

 

[Appoloreefer]

1. What are the advantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

I feel as though I don't fight as much algae, I've yet to get cyano or anything typically that you get with "sandies"

2. What are the disadvantages of having a bare bottom reef tank?

detritus for days. I vacuum into a sock in the sump but it piles up quick. I've turned up the flow as much as I'm comfortable doing so.

3. How many of you run your tank bare bottom and how many of you used to but switched back to sand and why?

2 tanks running, 1 bb, 1 sand.

I currently have a 125 gallon bare bottom and will eventually add soft corals and have GSP to cover the bottom. I have seen tanks like this and I feel that it would be great having a grass bottom instead of sand. I used to have a sand bottom and my tank crashed and I said never again and I really love the clean look that the bare bottom offers.

 

[ClownWrangler]

Tile bottoms work great on freshwater tanks. Its the only way I go now, but would not look all that natural in a reef tank. Copepods wouldn't have a home. I think a bare bottom saltwater tank would look better with more "clutter" as this works well with freshwater tanks. A large live rock with chunks of ornamental macro algae here and there. and a few smaller rocks scattered around. The idea is to have more than 3/4 of the bottom covered with something

 

[Appoloreefer]

Hello!
Using bare bottom for the first time over an year now.
Hard to come back to sand… very easy to maintain and best advantage is in terms of circulation.

However, I have to be honest… I still miss the sand… it is not the best visually.

I honestly do not see anything wrong with the tank. I think it looks great. You can have all the same pleasures of a reef tank in a bare bottom as you can with a sand bed

 

[Tamberav]

NO!

Sand sleeping wrasses are the best! Leopard wrasses, radiants, earmuffs... yes pls.

Maybe in a nano where I can't keep those anyways. My frag tank is bare bottom but not my large display.

 

[Scorpius]

I love my bare bottom tank. Getting it cycled and the biodiversity where it needed to be is definitely not for the faint of heart. Still though, I'll never go back to sand. Sand maintenace is terrible.

 

[ClownWrangler]

My most expensive, high maintenance build of all. The bare bottom feather duster tank. I never knew what feather duster poop looked like until I did this. To think I was blaming my clowns for the floaties all along.

 

[Justin_Casper]

Right now I have two bare bottom tanks, but one is with the specific intent to grow out acropora and transplant the rock structure into an upgraded tank with sand. Essentially growing out the bommie in BB and then moving to a shallow tank with sand.

 

[Bugeater281]

I love my bare bottom tank. Running a hammerhead pump on a closed loop on a 135g. Keeps food suspended until it’s gone or went over the over flow. The tanks bottom has next to no diatris build up(except around the base of some rocks. While I prefer the sand look. After having many pumps fall, and blast sand all over, sand inside pumps and water buckets. It’s nice to not have sand for a change. I just look forward to covering the bottom with corals.

 

[Garf]

Got rid of my socks on my current bare bottom, no problems so far. Last tank was a play sand tank, no problems there either.

 

[reefer415]

Hello!
Using bare bottom for the first time over an year now.
Hard to come back to sand… very easy to maintain and best advantage is in terms of circulation.

However, I have to be honest… I still miss the sand… it is not the best visually.

That looks great! How do you keep the coraline off the bottom? In fact you don't look like you have any coraline at all? Only flow in one direction or did you take off the powerhead on this side for the pic?

 

[Gaspipe]

Hello!
Using bare bottom for the first time over an year now.
Hard to come back to sand… very easy to maintain and best advantage is in terms of circulation.

However, I have to be honest… I still miss the sand… it is not the best visually.

Nice looking "floor" what's your routine to keep it so clean?

thanks!

 

[takitaj]

Had to choose other. I never have, I like sand, but I can't say I'll never try it someday.

 

[Anthony Gatch]

I voted "Other". I currently got sand. Maybe I would try it in the future. I know sand is a pain to take care of but I like the look of sand.