The great bare bottom debate

[Njdevils1220]

Here is my take on it...
In my 120g I battled lots of nutrient issues with a sand bed due to spots I could not get to with the siphon and could not crank up the flow without making a sand storm. I removed my sandbed over the course of 2 months and I can now increase flow, ZERO dead spots, more balance in my nutrients. I also have been growing encrusters along the bottom glass to try and make it look more appealing. In a large system I would not do sand again because its way easier maintenance.

With that said...
I also have a 20 display AIO tank I have set up and am using about 1" layer of special grade sand and so far I like it a lot. It's not a high flow tank, its small and easy to get to all of the areas of the sand to siphon up the buildup and shallow enough to get it cleaned all the way down.

Summary; I would stick to bare bottom in large high flow SPS dominant tanks. I would use special grade sand in smaller tanks that vacuuming is an easier chore on.

 

[Cory]

What are VOC's

Volatile organic compounds

 

[SDK]

Volatile organic carbon

Volatile organic compounds

 

[Cory]

Volatile organic compounds

Yes thats correct, ill change it.

 

[LadyTang2]

King StarBoard Marine Board HDPE Sheets and Custom Cut : TAP Plastics

Looking for the toughest thermoplastic to use in marine applications? Look no further than King Starboard and our assortment of cut-to-size HDPE sheets today.

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This is what I used for my tanks bare bottom. The thickness fills the void below the black rim of the bottom of my tank (petco).
I used seafoam shade because it looks like white carribean sand and to seal, just created a bead around the inside of the glass to hold it in place since king starboard doesnt join well with silicone and floats.
I think it was less than $70 shipped. I used one single piece since im not looking to ever remove it.
The maintenance is awesome, it hasnt been a full year since i removed the sand and my rocks are still shedding but ill tell you its night and day difference. I was having issues growing coraline algae with the old dirty sand but soon after going bare bottom getting the hair algae outbreak under control with manual removal and 4 large mexican turbos, my coraline absolutely exploded and the corals took off in size and color. Its been much more stable with only live rock as the biofilter. Nutrients easier to control as well. Dont even need a skimmer yet lol.
PS the most amazing thing about going barebottom is the amount of flow you can create and position it towards the bottom to keep the bottom clean. God how i dont miss sandstorms with my mp10s at 50%. Now theyre flowing both at 100% and corals couldnt be happier!

Is it hard to clean off the coraline from the plastic? I would worry about shaving off bits of plastic with the strong rubbing that would be needed to clean off the coraline as I like the color of the seafoam color you choose!

On sealing the sides, you used a bead of what between glass and plastic?

 

[Saltyreef]

Is it hard to clean off the coraline from the plastic? I would worry about shaving off bits of plastic with the strong rubbing that would be needed to clean off the coraline as I like the color of the seafoam color you choose!

On sealing the sides, you used a bead of what between glass and plastic?

I dont remove the corraline from the bottom or the back panels of my tank. Only the 3 viewing sides. Its not a living room show tank so im not too concerned but, I really love the look of the bottom being spotted with coralline, it doesnt bother me. Sometimes i even let it build up on my viewing panes quite a bit before i scrape it off. I l run my tank at a more natural white color as well so it gives a very different appeal.
It was a bead of silicone i used. As long as it adhered to the glass directly above the starboard to keep it from floating, i didnt care how well it bonded to the starboard itself.

Its been about a month since ive scraped the glass clean.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I removed my sand about 1 year after setting up my most current SPS tank. I hated how it become impossible to clean the sand behind, under, and even near the rockstructure. I found myself removing, rinsing, and replenishing every few months. This did not help with the buidup of junk and it definitely did not help the animals as it would certainly scare the fish.

After going BB the tank just seemed to run much more stable, became near maintenance free, and never had a cyano problem again.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I will say if your going BB its not right to add wrasses that sleep in sand. At least add a tray or build a small flat rock structure tray

 

[Fourstars]

Never see any sand on a natural reef. I like bare bottom because I can direct flow downward to keep everything in suspension. Plus more room for growth. Sand is for rookies.

 

[ScubaShane]

King StarBoard Marine Board HDPE Sheets and Custom Cut : TAP Plastics

Looking for the toughest thermoplastic to use in marine applications? Look no further than King Starboard and our assortment of cut-to-size HDPE sheets today.

www.tapplastics.com

This is what I used for my tanks bare bottom. The thickness fills the void below the black rim of the bottom of my tank (petco).
I used seafoam shade because it looks like white carribean sand and to seal, just created a bead around the inside of the glass to hold it in place since king starboard doesnt join well with silicone and floats.
I think it was less than $70 shipped. I used one single piece since im not looking to ever remove it.
The maintenance is awesome, it hasnt been a full year since i removed the sand and my rocks are still shedding but ill tell you its night and day difference. I was having issues growing coraline algae with the old dirty sand but soon after going bare bottom getting the hair algae outbreak under control with manual removal and 4 large mexican turbos, my coraline absolutely exploded and the corals took off in size and color. Its been much more stable with only live rock as the biofilter. Nutrients easier to control as well. Dont even need a skimmer yet lol.
PS the most amazing thing about going barebottom is the amount of flow you can create and position it towards the bottom to keep the bottom clean. God how i dont miss sandstorms with my mp10s at 50%. Now theyre flowing both at 100% and corals couldnt be happier!

Is the surface slippery underwater? If you bump rocks while doing maintenance do they move on you?

 

[Saltyreef]

Is the surface slippery underwater? If you bump rocks while doing maintenance do they move on you?

Its pretty grippy since its textured. My rocks do move around a little but its only due to poor stacking and havent gotten around to re aquascaping. Havent had a landslide yet though.
Also gives a little cushion if a rock happens to drop against the glass. Unlikely it would break the glass but ive seen weirder **** happen.

 

[ScubaShane]

Its pretty grippy since its textured. My rocks do move around a little but its only due to poor stacking and havent gotten around to re aquascaping. Havent had a landslide yet though.
Also gives a little cushion if a rock happens to drop against the glass. Unlikely it would break the glass but ive seen weirder **** happen.

Thanks for the reply. Im gonna make the plunge and try this for my new build.

 

[Pickwun]

I'm going to go with black ABS on my rebuild. I like the look, because it kind of takes the tank out of the picture. Sand is always such a nuisance, and I just plan to have a few free swimmers. Once I get the rocks arranged I'll glue them to the ABS.
I'm working on scape designs that will initially give the impression of no bottom, but will look good when things start growing there.

 

[Saltyreef]

I toiled with the idea of going black bottom too. But realized after i removed the sand.....that i actually prefered the look of sand and didnt want to differ too far from that "look". I went with seafoam colored starboard and actually really like the contrast it gives the bottom along with growing thick coralline like on the glass, i prefer it over sand now
A lot of people dont like the look of the coralline growing over the bottom but to each their own, i love it.

 

[happyhourhero]

The bottom eventually just fills in.

 

[pubwvj]

This is a very simple thing to answer. We are in a hobby where we take care of water. When you clean your sand do you see all the crap that comes out of it? Now what if it wasn't there?

That is an often stated observation but perhaps the conclusion is wrong. Just because you see stuff coming out does not mean that stuff is bad to be there.

For example: an empty wine skin is not at all messy but a full one, when stabbed, leak all over the place.

The point being, what you see as negative, what is coming out, may be part of the system that is working.

In the end, as many peope have noted, it is really about personal choice. I find bare bottom tanks grotesque and greatly prefer sand. You _feel_ otherwise. Aren't we all glad the government doesn't mandate which we have to do! Both systems work.