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.
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.