What are your opinions on bare bottoms setups?

[zalick]

How does half sand work?

It works by accident. Haha!

It may only work in a peninsula or with pumps at one end. My bottom gradually slopes from BB to sand about halfway.

 

[Zionas]

I see. Don’t think it will work in my custom tank, so think if I have sand I will go full sand. Which wrasses and other sand dwellers do you keep?

 

[zalick]

I see. Don’t think it will work in my custom tank, so think if I have sand I will go full sand. Which wrasses and other sand dwellers do you keep?

Yellow and purple wrasse but she recently died. Sleeper banded goby. A few fighting conches.

 

[Zionas]

Sorry to hear that. How long did she live for and was she purchased small?

 

[zalick]

Sorry to hear that. How long did she live for and was she purchased small?

I had her about 4 years I think and she was medium to large already. Purchased from LFS. I'm guessing she died of old age.

 

[Hasted]

Both. I have both and like each tank for their respective goals.

Sand in main tank. Shrimp / Goby pair along with sandy inverts. Lower flow. Main area of house and wife likes the look of sand.

BB in nano tank. Higher flow. No sand dwellers. Office tank for me. Encrusting corals to be placed on glass.

Just do you (with livestock in mind).

 

[brandon429]

this is how I run my dsb

Take six inches depth of clean sand and set 20 yr rocks and corals on it. disregard all forms of cleaning, siphon care, violate all my own typed rules for a couple years until its cruddy and my corals are receding.

I think take the entire thing apart, blast out the sand with tap then RO, set it all up again with same rocks and cyclically neglect it another 36 mos as a loop but now that its re cleaned the whole system is open for blast feeding and the corals put on speed mass growth that holds for years. I trade off normal routine care for simple big cleaning runs on a given Saturday in 2023.

by blast rinsing Im essentially causing the bare bottom condition even though there's six inches of sand. inert grains never hurt anyone, its the mud in between.

 

[MnFish1]

As a major fan of sand, I have started to consider BB for saving weight in an apartment. Once my tank’s set up, what are the pros and cons of going BB? Is maintenance really a lot easier than with a sand bed? What about corals? And how do I manage a clean up crew with a BB setup? Would the tank’s bottom glass be more prone to cracking if I go BB and the live rock touches the glass without any substrate as a “buffer”?

As for livestock I’d still love to keep at least 1 Halichoeres Wrasse and a shrimp/ Goby Pair, so maybe there’s a compromise solution?

Because my tank height will be 18-19” I worry that the minimum 2” sand bed needed for wrasses and the Shrimp / Goby Pair would take up too much of the water column and reduce swimming space for more laterally compressed fish.

Thanks. Would appreciate insights.

I do not like the way they look. Likewise I do not like the look of tanks with 2 inches of sand. I split the difference. I put in about 1/4 inch of sand. It blows around a little. So part of the tank is sometimes bare. But it is not noticible. I think the glass is more prone to cracking in a bb tank. I do not think there is a 2 inch rule for gobies. If you want have one area of the sand deeper. I see no advantage of a bare bottom tank. There are ways to Aquascape such that most of the bottom is open. Check my build thread. My corals sit on 2 pedestal corals that allow water flow and swimming area all aroind

 

[MnFish1]

this is how I run my dsb

Take six inches depth of clean sand and set 20 yr rocks and corals on it. disregard all forms of cleaning, siphon care, violate all my own typed rules for a couple years until its cruddy and my corals are receding.

I think take the entire thing apart, blast out the sand with tap then RO, set it all up again with same rocks and cyclically neglect it another 36 mos as a loop but now that its re cleaned the whole system is open for blast feeding and the corals put on speed mass growth that holds for years. I trade off normal routine care for simple big cleaning runs on a given Saturday in 2023.

by blast rinsing Im essentially causing the bare bottom condition even though there's six inches of sand. inert grains never hurt anyone, its the mud in between.

This would be difficult in a large tank. Thoughts

 

[brandon429]

thoughts are my entire reefing perspective comes from a tiny little crystal ball heh / reefing soothsayer.

 

[ThePurple12]

Looks like the answer is personal preference!

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

The issue with sand is what is under the rock work where it can’t be siphoned. If I were setting up a new tank I would set my bottom rocks on a concrete or epoxy base on a piece of acrylic. So no sand could get under it. Think a bowl upside down with your rock cemented onto it. I don’t mind siphoning the sand, it’s the diaper that I cannot reach behind and under my rock work. My tank has been setup and running for almost 21 years. Long term the detritus under these areas causes issues with corals and health of the tank. GHA and cyano. I like the look of sand, but as an sps guy I understand the issues old poop causes down the road. btw some of my sand and live rock is from 1989.

 

[Zionas]

21 years! That’s really impressive. How big’s your tank, what do you have in it, and what are your oldest fish?

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

Ahhh ok but do you keep any sand dwelling fish?

No, just an angel, clown, damsels and a Mandarin. The Mandarin likes to hang out on the bottom though.

 

[shred5]

As a major fan of sand, I have started to consider BB for saving weight in an apartment. Once my tank’s set up, what are the pros and cons of going BB? Is maintenance really a lot easier than with a sand bed? What about corals? And how do I manage a clean up crew with a BB setup? Would the tank’s bottom glass be more prone to cracking if I go BB and the live rock touches the glass without any substrate as a “buffer”?

As for livestock I’d still love to keep at least 1 Halichoeres Wrasse and a shrimp/ Goby Pair, so maybe there’s a compromise solution?

Because my tank height will be 18-19” I worry that the minimum 2” sand bed needed for wrasses and the Shrimp / Goby Pair would take up too much of the water column and reduce swimming space for more laterally compressed fish.

Thanks. Would appreciate insights.

As a person who has been in the hobby a very long time and I have kept reefs most ways and even both ways right now.
Honestly there is not much difference in my opinion. I never really vacuum the sand bed much. I use things like cucumbers and conches to keep it clean so not much more in maintenance. I also keep as much rock as possible off sandbeds so there are not places for stuff to settle. I have two bare bottom tanks right now and they are far more maintenance. I put white starboard down to simulate sand look and the coralline just grows on it like crazy. Drives me nuts all the coralline on the bottom. If coralline on the bottoms of your tank does not bother you bare bottom is not bad I just can not stand it on the sides and bottom of my tanks.

I also do not like setting rocks right on bare bottom. I like to have something under incase Something falls or I drop something.

Sand bed for sure offers buffering and my tanks cycle allot faster with a sandbed.

For my frag tanks and really high flow I do bare bottom but honestly I am thinking of adding a remote sandbed to my bare bottom tanks just for stability.

Sandbeds also make some fish like Wrasses far more comfortable. I have a wrasse in a bare bottom and he does ok but he always seems a little nervous.

 

[MnFish1]

As a person who has been in the hobby a very long time and I have kept reefs most ways and even both ways right now.
Honestly there is not much difference in my opinion. I never really vacuum the sand bed much. I use things like cucumbers and conches to keep it clean so not much more in maintenance. I also keep as much rock as possible off sandbeds so there are not places for stuff to settle. I have two bare bottom tanks right now and they are far more maintenance. I put white starboard down to simulate sand look and the coralline just grows on it like crazy. Drives me nuts all the coralline on the bottom. If coralline on the bottoms of your tank does not bother you bare bottom is not bad I just can not stand it on the sides and bottom of my tanks.

I also do not like setting rocks right on bare bottom. I like to have something under incase Something falls or I drop something.

Sand bed for sure offers buffering and my tanks cycle allot faster with a sandbed.

For my frag tanks and really high flow I do bare bottom but honestly I am thinking of adding a remote sandbed to my bare bottom tanks just for stability.

Sandbeds also make some fish like Wrasses far more comfortable. I have a wrasse in a bare bottom and he does ok but he always seems a little nervous.

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