Bare bottom tanks vs sand

Cancun · 03/10/2018, 10:31 PM

Hi everyone one and I hope all of you are happily enjoying our wonderful hobby! I was just in my LFS the other day and the owner who is a friend of mine and I were having a discussion how bare bottom tanks are becoming the new thing now.....does anyone know why? I also see it here on Reef Central too. I have sand and always had sand not too deep....3-4 inches tops....but I was curious why someone would choose to not add sand. I have 7 Wrasses....4 of them are leopards so we know they sleep in the sand....and so do the rest of my Wrasses.....any thoughts from anybody???

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whiteshark · 03/10/2018, 10:52 PM

The idea is that a tank without sand stays "cleaner" as you don't have as much detritus that gets trapped and is inaccessible during a water change. Additionally, you can pump a lot more flow in a tank without sand. Tanks without sand seem more suitable for the growth of SPS corals.

I've seen great tanks with shallow sand beds, DSB, BB, etc. It's ultimately all about what you are trying to achieve. I will say when I had an ULN SPS dominated tank, being able to blast the flow did wonders for the corals, and I would have never been able to move the water the way I did with a sand bottom.

tmccaffery · 03/10/2018, 10:54 PM

I had both sand and bare bottom.

If you go sand it actually should only be like 1 - 2" max... just for looks.

bare bottom tanks easier to clean and control Nitrates.

My bare bottom has 0.5 or less Nitrates; Sand one can't get below 10

tmccaffery · 03/10/2018, 10:56 PM

Yes that is true as well water flow. However, I like the look of sand.. The way I do my tanks now go bare bottom 1st and after cycle add 1" - 2" of sand.. Again I think it's more of what you looking for. If you want to go SPS tank than I would probably go bare bottom

Cancun · 03/10/2018, 11:17 PM

Thanks for all the interesting responses! That all makes sense......I don't have a deep sand bed....when I started yrs ago I just liked the look of sand I guess.....so I stuck with that theme...but i can see where you can have more flow and easier clean up of a bare bottom though....

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Lsufan · 03/10/2018, 11:24 PM

I think white shark hit on the main two reasons. I think it is the combination of flow & easier to keep clean. I think keeping it clean is the biggest reason why most do it. Although some people don’t like the look of larger grain sand so they go bb to be able to have the flow they desire.

I think a good example would be a heavily stocked tank loaded with sps. I think a lot of the best sps tanks are heavily stocked on fish to feed the corals & being it is so heavily stocked it’s easier to keep the nutrients in check with no sand. Once those tanks fill in u don’t even notice they don’t have sand unless u are looking for it.

mitch91175 · 03/11/2018, 03:02 PM

I say which ever works best for your particular setup or what you want to accomplish. I have a sand bed in my display and do not run into issues with it going everywhere when my pumps are turned up higher. Maybe that is the case with mine because my display is a little taller than the usual for my size display. Sand bed is cleaned by my engineer gobies, sand sifting stars, and snails.

Also, I have seen some beautiful SPS dominated aquariums with deep sand beds. So it can be done if you want to have a sand bed and keep SPS. No right or wrong way to do it really as long as you keep your husbandry in check.

rjjr1963 · 03/12/2018, 03:57 PM

You could always paint the bottom underside of the tank with that speckled kind of paint to mimic a sand bed.

Tripod1404 · 03/12/2018, 04:32 PM

I have seen people keeping leopard wrasses in bare bottom tanks by strategically placing ceramic bowls with sand inside. Bowls were covered with rocks and were not visible. Owner actually said he transferred the bowls from the qt with the wrasses inside and under the sand during the night.

So the wrasses went to sleep in one tank and woke up in a completely new tank. It must have been quite a shock for the wrasses that morning

. But that way they know were is the bowl of sand to sleep in. Also it reduces the risk of wrasses diving into the glass bottom once transferred to a new tank.

The only issue was sand blowing out of the bowls when wrasses dived into the sand. But flow was collecting the sand to the corner of the tank and he was siphoning it out during water changes.I guess he was also adding some new sand back to the bowls to top-off the lost sand.

LauraGreenImp · 03/12/2018, 06:43 PM

I was about to make a whole new topic, but...

So, my tank is 48” W, my Diamond W Goby has shifted the sand so that about a fourth (maybe a fifth) of the tank is bare bottomed (took him a few years), and then the sandbed gradually thickens to peak of 4”ish.

Does this matter? There are green star polyps and some grass coral doing well in the barest part - I would like to add some color there other than green, and I have to be careful which corals bc my resident Matted File Fish has a taste for certain corals. (and I like the mff, he isn’t going anywhere)

Can you have both (bare&sandbed) successfully long term AND have a healthy DT?

The Goby has worked so hard - I’d hate to undo his progress, and I’m not sure it would be good for every tank inhabitant in general if I tried to a) spread sand back out or b) add more sand.

Advice appreciated.

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Cancun · 03/12/2018, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LauraGreenImp

I was about to make a whole new topic, but...

So, my tank is 48” W, my Diamond W Goby has shifted the sand so that about a fourth (maybe a fifth) of the tank is bare bottomed (took him a few years), and then the sandbed gradually thickens to peak of 4”ish.

Does this matter? There are green star polyps and some grass coral doing well in the barest part - I would like to add some color there other than green, and I have to be careful which corals bc my resident Matted File Fish has a taste for certain corals. (and I like the mff, he isn’t going anywhere)

Can you have both (bare&sandbed) successfully long term AND have a healthy DT?

The Goby has worked so hard - I’d hate to undo his progress, and I’m not sure it would be good for every tank inhabitant in general if I tried to a) spread sand back out or b) add more sand.

Advice appreciated.

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In my opinion....I see no issues with having both in your tank....I know a lot of people including one of the LFS stores that I go too that has a display tank with half the tank has sand and the other half is BB....he did that on purpose as a personal preference I think.....no Goby moving sand lol.....

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LauraGreenImp · 03/13/2018, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cancun

In my opinion....I see no issues with having both in your tank... [ ] …he did that on purpose as a personal preference I think.....no Goby moving sand lol.....

Thanks for POV, Cancun - I had to abandon this forum abruptly last night bc ...dinner... lol

I think, according to others in this thread, my sandbed (where there *is* sandbed) may be too deep. To be fair, PART of it is 2” or below, but the Goby has its own plans.
At one point it had a 7.25” ‘hill’ (I measured), but the G deconstructed it. (maybe I should name G Bob, after ‘Bob the Builder’)

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03/10/2018, 10:31 PM	#1
Cancun Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Saint Louis Missouri Posts: 527	Bare bottom tanks vs sand Hi everyone one and I hope all of you are happily enjoying our wonderful hobby! I was just in my LFS the other day and the owner who is a friend of mine and I were having a discussion how bare bottom tanks are becoming the new thing now.....does anyone know why? I also see it here on Reef Central too. I have sand and always had sand not too deep....3-4 inches tops....but I was curious why someone would choose to not add sand. I have 7 Wrasses....4 of them are leopards so we know they sleep in the sand....and so do the rest of my Wrasses.....any thoughts from anybody??? Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk __________________ Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL...I love wrasses....have leopards....several Coris....China Wrasse, Dejardini and purple tang... Current Tank Info: Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL

03/10/2018, 10:52 PM	#2
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	The idea is that a tank without sand stays "cleaner" as you don't have as much detritus that gets trapped and is inaccessible during a water change. Additionally, you can pump a lot more flow in a tank without sand. Tanks without sand seem more suitable for the growth of SPS corals. I've seen great tanks with shallow sand beds, DSB, BB, etc. It's ultimately all about what you are trying to achieve. I will say when I had an ULN SPS dominated tank, being able to blast the flow did wonders for the corals, and I would have never been able to move the water the way I did with a sand bottom. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

03/10/2018, 11:17 PM	#5
Cancun Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Saint Louis Missouri Posts: 527	Thanks for all the interesting responses! That all makes sense......I don't have a deep sand bed....when I started yrs ago I just liked the look of sand I guess.....so I stuck with that theme...but i can see where you can have more flow and easier clean up of a bare bottom though.... Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk __________________ Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL...I love wrasses....have leopards....several Coris....China Wrasse, Dejardini and purple tang... Current Tank Info: Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL

03/10/2018, 11:24 PM	#6
Lsufan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Baton Rouge Posts: 1,410	I think white shark hit on the main two reasons. I think it is the combination of flow & easier to keep clean. I think keeping it clean is the biggest reason why most do it. Although some people don’t like the look of larger grain sand so they go bb to be able to have the flow they desire. I think a good example would be a heavily stocked tank loaded with sps. I think a lot of the best sps tanks are heavily stocked on fish to feed the corals & being it is so heavily stocked it’s easier to keep the nutrients in check with no sand. Once those tanks fill in u don’t even notice they don’t have sand unless u are looking for it. Last edited by Lsufan; 03/10/2018 at 11:32 PM.

03/12/2018, 03:57 PM	#8
rjjr1963 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Nebraska/Missouri Posts: 770	You could always paint the bottom underside of the tank with that speckled kind of paint to mimic a sand bed. __________________ 72x24x16 115 gallon under construction Current Tank Info: 40 gallon reef

03/10/2018, 10:54 PM	#3
tmccaffery Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 170	I had both sand and bare bottom. If you go sand it actually should only be like 1 - 2" max... just for looks. bare bottom tanks easier to clean and control Nitrates. My bare bottom has 0.5 or less Nitrates; Sand one can't get below 10

03/10/2018, 10:56 PM	#4
tmccaffery Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 170	Yes that is true as well water flow. However, I like the look of sand.. The way I do my tanks now go bare bottom 1st and after cycle add 1" - 2" of sand.. Again I think it's more of what you looking for. If you want to go SPS tank than I would probably go bare bottom

03/11/2018, 03:02 PM	#7
mitch91175 Premium Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 303	I say which ever works best for your particular setup or what you want to accomplish. I have a sand bed in my display and do not run into issues with it going everywhere when my pumps are turned up higher. Maybe that is the case with mine because my display is a little taller than the usual for my size display. Sand bed is cleaned by my engineer gobies, sand sifting stars, and snails. Also, I have seen some beautiful SPS dominated aquariums with deep sand beds. So it can be done if you want to have a sand bed and keep SPS. No right or wrong way to do it really as long as you keep your husbandry in check.

03/12/2018, 04:32 PM	#9
Tripod1404 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 1,821	I have seen people keeping leopard wrasses in bare bottom tanks by strategically placing ceramic bowls with sand inside. Bowls were covered with rocks and were not visible. Owner actually said he transferred the bowls from the qt with the wrasses inside and under the sand during the night. So the wrasses went to sleep in one tank and woke up in a completely new tank. It must have been quite a shock for the wrasses that morning . But that way they know were is the bowl of sand to sleep in. Also it reduces the risk of wrasses diving into the glass bottom once transferred to a new tank. The only issue was sand blowing out of the bowls when wrasses dived into the sand. But flow was collecting the sand to the corner of the tank and he was siphoning it out during water changes.I guess he was also adding some new sand back to the bowls to top-off the lost sand.

03/12/2018, 06:43 PM	#10
LauraGreenImp Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Nashville Posts: 131	I was about to make a whole new topic, but... So, my tank is 48” W, my Diamond W Goby has shifted the sand so that about a fourth (maybe a fifth) of the tank is bare bottomed (took him a few years), and then the sandbed gradually thickens to peak of 4”ish. Does this matter? There are green star polyps and some grass coral doing well in the barest part - I would like to add some color there other than green, and I have to be careful which corals bc my resident Matted File Fish has a taste for certain corals. (and I like the mff, he isn’t going anywhere) Can you have both (bare&sandbed) successfully long term AND have a healthy DT? The Goby has worked so hard - I’d hate to undo his progress, and I’m not sure it would be good for every tank inhabitant in general if I tried to a) spread sand back out or b) add more sand. Advice appreciated. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro __________________ No glass box turns into a beautiful reef tank quickly. Current Tank Info: 150gT Mixed Reef - help me trap/remove/destroy my hateful Molly Miller Blennys!