Anyone here with bare bottom tank
- Thread starter jonnyu
- Start date
jonnyu
New member
Nice pic. You have any full tank shots of bottom? Did you notice it's easier to keep nitrates and phosphate down vs having sand
I have a bare bottom. Basically used zooas as my coverage!
So far I am pleased with the results.
rovster
New member
Easier to keep tank clear of detritus, harder to keep nitrate and phosphate under control due to lack of surface area for bacteria to colonize. Depending on bioload you may have to resort to more advanced methods of nutrient removal, aka carbon dosing, zeo, denitrators, etc. I would at least consider a nitrate block or some Siporax in the sump if you need the extra help.
fasteddie222
New member
I have a BB tank and everything does great!!!
brians4671
New member
I have a bare bottom. Basically used zooas as my coverage!
So far I am pleased with the results.
Very nice!
doggydoc
New member
Definitely harder to keep nitrates and phosphates under control. Granted, my tank is HEAVILY stocked. I now have the denitrator working fully and my reactor dialed in. I think I got nitrates and phosphates under control now.
I am waiting for Rovster to take some decent pics!
tonyyloww
New member
X2:eek2::eek2::beer:
jonnyu
New member
Wow that's crazy I would have thought it was the opposite I was thinking having a bare bottom tank I would be able to keep the tank cleaner thus having less phosphate and nitrate problems
Very interesting that you're having these type of problems it makes sense what rovster was saying. I currently have a crushed coral bottom and have zero phosphates and 5 nitrates. I have a 180 with about 15 fish that I feed mixed frozen and pellets twice a day. I'm wondering if it's the crushed coral and a lot of bateria or the skimmer rated for 500 gallons that keeps it clean
If that's ghetto can you ghettofy my tank lolHere is my old ghetto tank. Needed oversized skimmer and carbon dosing to keep nitrates in check. I did have 12 fish at one time but the tank did awesome....
firemedix911
New member
Exactly. I was thinking the same. Feel free to mess with my tank as well. LOL.
reelredfish
Member
My 180 is my first bare bottom and I am having a hell of a time with algae out break on rocks and walls.
I have one MP 60 and one MP 40 running. Maybe I need to change settings on them but it seems like I much more crud under the rocks and on the bottom than what I thought I would.
Today took a small pump and zip tied to a pole and stuck it down in the display blowing off the rock and under the rock and OMG there was a lot more crud then I even thought. So this makes me think that I have a flow issue. I will be doing this a few more times tomorrow in an effort to get as much of this stuff as I can into the filter socks so I can pull them out tomorrow.
Once I seen all of the stuff fly up it was clear why I have an algae issue! So now maybe I need something extra for flow I don't know. Being only a 5' long 180 I thought the 60 and the 40 would more than do the job.
Any thoughts or input?
I have one MP 60 and one MP 40 running. Maybe I need to change settings on them but it seems like I much more crud under the rocks and on the bottom than what I thought I would.
Today took a small pump and zip tied to a pole and stuck it down in the display blowing off the rock and under the rock and OMG there was a lot more crud then I even thought. So this makes me think that I have a flow issue. I will be doing this a few more times tomorrow in an effort to get as much of this stuff as I can into the filter socks so I can pull them out tomorrow.
Once I seen all of the stuff fly up it was clear why I have an algae issue! So now maybe I need something extra for flow I don't know. Being only a 5' long 180 I thought the 60 and the 40 would more than do the job.
Any thoughts or input?
jonnyu
New member
How long has tank been running ? Where did you get rocks from ? Where they live rock or dry rock ? Are you running gfo? What's your phosphate and nitrates at ? How much and how often do you do change out ?
reelredfish
Member
Tank has been up for about 8 months. Rock are pukini (SP) from BRS and they were dry rock. I cooked them for about 4 months in the garage before they went in the tank.
All tests are showing good phos. was showing .09 however so that one not good. But as with tests and alage I find that test wont be accurate cause the algae is feeding on stuff that would have shown up in a test.
I just put my BRS GFO reactor back on line tonight it has not been run on this tank as of yet it was left over from my old tank. Also running BRS carbon as well. Probably a little behind on my water changes but did do a 30 gallon change yesterday and will be making up another batch for next week.
All tests are showing good phos. was showing .09 however so that one not good. But as with tests and alage I find that test wont be accurate cause the algae is feeding on stuff that would have shown up in a test.
I just put my BRS GFO reactor back on line tonight it has not been run on this tank as of yet it was left over from my old tank. Also running BRS carbon as well. Probably a little behind on my water changes but did do a 30 gallon change yesterday and will be making up another batch for next week.
jonnyu
New member
Phosphate very high so I would work on some more water changes and getting that down. Gfo would really help. As for brs dry rock it took almost a year for it to purple up in my tank. I don't think your tank is dirty just from what a hear bare bottom harder to keep up due to lack of bacteria due to not having enough surface area. How long are you running your lights for ? Do you have a reef tank or fish only ? I also would say running a fuge really helps me. As I grow all sorts of ugly algae in my fuge and I never get any in my display tank. I also noticed running gfo has taken away all hair algae away.
reelredfish
Member
I have a fuge with chateo in it as well. Lights run for about 8 hours but they have cycles they run through sun up, mid day, sun down
This is a mixed reef tank.
This is a mixed reef tank.
jonnyu
New member
Run your fuge 24hr so you can try to build more algae in the fuge. This should help with keeping it out of your display tank. After you have it under control maybe you can change to a 12 hour cycle. I find running 24 hours does not effect my pH swing when lights go out.
rovster
New member
One of the drawbacks of starting with the dry stuff is it will take a long time for things to stabilize. Don't go nuts. Vi started with very cured, I mean well over a year cured dry rock and it's still not there after 7-8 months but it almost is. It takes around 3-5 months for the rock to color up.
On my ghetto tank I had ridiculous flow, and I also put a couple of powerheads along the bottom to either keep the detritus suspended or it would accumulate in a certain spot that I could siphon during water changes. Just keep in mind alk that crap that accumulates will accumulate whether you have bb or not. With bb you just get to see it and remove it
On my ghetto tank I had ridiculous flow, and I also put a couple of powerheads along the bottom to either keep the detritus suspended or it would accumulate in a certain spot that I could siphon during water changes. Just keep in mind alk that crap that accumulates will accumulate whether you have bb or not. With bb you just get to see it and remove it
