Bare Bottom Fish Only Tanks?

[SoonerFan732]

Is anybody doing bare bottom in their fish only tanks? I am about to start adding rock to my fish only tank and I think I want to go without a substrate, but I would like to know what people think who have tried it or are currently trying it.

Thanks!

 

[FMarini]

sure--
you can do barebottom. No problem. Just ensure you keep any mulm from settling and collecting. Also you have filtration in sump or in the live rock. Lastly, a good skimmer and regular water maintanence will be required
Good luck

 

[SoonerFan732]

Thanks for the info!

Anyone run a Fish Only without a skimmer? How does the tank look? How are the parameters?

Why is a skimmer so important to a fish only tank?

Thanks!

 

[Unlikely_Hero]

Most FO tanks inhabitants are messy eaters (Triggers, Puffers, Lions, etc), so there's a lot of excess nutrients that need exporting. While it's feasible to run one without a skimmer, that means you'll need to keep up with regular (weekly at least, I imagine) water changes and vacuuming/cleaning of detritus and leftovers that settle on the bottom. A decent skimmer would increase water quality greatly, allowing you to make less frequent water changes, creating a more stable environment and increasing your livestock's longevity.

So basically, having a decent skimmer just makes life a lot easier and although many are expensive, they're worth it in the long run.

 

[SoonerFan732]

Thanks!

I have one on my 75 gallon reef and I haven't been happy with it, that's why I ask. It really doesn't pull out much skimmate. To me it seems like a waste of money so far. Its been on the tank for about 10 months.

I plan on vacuuming the bottom out once or twice a week. That's the main reason I want to go bare bottom (so I can see the debris easily). I haven't ruled out a skimmer, just wondering what the results are without one.

 

[VolitanLioness]

I run BB & Skimmerless, Syphon the bottom of your tank & do the water changes, I do 20 -25% every 2 weeks. The one problem I have had is the settling of foods and waste behind & under my LR, in areas I can not reach.

With my tank changes, I am Placing my rock up on cut pieces of PVC so I will be able to syphon under & behind it. I have found Rock placement to be very important when running a FOWLR skimmerless.

If your tank is glass you may want to put something down to avoid the bottom of the tank from being damaged if a rock falls.

Hope this helps,
Kaye

 

[garvondavis14]

it is way more effort to run bb and skimmerless...much more work than just about any other method...usually when you go bb you have a great skimmer...without either it will be a pain

 

[SoonerFan732]

Thanks everyone!

I was thinking of putting the rocks up on PVC and having some of the tank's flow blow up under the rocks to help from getting stuff caught under the rocks.

I will probably end up using a skimmer however I wanted to explore the possibility not using one.

I would like a substrate in the tank, but the sand in my reef just gets nasty with all the debris and trying to vacuum it out becomes quite a mess. Usually get more sand than anything.

 

[mcegelsk]

Look at HDTVGUYs setup...I think he has the best bare bottom FOWLR. ~Matt

 

[LRS078]

BB w' LR has worked very well for me.... I run a protein skimmer w' a wet/dry as well but the tank's inhabitants are a big golden puffer, polleni grouper, emperor angel, russell's lion, purple tang, and greenbird wrasse. The puffer eats a ton and is messy from both ends. Having it BB makes cleaning much easier, not to mention the substrate isn't there to be a hiding place for everything from "fug" to parasites. Keeps water parameters more stable. You will still need to do water changes (10% every two weeks min) but that is a fact of life for the hobby.

 

[I like Triggers]

i want to go barebottom on my next system, but i want starboard on there like HDTV's tank. his is really nice. im planning a 240 with an ASM G3, which is already on my 80g as we speak.

 

[auSS/Tin]

Iwent BB almost a year ago with my FOWLR with Ricordea. I love it. I put my LR up on PVC risers to make it easy to get under there, but I have found that I can use my Tunze's to blow the stuff out from under there and get into the water column. Once in the water column, it goes to the skimmer and it pulls it out. I just upgraded my skimmer from a Lifereef 24" model rated for 250 gallons to a Euro-Reef CR12-2RC rated for a 500 gallon tank and man I can tell a huge difference. The water is clearer(I don't understand why, it was clear before but now it is extremely clear) the algae isn't growing on the glass near as much as it was. The mushrooms have increased in size, everything is great.

Just a thought for you. I painted the back of my tank black (some do blue) on the outside of course. I also painted the bottom of my tank white. Now it looks like a pure white sandy bottom with a black background. I have to scrape the coraline algae off every couple of weeks but other than that it looks great. I will try to get some pictures later.

Bill

 

[stykthyn]

just run some powerheads across the bottom of your tank. there is no substrate to stir up and most detritus wont have a chance to settle.

 

[SoonerFan732]

Great information, thanks everyone!