Bare Bottom or Sand???

[Stolireef]

OK. So this debate is as old as the hobby and probably older than many of the people I see at PROP and FRAG events).

I've been a dedicated sand guy since the beginning but as I've gotten older and lazier, a bare bottom looks to be much less maintenance and will allow very strong flow for SPS's.

So, without any flames :angryfire: I'd love to hear the groups opinion both on aesthetics and practical issues (maintenance, coral health, etc.). I'd especially love to hear comments from people who have tried both but all are welcome.

Oh, and if you happen to know where I can find really good bare bottom tank pics, that would be great. Wife wants to look over my shoulder on this decision.

Thanks.

 

[AZBigJohn]

Personally, I have always liked the aesthetic of sand in the tank. I think it all boils down to wanting to have my own "living picture" of the ocean.

I have a bare bottom in my QT tank, and yes, you could certainly make the argument that seeing detritus, and removing it, is much, much easier... but everytime I look at my fish in my QT tank, I think about how unnatural the tank looks.

Once again, just my opinion...

 

[Stolireef]

Point well taken. I used to love watching the critters in the sandbed but siphoning it and keeping it white is such a pain. Sand sifting gobies worked great except that they dump sand on everything else in the tank.

 

[Vanpire]

I love sand. I need to get more sand sifters and cukes. My diamond goby will dump sand on the stuff on the sandbed, but except for rocks near his borrows, sand stays on the sand bed. Actually seeing sand sifters doing their work is fun.

I agree bare bottom is easier to deal for high flow and my MP60s do move sand in some spots.

Overall I love the look of it and can't imagine it any other way.

 

[Jayreefer]

The only reason I have sand is to have creatures that play in it. Jawfish, gobies, and sand stars are so fun to watch. Plus many species of wrasse need it to sleep in at night. For those reason some sand is a must.

My 240 happens to have a large sand less area in the front that I will grow zoa, and mushrooms like a garden. With a 8 ft tank I have plenty of sand on each side and under the rocks for the sand critters.

 

[kjonulak]

I am planning on using a mixture of the different size reef flakes in my new builds. You can have a higher flow and it doesn't blow around like regular sand.

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/tropic-eden-reeflakes-grand-select-30lbs.html

 

[Mael]

Ive always been the same and wanted a sand bed of some kind in the setup, even a thin one. Now if I had to do another large setup Id seriously consider going to WWC route, bare bottom with starboard siliconed in. Protects the glass from the rock, turns purple with coraline fast and you can have nice flow without worrying about sand(especially if your going heavy sps). plus make a good surface for growing out coral on the bed.

 

[kjonulak]

Ive always been the same and wanted a sand bed of some kind in the setup, even a thin one. Now if I had to do another large setup Id seriously consider going to WWC route, bare bottom with starboard siliconed in. Protects the glass from the rock, turns purple with coraline fast and you can have nice flow without worrying about sand(especially if your going heavy sps). plus make a good surface for growing out coral on the bed.

Is starboard that hard plastic typically used in boats?

 

[Mael]

yah, on most sites it is listed as marine grade plastic sheets. Doesnt leech anything out and seems easy to work with from the pics(they silicone it in). Im seriously considering it for the future upgrade/move and then just run extra biological filtration another way, bucket of matrix, RDSB, or something like that.

 

[spscrackhead]

Sps bare bottom.
Mixed sand

 

[PhillyFrag]

I went bare bottom with my reefer 350 build after having previous sand builds. Yes much easier and I more or less covered the open bottom with flat rock and letting zoas etc cover them over (easy fragging too). It also allows to use a circulation pump to blow out areas where things may collect that you can never reach. I would say only downside it the perceived look but have gotten a lot of compliments the other way too.