???Bare Bottom Tanks??? +/-'s

RRafael

New member
What are the advantages and disadvantages of running bar botton. I am down grading to a 110 from a 180 and I have just put up a temporary 55 galon to hold my live rock corals and fish until I get the 110 going. I just pulled out 200 lbs. of sand and I am debating on running bare bottom on the 110
Thank you, Rich-
 
I am thrilled with my DSB--almost no nitrates--heavy feeding & lots of fish & corals. No sump, just a skimmer.
 
I have a DSB in my sump and i was barebottom:eek1:
for a long time.
But now i love the 1/2 inch of bright white sand
it does a great job of reflecting back the light for my SPS
My fancy starfish needs to hide in the sand bed too.
 
Rich-

It depends on what type of setup you are looking to go for. If you want a high flow SPS tank where you control the nutrient levels... then BB is the best way to go.

If you want to rely on sand and prefer the looks of it, then it will work as well.

Here's a good thread on BB vs. DSB BB crash stories. :thumbsup:
 
Ok here is my worry, before I broke down the 180 there was green and red slime algea taking over the tank .....I had this in another tank also and I mean literally taking over the tank and making everything really ugly and I dont want to run into this again.......
Is a deeper sand bed better? if so I should be good then because I have 200 lbs of sand from my 180 going into a 110.

Rod when you gonna chime in:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7115192#post7115192 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfood23
Ok here is my worry, before I broke down the 180 there was green and red slime algea taking over the tank .....I had this in another tank also and I mean literally taking over the tank and making everything really ugly and I dont want to run into this again.......
Is a deeper sand bed better? if so I should be good then because I have 200 lbs of sand from my 180 going into a 110.

Rod when you gonna chime in:)

I think your problem goes beyond what substrate you have in your tank. IMO, there is always going to be SOME algae growth....even on natural reefs there is some. That's why there are algae eating fishes....but if your algae problem goes beyond having to use your magnet on the glass every few days, you've got other issues. Just for the record, I've got a 150 gallon softie tank with what I consider a shallow sand bed (less than 3") and a 180 gallon bare bottom sps reef. The SSB has been up and running for 6 or so years, the BB tank has been up for just over a year. IMO, the BB tank is less forgiving if you get lazy....and I've been there, but I'm also a little worried about what lies ahead for the sandbed....so far, so good, but there are those that say a crash is inevitable.

I guess the bottom line is put whatever substrate in the tank that appeals to you. Add only good CLEAN water and use good husbandry techniques....there are enough success stories with both methods to show that excessive algae can be avoided without relying on a sandbed.

Jeff
 
Don't you have to be good about vacuming the BB? There'd be no way I could do that w/as much rock & coral I have in my tank. I could never get in back. Looking to buy a tigertail cuke, if anyone has one, to get back there.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7115452#post7115452 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
Don't you have to be good about vacuming the BB? There'd be no way I could do that w/as much rock & coral I have in my tank. I could never get in back. Looking to buy a tigertail cuke, if anyone has one, to get back there.

Set up is a key ingredient to success. I've got a spray bar along the back of the tank that blows everything to the front on 80% of the tank....this was an addition after original set up. If I see any build up on the rest of the bottom, I can use a powerhead with a hose attachment on the discharge and blow everything into the mainstream....works pretty good.

Jeff
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7115533#post7115533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
Good idea. Probably should have done that before loading up!

AHHHH to live and learn....I was in such a hurry to get the tank up and running that I really misjudged the amount of pumping power I needed. It wasn't until I added a Reefflo pump to the system that I was able to add the spray bar....prior to that, I was trying to get by with a mag 36 on my closed loop.....although on paper the mag 36 looks like it will pump as much as my reeflo (stingray), it's not even close.

Jeff
 
Ooops.. I guess I am 4 days late.. Its already April 5th,, I missed the 1st :p. ..

Ill see if I can spend a few more minutes on this thread in the morning while I drink a cup of coffee
 
+ side to BB is that you get to have everyone bash the look of BB. ;)

Now for what I perceive as real advantages...

1) If/When my tank looses power, I have that much less die-off. Power loss from a tripped GFCI, or Common Power loss. Meaning that I have fewer organisms firstly using less O2, and secondly less polluting when they do succumb. I believe this was one reason I lost my tank years ago when I moved. I contend that a lot of the life in my SB died due to lack of O2 in the water, thus polluting the rest of my tank.

2) I have no fear of left-over foods, or detritus build up anywhere in the tank.

3) Tons of flow. Tons of general flow, throughout the tank. I could not have the flow I do with a DSB.

4) I don't really care about having a completely diverse system. I keep my tank for the corals. That's it. Bio-diversity really doesn't matter to me in my system. Take that with a grain of salt. Of course there is some diversity, just not the abundance that you find in DSB's.

5) No fear of scratching glass/acrylic with that single grain of sand caught in your MAG cleaner!

6) There are others, I'm sure.

Positives of a DSB?

1) Aesthetics of course right? BB is very ugly right?

2) It really does allow you a bit of a cushion I suppose. My first tanks were DSB, and they were bullet-proof for the first 3 years or so. They were also softie tanks that were a little less demanding than a clam/SPS tank.

3) Buffering.... O wait, that's mostly myth. May have some very minor buffering capacity, but not at all what some people preach.

4) If your into bio-diversity then this is totally for you. Tons of works and pods and a slew of other goodies.

My current tank is BB. The bottom is almost totally concealed by rockwork and corraline. I think I have a pretty decent looking set-up, and my corals are happier than ever.
 
Rod when you gonna chime in:)

Does he need to? We all know what he is going to say anyway! :D


Rod you might be getting a call from me sometmie this week to talk about a DSB in my tank. I takled to you a bit before about my tank (BB) and I think im about done with that. Unless someone can help me figure out what I am doing wrong??
 
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