Barebottom - Drawbacks?

[DEIGNAN14]

Ok- I am almost sold on the bare bottom approach for my next reef.

I am planning to do a DSB in conjunction with the fuge - but I am wondering what if any drawbacks are involved with bare bottom show tanks.

Aside from aesthetics are there any other negatives to keep in mind?

Thanks!
J

 

[Cozmo4]

What type of livestock do you plan to keep? Many fish (and beneficial inverts) require a substrate.

 

[DEIGNAN14]

I am in it for the SPS.... I am planning for a med-low bioload. I realize I will have to be careful about livestock and certain inverts- but is it really limiting in terms of what you can keep?

 

[Crazed]

I know this kind of falls under aesthetics, but unless it's properly cleaned I imagine a barebottom tank would show detritus and algae more than substrate, where it just kind of blends in until it's consumed/decomposed.

 

[DEIGNAN14]

I am not sure - I am planning on a heavy flow system so I figured a bare bottom tank would actually be "cleaner"

Without substrate to consume it - I figure detritus will end up in the water colum where it will get skimmed out or delivered to the fuge...

Does this make sense? Anyone go bare bottom and find detritus to be an issue?



Am

 

[Reefbox]

I think the white starboard looks pretty amazing as a base when it is sealed in so nothing gets under it. Detritus is not a problem when you have good flow keeping it in suspension.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15276946#post15276946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Crazed
I know this kind of falls under aesthetics, but unless it's properly cleaned I imagine a barebottom tank would show detritus and algae more than substrate, where it just kind of blends in until it's consumed/decomposed.

Thats part of the point. You can see the poop and siphon it out yourself. Takes me 5 minutes every couple of days to clean my bottom. Ill never have a sand tank again.

To the OP. There are probably 100's of threads answering these questions. You should try a search instead of clogging an already overloaded system.

 

[luther1200]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15277016#post15277016 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SWINGRRRR


To the OP. There are probably 100's of threads answering these questions. You should try a search instead of clogging an already overloaded system.

What a riduculous statement. There are 100's of threads on every topic. That is the point isn't it? If nobody ever made a thread about a topic that has already been talked about it would be a very stagnant and boring site. I suggest if you feel its being clogged than keep your comment to yourself and thats 1 more post that won't be "slowing " you down.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15277306#post15277306 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by luther1200
What a riduculous statement. There are 100's of threads on every topic. That is the point isn't it? If nobody ever made a thread about a topic that has already been talked about it would be a very stagnant and boring site. I suggest if you feel its being clogged than keep your comment to yourself and thats 1 more post that won't be "slowing " you down.

Well, thank you freedom of speech. And I’ve paid my dues to the site so I’m trying to help however I can.


I provided my experience to the thread as it pertains to the post. Then I simply offered a suggestion for searching. If he’d take 5 seconds to search, he'll find way more info that asking the question and waiting.

If you have a problem with what I posted, you should have reported it instead of trying to police the post yourself. As per the UA, please stay on topic.

 

[terryagi]

Another aesthetic "issue" is that it doesn't look natural.

+1 on starboard though.

 

[Whisperer]

Over time, the bare bottom will be colonized by coralline algae. I have shrooms and zoanthids on the bottom as well. Water turbulence will prevent too much accumulation of detritus at the bottom. One drawback with BB is that I have to change my filter sock every 5-6 days. I can't imagine that filth lingering under the sandbed.

 

[James77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15277328#post15277328 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SWINGRRRR

If you have a problem with what I posted, you should have reported it instead of trying to police the post yourself. As per the UA, please stay on topic.

He was merely defending himself, and he was correct to do so. I see no where in the user agreement it says to keep on topic. If you think a topic has been rehashed too many times, just ignore the thread.

 

[James77]

Deigan, aesthetics is pretty much the only drawback. BB allows you almost unlimited flow and the ability to keep the tank with minimal detritus/gunk.

I personally grew tired of the sterile look, and I don't like the way coralline looks on the bottom. But I hate the sand dunes and storms of DSB tanks. On my current tank, I used a starboard bottom and covered it with ~1" of coarser sand(caribsea seafloor grade). You can get alot of flow without it blowing around, and still looks like a sand bed. I hit the sand with a powerhead every couple of weeks to free any detritus in it.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Im suggesting the OP search. He (assuming he's a he) hasnt even re-visited this post since, so it must not be that important to him anyway.
This my opinion, you have yours, lets move on about it.

 

[jmann]

I have had a DSB and run BB in the past and now have a SB. 1/2" of courser substrate 1/2mm to 2mm size and love it. I just put a sock on the dump tubes into the sump and stir the bed with a stick before water changes.

 

[DEIGNAN14]

I guess I am the "OP"??

Swingerrrr -- thanks for your insight and your suggestions. I am well aware of how to search. I chose to start a fresh conversation and that is my prerogative to do so.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to comment and share their experience with BB. Especially those that spoke up in defense of the site and the community...

 

[mdt178]

In my previous heavy flow BB tank, if a frag got knocked off or fell down, it's probably was going to disappear under the rocks before I had a chance to retrieve it.

 

[Superstretch18]

I've run both barebottom and with sand and I don't think I would ever run another tank without sand.

Aesthetics is a big part of it, but you also limit the biodiversity in the main tank. Granted, if you are running a fuge, you are going to at least be cultivating it elsewhere. But for me, personally, I find the life that comes with a live sand bed to be one of the most interesting parts of owning a tank. That's really just my personal preference though...

I would question whether having a fuge on a low nutrient sps tank is going to be beneficial. The extremely low nutrient levels are going to make cultivating macro harder. Also, keeping sand out of the main tank, just to create a nutrient sink in the fuge's dsb is going to be counter productive. If the macro winds up growing well, it's likely because the DSB is providing nutrients, which if that is the case, you might as well have sand in the main tank.

This is all my internal thought process, so I'm not shooting down your plans, by any means. Just if I was doing a low nutrient bare-bottom system, I'd go with the biggest skimmer I could afford/fit, kill the fuge and possibly consider dosing vodka...

 

[Rich D]

I LOVE the look of BB and love a starboard bottom even more. I wish I could have one but my dad doesn't like aesthetics of it.

regarding detritus and other gunk settling on the bottom, that is one of the biggest reasons to get BB; when its building up, it is very easy to siphon it or blow it out from under rocks and corals without creating a sand storm. If you have mostly or purely SPS then you can really have a ton of flow and never have anything settle on the bottom.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15280746#post15280746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Superstretch18
Just if I was doing a low nutrient bare-bottom system, I'd go with the biggest skimmer I could afford/fit, kill the fuge and possibly consider dosing vodka...

Based on about a year of research, and tons of searching and reading, this is basically my exact set-up. I have stopped dosing vodka for 2 weeks though as I am dosing MB7. But what do I know?

The aesthetic thing is a personal opinion. I don’t really miss the way the sand looks. Everyone that sees my tank is taken back by the cleanness, and the corals. Usually after about 5-10 minutes of looking they all go "Hey, where’s the sand?"