Best Substrate for SPS Tank?

[shaginwagon13]

You could get star board and attach sand using expanding foam or something of that sort so it looks like sand but you will have all the great qualities of a bare bottom tank.

I thought about doing that, but I think I'm going to go the substrate route so I can have sand sifting critters running around the bottom of the tank.

Is there a negative to having a bare bottom tank?

 

[MBIETZ]

Ya there are negatives to BB but its benifits out weight the negative. the pros of sand are that it helps your PH and calcium aswell as having a lot of benificial bacteria but with all the suplements and filtration we have it makes it so sand is not needed also some creatures need sand to survive properly.

 

[defchild84]

Maybe its just a Canada thing, but very rarely have I seen a tank bare bottom as well. Almost everybody has a sand bed, SPS tank or no SPS tank and seem to have no problem

I think you guys are saying the same thing Gotta agree- to me, gotta have a reef with a sand bottom. It's all relative, I understand, but.... without sand, to me it screams " I am ONLY obsessed with sps, and corals with low tolerance to nutrients, and I don't have enough time to care for such, thus making life easier for me by taking away the substrate." Like I said, relativity plays a big role, but it takes a big chunk of the "reef fun" away for me, that's for sure.

 

[defchild84]

but then again, I have to change my answer, a while later I posted the last comment, I realized how ignorant my last comment was. What I should have written was, I personally love the contrast of the white substrate. I also enjoy many other benefits, since they provide a home for my biological filtration, and since I don't run mechanical, it is imperative for me to have my substrate. I also house a two jawfish, so.... and the list continues for my reasons to have substrate. That's me, and I understand other views. I have always appreciated a beautiful reef, consisting of all elements, both soft, hard, and even including the substrate, and all other biodiversity. I never thought it appeared natural, or impressive with rows of great number of LE corals , or a impressive tank, but no substrate. Don't get me wrong, the modern look gets an appreciation of it's own, but just something..about it feels a little empty. Just My opinion, and I apologize for my previous comment. Cheers.

 

[jdm18honda]

Carib sea geo-marine

 

[MabuyaQ]

Pure and simple you have two types of sand bed: shallow and deep.

Shallow needs maintenance from the reefer in order to keep it from collecting waste material which will increase nutrient levels because critters can't do that on there own. You also end up replacing it every couple of years.

Deep (DSB) needs no maintenance from the reefer and will help to keep nutrient levels down. But they take up space and aren't visually attractive against the glass.

Some people lack the discipline to maintain a shallow sand bed, choose the wrong grain size (bigger grains collect more waste/faster) or keep their DSB too shallow for estethic reasons.

 

[Allmost]

dont get me wrong, I agree BB has its own benefits, but I just dont agree with generalization that ppl with SPS over 5 years ALL go bb .... they dont. I didnt.

 

[Dog boy Dave]

Nope not generalizing at all. I am just sharing my personal experience with the 20 or so tanks that I have watched for their entire life cycle in the last 40 years of keeping these things. Thats all its worth. No more no less. I havent seen it all so I didnt mention the rest. I have seen older tanks that work with sand in the main display. However, I have never watched one over its entire life cycle and seen the people keep it over five years or so. By the way, my dsb is over ten years old so dont read this as an anti sand post. Every one I know that has started that way and stayed in the hobby for over five years has ended up removing the sand from their main display. I am sure that there are many tanks that work for much longer than that in the main display all over the world. Take it anywhere you want.

 

[Dog boy Dave]

From what I understand, people have two reasons to place a substate in their main display. One would be aesthetics. The other would be an attempt to establish some sort of bological process. If you have others please share. This isnt a debate.

Because of the current issues and debri collection issues an aesthetic substrate is harder and more complicated to manage than none at all. So because of that, I would consider not having any substrate at all if aestetics was the issue. If you have an acrylic tank then there is another reason to keep your sand out of your main display. That doesnt say it wont work. It can and if you manage it it will work. hoeever, in my experience, tanks without substrate are very attractive after they get established. Most people dont even notice my main display doesnt have sand as it tends to start looking like a Garf system if i dont manage it aggressively. I would hate to think I had sand to deal with as well.
I am not saying go "Bare Bottom" or old style Berlin, Those systems have their own long term management issues but they work as well if you manage them correctly. I am just saying substrate in your main display is harder to manage than none at all.
If you are using sand for the biological effect that will also "work" in your main display. However, it is also much more complicated to manage a DSB if you place it in your main display. It will work. However, I have done it both ways and if I was setting up another display I would "consider" placing my DSB in a remote location. My point was that most people that I have known th this hobby a long time have reached these same conclusions.
No generalizations intended, just an attempt to share some experience.

 

[shaginwagon13]

From what I understand, people have two reasons to place a substate in their main display. One would be aesthetics. The other would be an attempt to establish some sort of bological process. If you have others please share. This isnt a debate.

Because of the current issues and debri collection issues an aesthetic substrate is harder and more complicated to manage than none at all. So because of that, I would consider not having any substrate at all if aestetics was the issue. If you have an acrylic tank then there is another reason to keep your sand out of your main display. That doesnt say it wont work. It can and if you manage it it will work. hoeever, in my experience, tanks without substrate are very attractive after they get established. Most people dont even notice my main display doesnt have sand as it tends to start looking like a Garf system if i dont manage it aggressively. I would hate to think I had sand to deal with as well.
I am not saying go "Bare Bottom" or old style Berlin, Those systems have their own long term management issues but they work as well if you manage them correctly. I am just saying substrate in your main display is harder to manage than none at all.
If you are using sand for the biological effect that will also "work" in your main display. However, it is also much more complicated to manage a DSB if you place it in your main display. It will work. However, I have done it both ways and if I was setting up another display I would "consider" placing my DSB in a remote location. My point was that most people that I have known th this hobby a long time have reached these same conclusions.
No generalizations intended, just an attempt to share some experience.

That makes sense, but from my understanding the bacteria and organism that live in a sand bed are very beneficial to the system. Is that incorrect or will the bacteria just grow in greater quantities on the LR?

 

[Dog boy Dave]

That makes sense, but from my understanding the bacteria and organism that live in a sand bed are very beneficial to the system. Is that incorrect or will the bacteria just grow in greater quantities on the LR?

Yes, the organisms that grow in a sand bed can be very benificial to your system. Now "sand bed" in this hobby, can be used to define a lot of different situations with your substate. Some of those situations may be much more effective at removing nutrients than other situations. Sand grain size, total nutrient load, types of organisms present, predator load, ilumination, current flow, all of these affect and define your "sandbed" There are volumes written about the different sand beds and their effect on the system. Way too much to cover here.
I reccomend sand but there are successful systems living without it. They are maintained differently than systems with sand and seem to be more complicated as far as long term supliment routine is concerned.
All of the sucessfull SPS systems that I am involved with and watch long term use some sort of sand bed in their total system.
However, because of the issues with keeping sand in the main display I would consider using it remotely if you are doing it for the biological affects.

 

[Dog boy Dave]

dont get me wrong, I agree BB has its own benefits, but I just dont agree with generalization that ppl with SPS over 5 years ALL go bb .... they dont. I didnt.

I want back and read what i thought was a very specific post regarding keeping sand in the main display. I can see where it might be confusing. Please dont generalize that taking sand out of the main display means taking it out of the system. Bare bottom display does not mean no sand in the system. Bare Bottom systems are quite different. I mistakenly assumed that would be apparent. Sorry to be confusing.