Deep sand bed or bare bottom?

[SaltyWaters]

Hi, I'm looking to re-do my 180 Gallon and i would like to hear from my fellow reefers on what the benefits of having a deep sand bed compared to a bare bottom tank.
Thanks

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I don't really like either. I prefer a shallow sand bed. Deep sand beds can help somewhat with denitrification, but they have been known to accumulate waste over time and can leach that waste after awhile. They can also produce hydrogen sulfide in their anoxic regions, which can be a big problem if something disturbs your sand bed. Finally, they're a real pain if you ever want to change from one tank to another or move.

Bare bottoms, on the other hand, are just ugly IMO. I've never seen a bare bottom tank I've liked. They require lots of maintenance to keep them free of detritus. Also, there's many fish and inverts that require sand beds, so you're limiting yourself there.

 

[Murphs205]

can of worms here ?? BOTH ways can be done with success ....
some folks are in this hobby for the "AQUARIUM" look , the awesome look of a white nice sand bottom , and the way it looks natural. it does look better than a BB to me . if you keep it clean !!!! and the right crew to help you , gobies , inverts all the little things you need to keep your bed looking good. with a sand bed and 180 tank you will need LOTS of sand cleaners in the bed. BB tanks are real nice too , they are for most part purists who dont care about the sand , they just want their corals !!!!!! after a while in a BB tank the whole thing is covered in stuff anyways , zoas ,GSP, seem to grow real nice on the smooth surface , so its up to you ,,,if your looking for the so called "AQUARIUM" look , rock the sand bed !!!! if your not into the "look" and you dont really mind a ugly bottom tank ,,, BB is for you .................im bias lol....love my gobies & sand bed !! they both look great to me

 

[Hampton]

I've been working on my tank very, very hard the last couple of weeks. I move a moderately-deep sand bed from the DT to the 'fuge. I now have a shallow sand bed in the DT. I've also done away with carbon in the last few weeks, though not permanently. I've also begun to trickle my 'fuge water through a screen which is growing algae.

My 3-year old corals are beginning to show their best colors in 3 years. I attribute most to removing the deep sand from the display. I have too much flow in the main tank to not disturb the deep sand. My tank is designed with a floating live rock display, so, I need some sand in the bottom to hide the acrlylic work. I think I rather go bare, but don't like the look.

 

[Milkman78]

bare bottom is the way to go it is not hard to keep clean as long as you have alot of flow i only have 2 tiny piles of detritus to suck out once a week when coraline covers the bottom of the tank it looks great. as of sand beds never had one cant tell you about them i like my bare bottom

 

[puffster]

It all comes down to personal preferance. If you go bb it will probably be cheaper. If you want the deep sand bed, you will have to get the maintance creatures you are going to need to go with it. Shallow sand does not require as many. Either way, it is not weather what way is right or wich way is wrong, just do what you need to, to do it right. And as long as it is to your viewing pleasure, go for it. Reef it up man!!!

 

[the budman]

im amazed this didnt take a turn like the last bare bottom thread

 

[Briney Dave]

hampton, what does that algae screen look like and how did you seed it.
It sounds somewhat like a turf bed from a while back but most folks dumped for some reason

I have macro which does a good job but could be better

 

[Hampton]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14365914#post14365914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Briney Dave
hampton, what does that algae screen look like and how did you seed it.
It sounds somewhat like a turf bed from a while back but most folks dumped for some reason

I have macro which does a good job but could be better

I'll post a pic when I have a little more time. Picture a standard 'fuge with a skimmer to the left, Chaeto in the middle, and the return pump on the right. I have a 2X 18w fluorescent light hanging in the middle. Between the center and right, I have filter material which I change out once to twice a day (really makes a HUGE diff).

I added a diagonal section of egg crate for the scrubber. High on the left, resting on the skimmer, low on the right down to the water level. On top, I laid some plastic pool screen material. I added a spiral, 6500K high efficiency bulb with a cheap reflector ($20 total). The scrubber is seeded by nature, which isn't a problem with my live rock (from the Gulf, with tons of life in it).

My water flows from the overflow section (100% coast to coast) and down 3 tubes: Lowest to the skimmer. Second lowest also to the skimmer by a Y junction. Highest goes direct to the top of the screen (scrubber). Overflow from the skimmer goes to a $2 assy of PVC with holes drilled to sprinkle water across the top of the scrubber. The water trickles down the screen, left to right. As algae grows, more of the screen is clogged and the water travels further down to the right feeding a larger area of screen.

What is really awesome is that 100% of my overflow water goes through the screen before dumping into the sump. A relatively new change is that the left section, under the skimmer, is deep sand bed with very little flow over it. Anything that goes over the back goes into the skimmer, or into the screen, or into the Chaeto, or through two or all three and then through the filter material. The water is crystal clear.

Algae in my main tank is dying off. The Chaeto looks really nice with no red algae (for the first time in a long time). The filter material turns green every day. I rinse it thoroughly in tap water, shake it out, rinse it three times in RO/DI, dry it, then put it back in line to be used again.

Old system: Skimmer, Chaeto, return.
New system: Skimmer, scrubber, Chaeto, filter, return - Huge impact on coral color, but not growth (always been good).

I promise, pictures to follow.

 

[Hampton]

 

[Hampton]

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[Esquare]

You could always do a shallow sand bed in the DT and a remote DSB for denitrification.