Fish only with sand?

[kpk]

Hey all.

My mother in law has a tank that will have a few aggressive fish and some tangs etc. Right now it's barebottome, but I think nitrates would be way better with sand. Is this a bad idea w/o cleaning crew? I'm trying to talk to her about making it more reefish with non predatory fish. What do you guys think?

thanks,
Kyle

 

[reefergeorge]

I don't think a sandbed will help nitrates unless it is a dsb 4"+

 

[Recty]

Yeah, sand beds between 1" and 3" actually just accumulate detritus and end up producing even more nitrates. You either want a really deep one, 3+ or else just a shallow one under an inch.

 

[lesleybird]

Hi. I think the sand looks a little better than bare bottom. Don't really think the sand will help reduce nitrates.....I think a lot of live rock with its tiny pore spaces helps the nitrates because some books that I have read that it happens deep inside the pore spaces where some anerobic bacteria live. A skimmer also helps. I use the 1 to 2 mm. size agronite sand because I can vacuum it with the Phyton water change hose into the sink without it picking up much of the sand. I do put a fine fish net in the sink just in case because one does get a small amount of silt/sand out each time but not much. I guess I just like sucking the crud out every two weeks. Makes me feel that the tank is cleaner. It does suck out a few of the good sand worms, but not too many. Lesley

 

[limitdown]

I run my 200g FO with a bare bottom.
I aim 3,000gph of powerheads at the bottom to get any detritus into the overflow and into my sump&skimmer. Overall, I feel that I'm able to keep the water much cleaner this way.

 

[techigirl78]

Could you maybe give a few more details on the tank? List of all fish, size of tank, current setup (amount of live rock, refugium, skimmer, etc.)?

Also, before trying to get her to switch to reef fish, I would find out her favorite fish or two and go from that point. That would at least allow her to keep what she really likes and make her more open to suggestions.