Pondering getting rid of my sand

[Daddi0]

When I started my reefs last year, I thought sand was beneficial. Now it seems that perhaps I was wrong? I have 2 x 60 gallon reefs plumbed together with a 30g sump and 30g cryptic refugium. One tank has "special" grade sand and the other has crushed coral. I have over 200 pounds of live rock. My tanks are full (approx. 200 corals) and are very SPS heavy. I am not having any issues with water quality but am still wondering if I should maybe start siphoning out sand with my water changes and slowly work my way to bare bottom? Anyone have any thoughts?
Cheers! Mark

 

[manilaboy1vic]

i just went BB and im loving it.. i was having cyano issues.. i been running gfo/gac from the beginning of time too..

i removed mine all in one sitting... my tank is 68g.. i dont have sps tho... just softies, bubble tips and my scoly..

i got a 55g rubbermaid.. drained most of my water to it.. then put my rocks and livestock in the rubbermaid and then siphoned more water out.. and took a shop vac to it..

now the problem is.. if i see a spec of poo or anything, i wanna vac it immediately.. heh.. it really makes you want to keep the bb totally clean..

i have a 130 gyre and just put in an icecap 3k in today..

they are both on the same side.. one vertical one horizontal..

all debris in my tank must be suspended and down the overflow.. i cant stand debris on the BB

 

[RobZilla04]

IMO the substrate is an important part of the system and filtration process. Many articles written on the subject. Since so many folks are successful with BB due to advancements in the hobby it really becomes a preference.

 

[mcgyvr]

Sand is beneficial.. It vastly increases surface area in a tank allowing greater concentrations of bacteria which process nutrients,etc... It also provides a home for tons of creatures/infauna/microfauna that do work/processing of their own and more...

Everything has pros/cons though.. and yes there are other methods to achieve some of what a sand bed accomplishes so you do not NEED one..

But you are not wrong that a sand bed is beneficial..

 

[Subsea]

I will say it differently. Sand has 100 times the surface area, pound for pound, than live rock for biological filtration.

If your biological filter is sufficient without the sand, that is your tank. When someone tells me bare bottom is benificial, I ask, “How long has your tank been running that way”.

My tanks have been operating > 25 years.

 

[Uncle99]

That's a major investment your working with, one that currently works.
What made you think having a sand bed is wrong? What triggered the change in thinking.
If you decide to go with no sand, I'd go real real slow, you may upset the bio balance you have worked for, an crash!

This last rebuild I did, I promised myself this time I would not continue to push the envelope
If it works great, there's a reaon...

 

[Daddi0]

I was reading about Copps and JF and how long term perhaps a bare bottom tank is cleaner/better

 

[Joe0813]

im not a fan of BB tanks... i personally think they look kind of ugly. the ocean has sand so shouldnt our tanks... I have seen some awesome tanks that were BB. just not a fan of the no sand look

 

[manilaboy1vic]

my tank has been running for 3 yrs or so.... 68g tank,, like i said, i removed my sand all at once.. and the fish are not gasping for air at the top of the tank.. meaning.. theres no ungodly amounts of ammonia due to removing the sand..

do you have a lot of Live rock?? a sump??

i have LR in the display and sump..

if your tank is a few years old and you have LR you should definately have a good amount of beneficial bacteria..

my gf made a comment a couple days post sand removal and shes not well educated in reef keeping.. shes like, the corals look better..

for about a year, all i had in my tank was a kole and a clown fish. fed once a day.. that tang pooped constantly.. my sand was more harmful than it was beneficial, and i did vac the sand on WC day...

the sand is just a sewer for all your fish poop..

my sand was disgusting, filled with poop and cyano.. good riddance to sand and the kole (gave it to the LFS)