sand vs no sand pros and cons

[meazy]

hi guys i am new been running my 125 gal for a year now i have crused coral and i keep having problems with cyano and this gray black stuff when i siphen and the sand is not white like it was when i first but it their
so the question is sand or no sand???? i would like your thought of this the pros the cons thx guys

 

[peppie]

If you search Barebottom on this site you will get alot of information on barebottom. There is a thread (Barebottom club)

 

[benzreef]

I have had shallow sand beds in all of my tanks until a few years ago with my current tank. I loved the natural look of the sand, but I am more in love with the lower nutrient levels of a barebottom setup. The bottom glass will be covered in coralline algae in no time. I do miss the look of the sand though. I always get comments like "where's the sand?" then I always have to explain why there is none. All in all, I will be sticking with the barebottom setup with all of my future tanks. Every setup is different though. Have you tried stepping up the current flowing to bottom of the tank? That may agitate it just enough to be aesthetic.

 

[duncantse]

hi guys i am new been running my 125 gal for a year now i have crused coral and i keep having problems with cyano and this gray black stuff when i siphen and the sand is not white like it was when i first but it their
so the question is sand or no sand???? i would like your thought of this the pros the cons thx guys

Hmmm, you mentioned the red stuff and black stuff. This is probably cyano. I myself have crushed coral too and I have also experienced red and black cyano. This is how I got rid of it:

1.Reduce feeding (Once a day would be fine)
2.Reduce lights (I leave mine on for 6 hours including actinics)
3.During water change, siphone all the cyano out.

Once all the cyano cleared up, the sandbed looked very nice.

 

[meazy]

thx for all the help i will check out the post for bb tanks

 

[Lamball1]

whatever would happen, i'd always go for a sandbed.
I like a realistc look to my tank.