Shallow sand bed. Should I try again?

eskymick

Active member
In general, I've had great success with "œbare-bottom" SPS reefing. I do have a fast-maturing SPS reef in a 36" (135 gallon) rimless cube. With that background in mind, I feel it's time to do some thinning and re-aquascaping. I have the following concerns and questions:

I wish to provide a more "œminimalist" look to my reef (instead of a wall-to-wall" stack of live rocked topped with coral colonies) .. allowing my SPS colonies more room to grow while providing a more natural look. However, with a bare-bottom reef, a minimalist look will unveil the "œugliness" of a bare-bottom tank.

I do love the look of a sand bottom, and, on several occasions, I've tried putting in a shallow sand bed. Unfortunately, on every attempt, I ended up with a solid mass of dirty substrate. For that reason, I hesitate to do it again.

Perhaps I've been doing it all wrong, or even using the wrong kind of substrate. I now seek the advice of other reefers. Questions:

Is there a specific type of substrate which is a bit more resistant to solidifying and clumping?

Since I dose "œtwo-part", does that contribute to the clumping/solidifying problem?

For ease of maintenance, I prefer a shallow sand (or gravel) bed. Is there a specific size of the substrate which works best?

Any help, suggestions, and sharing of personal experiences will be greatly appreciated.
 
I am a beleiver that if it ain't broke don't fix it ! Bare bottom works best for SPS. But if you must have a substrate for appearnace sake I like a sand bed composed of 50/50 mix of Aragonite Caribsea and CaribSea Oolitic
 
If its really a minimal amount of sand, whats preventing you from regularly replacing it during water changes? You should be able to replace a couple cups of it each time. This way you keep your sand clean and export nutrients. You can even recycle the old sand by sterilizing it and re-introducing it to the tank once its clean.

-Charlie
 
Back
Top