<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7994791#post7994791 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChinChek787
Really it should be called the Berlin method because that is how they system is being run. Good amount of liverock, no sand, good skimming with high flow, and strong lighting. The only real difference is the way calcium is added as many use calcium reactors instead of doseing kalk. To be honest I think adding kalk would be better as it is theorized to help lower phosphate levels, another thing that people who go BB like to achieve.
BB tanks have less calcium/alkalinity demands due to the lack of processes typically found in a sand bed.
BB tanks should only be attempted if you can meet a few requirements;
1) LOTS OF FLOW. I have about 69x turnover in my tank. This keeps detritus in suspension and eventually gets it to my protein skimmer where it can be extracted.
2) STRONG PROTEIN SKIMMING. My skimmer is weak for a BB tank, but so far seems to be ok. You need a strong skimmer capable of skimming wet. We are talking strong, large protein skimmers. Not hang-on-back models. Becketts are the preferred choice, but I have not yet switched from my ASM needle wheel
3) GOOD ROCK WORK AQUASCAPING FOR FLOW. Your rocks should be arranged such that flow can get UNDERNEATH them and keep detritus from settling there. Typically people would place large flat pieces as their base items because they are sturdy, in BB, we flip it, and place pointy pieces on the bottom because they have very few points touching the bare bottom and impeading flow.
If you meet these requirements you will have very little work for yourself. The strong and effective flow plus wet protein skimming will remove almost all of the harmful detritus before it can break down in your tank. Whatever is left could be removed by several methods (just siphon it out during regular water changes, or stir it up with powerheads and use a TEMPORARY filter sock on your return to pick it up).
BB, however, will allow your tank to be run INDEFINITELY because there is nothing being loaded or filled up over years and years.
The biggest BB complaint I see from non-BB users is that its "ugly". To them I say, faux-sand BB. My tank uses a faux-sand bottom where 2 part clear epoxy (envirotex) from a craft store was mixed with sand, ontop of a cutting board, to create a substrate which is hard as a rock, but looks just like sand.
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/85-full-tank-REDO.jpg
