Tank Bottom Question

[fftfk]

I'm setting up a cube tank and have read a number of the threads concerning bare bottom tanks vs. tanks with a substrate. I like the idea of a bare bottom tank for cleaning purposes but don't like the look of them. I just think have a substrate looks more natural and also allows the keeping of more interesting fish.

Do you think using Marco Rock Cut Rocks along with sand to fill in the openings between the rocks would be a viable way to have a substrate while at the same time minimizing the cleaning concerns of a full sand/substrate bottom?

Here is the rock I'm referring to:

http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/key-largo-prime-cuts-by-the-pound/

Another question...I've never used a glass tank (my last was acrylic) and am worried about falling rock, etc. cracking the bottom of the tank. Would putting a layer of starboard on the bottom of the tank and then layering sand/rock over it protect the glass? Any downsides to doing this?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[thegrun]

Besides looking better to me, I actually think a tank with a sand bottom is easier to keep clean, bare bottom tanks show every little speck of detritus. IMHO the best thing to do to both protect the bottom of your tank and help make the rock more stable is to lay a piece of egg crate (ceiling light diffuser grille) down across the entire bottom of the tank before you add the rock and then sand. The little squares catch projections from the rock and lock them in place, keeping them from sliding around. When you place rock directly on the glass or acrylic bottom, over time the sand shifts, animals burrow, the weight of the rock pushing down all cause the rocks to shift. The egg crate helps prevent the rock from moving. A good cleanup crew will be able to clean between the plastic grid holes.

 

[SGT_York]

The benefit to a bare bottom tank is you can see the detrius and get it out. Preferrably with flow and your skimmer but by hand if need be.

 

[E46Twist]

Ups and downs to both. My new preference is BB I have a ton of flow, a lot of which is around the bottom of the tank. It is extremely easy to keep clean and I can feed a lot and not worry about the waste settling. The look is the only draw back I see and it has grown on me.

 

[Saltliquid]

Here are my two tanks with no substrate in either, just life everywhere and spreads out and lives attached to the glass. There are so many life forms that enjoy low light at the bottom of your tank! I have five multi level substrates externally that remain perfectly clean and working hard, I would never have one in an aquarium again. There are no ups to having substrates in the aquarium, as time goes on.

This tank only has 10 watt led fluro tubes over it!

 

[A sea K]

Here is an idea I saw in a build thread, A faux sand bottom. Maybe the best of both and something to consider.
Here is the thread and the sand bed info starts around post #23.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2420434

 

[E46Twist]

Liquidg I want to know more!

 

[jrp1588]

The problem with starboard, faux sand bottoms, and the cut rock idea you have is that they'll all eventually grow over with coraline algae. That'll take away the visual contrast, and you'll be left with a whole lot of pink and purple that'll all kind of blend together.

 

[supra400hptt]

I did a faux sand bed on mine. Sand has always been a problem in my tanks with nutrients. It was a test since I'm moving in a few months, but I like the idea. I run two MP40s on the back at the bottom to move detritus from under the rocks which lets me siphon it out around the edges easily.

Initially I poured the epoxy on acrylic and added the sand. That looked good, however the epoxy warped the acrylic in the corners. So I ended up putting it in upside down so the smooth part of the acrylic was up. Still looked good and actually is a better way since I can clean the acrylic just like I do the glass. I think if I'd left the sand side up it would have ended up looking bad and would have been hard to clean. I think for version two, I'll go get a piece of glass cut and epoxy the sand to one side. Then flip it like I did with the acrylic so I get the sand look and the ease of cleaning glass.

As far as the question of rock and sand covering the bottom, I wouldn't do it. I move every three years and every time in the past when I've broke down my tank with a full sand bed and significant amount of rock it's been completely nasty. I'm on the bare bottom side from now on.

I always put down something like acrylic or hdpe on my tank bottom, even with my faux sand bed. Sitting rock directly on the glass is going to scratch or make pits which would drive me crazy whether I could see it or not. Also offers some protection from dropping a rock.