G-money
Premium Member
Sand is in no way required for this. I have all these organisms in my sandless tank. In fact, IME bistleworms and the various crustaceans (pods, et al) associate with the rock far more than they do with sand. About all you will find in your sand that you may not find in rock are certain worms.<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7081505#post7081505 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RCS
One of the reasons I like my sand bed is simply because of what it produces: lots of microfauna and food for organisms in my tank. Living creatures like 'pods, mysids, bristleworms, etc. serve the dual purpose of providing a natural food source/supplement while keeping the tank clean at the same time by consuming excess food and waste.
I have all these things in my tank. Plenty of them.There's a multitude of 'pods, snails, mini-stars, worms, etc. that inhabit my sand bed. Nothing larger that disturbs the bed any more than that. Nitrates and phopshates are at zero after two years with no water changes, so I believe it's really more than just a pretty face.
As for your last two sentences, all I can say is "tick tock, tick tock".
I can only say that you have some heavy misconceptions about what it's like to run a tank without a sandbed.
If you like doing constant maintenance, lots of water changes, testing, etc etc., then more power to you.