The great bare bottom debate

jeff240gallon

jeff240gallon

New member
Over time I've been hearing about more people going bare bottom. Right now I have two inches in most areas, some spots have three and one spot has four. Is it worth taking out sand to make bare bottom? Backed up opinions would be greatly appreciated.




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What are you trying to achieve with a bare bottom tank?

I have an SPS bare bottom, I like it because I can absolutely blast the tank with flow and not worry about kicking up a sand storm. All of my detritus pools into one area in the back of the tank due to how I have my powerheads, making maintenance a breeze. For me it was more of a personal choice, I don't like vacuuming sandbeds. I also can have a bunch of encrusting sps on the bottom of my tank which looks nice (in my opinion).

The downside is that I love wrasses, and having a barebottom tank limits my choices a bit. A lot of the wrasses I want need a sandbed.

I don't think the arguments against a sandbed because it can become a nutrient bomb are a good argument, a properly maintained sandbed shouldn't be an issue.

Some people don't like the look of a bare bottom because it looks sterile. I think the answers you're going to get here are going to be all opinion based, and you're going to have to make your decision on whether or not you like the no-sand look. There doesn't seem to be hard evidence for or against a BB.
 
Well said. Only think is done sand wrasses can live in bare bottom tank I have a melanurus wrasses it's doing fine. If your going to try the sand burying ones. Try the more aggressive ones. Stay away from shyer ones like leopard wrasses.


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I really like the look of sand, I would never get rid of it. My tank ranges from a half inch to three. I just vacuum the hell out of it and let it settle where it wants.
 
Like others said and will say it depends on you and what your looking for. If your going to want a sps dominated tank and you aren't the type to vacuum the heck out of your sand There will be a higher risk of a tank crash.

If you have a low bioload you can get away with less work

If your like me and have 40 fish in my tank over 20 being anthias that need to be feed a lot. Having sps and sand is almost impossible.


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WatDatThing said:
Don't like BB. It looks unnatural and have to vacuum sediments all the time.

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The bare bottom doesn't cause the sediment (detritus). With a sand bed it's their you just can't see it. Over time if you don't clean it, it might cause your tank to crash. It's the whole reason people go bare. Yes sand looks nicer more natural, but if it worth the extra time and cleaning. I can't answer that for you, but I will say after 30 years keeping fish and 15 years keeping reef tanks , I finally went bare in my 265. I will admit I do miss the look of the sand, but I love the fact I can clean all the junk off the bottom of the tank in 2 mins


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With modern nutrient export equipment and techniques, I think this has now become essentially an aesthetic decision. Personally, I prefer sand.
 
Nice thing is that in the past several years there has been growing acceptance that there really isn't a "œright" way to keep a reef tank. There are of course things to consider that might make one option more attractive to some, but if you are aware of possible challenges then it's personal preference.

I consider sand one of these issues. I like BB personally. To me if trying to keep SPS reefcrest sand doesn't look natural (most reefcrests are rock bottom) although it's pretty. Plus the flow for sps colonies it's nice to not worry about sand for me. And I know that I would get lazy cleaning the sand. There are many times I am talking about issues local reefers are having and I ask what happens if they stir or better yet vacuum the sand. Many times there is sand they can't reach and when they suck some it it's absolutely disgusting. I see a lot of issues related to sand beds.

However if you just keep in mind the extra work needed, or even just being diligent about the sand you can sure have one and keep a fantastic tank! Just have to keep pros and cons in mind.
 
anthonys51 said:
Well said. Only think is done sand wrasses can live in bare bottom tank I have a melanurus wrasses it's doing fine. If your going to try the sand burying ones. Try the more aggressive ones. Stay away from shyer ones like leopard wrasses.


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I've wanted both a melanurus and a leopard wrasse, I'll reconsider a melanurus especially since I see them in all of my LFS' sps frag tanks without sand and they seem fat and happy. I know I probably couldn't get away with a leopard.
 
I got both. Leopard died in 3 days melanurus is living and growing 3 months. Hope that helps


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anthonys51 said:
Over time if you don't clean it, it might cause your tank to crash.
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Are we still perpetuating this myth?

With a properly balanced tank, not even a sandbed needs any real maintenance. The issue is not the sand; the issue is the tank being out of whack in some way, as-is the case with most issues. Countless tanks have been kept for decades with sand that never manual cleaning...

As for my opinion, I don't like bare bottom tanks at all. I like sand because that's what is in the ocean. It looks far more natural, hosts a plethora of life, provides greater options for animal diversity, and DOESN'T require any manual maintenance (because detritus is hidden and/or consumed by life). That said, it's all just personal opinion. I have no qualms with anyone enjoying BB!
 
I said might. Just like if you eat junk food you might get fat. Plenty of people don't but it might happen. Try not to just single of one sentence in a paragraph and harp on it. Or I might have to call it fake news :)


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anthonys51 said:
I said might. Just like if you eat junk food you might get fat. Plenty of people don't but it might happen. Try not to just single of one sentence in a paragraph and harp on it. Or I might have to call it fake news :)


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That sentence is literally the entire point of everything you said in that post. It's entirely in context! :)

Sand isn't "junk food", it's just sand.
 
Yes but sand collects dirt. Not cleaning the dirt depending on many factors can lead to tank crashing. Are you debating the fact that sand catches dirt marking it harder to see and clean.


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anthonys51 said:
Are you debating the fact that sand catches dirt marking it harder to see and clean.


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I'm saying that's a non-issue for a well-balanced tank, and IMO is an advantage of a sandbed, not a downside.

I really don't have anything else to add to the convo.
 
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