The "How to go Barebottom thread."
- Thread starter SeanT
- Start date
skippyreef
New member
I am siphoning out the sand slowly every day until I get time to take the rock out and clean out the tank. Have others taken things completely down and refilled to get all the sand out?
sherm71tank
Premium Member
That's how I did it. I took fish and corals I wanted to save and put them in a temporary holding tank and cooked the rock. Then put it back in without the sand about 2 months later. I don't regret it either.
skippyreef
New member
DO you have pics Shermtank?
sherm71tank
Premium Member
I don't have any recent FTS but I have some pics.
sherm71tank
Premium Member
I only have one sps I recently acquired, a hydnophora but no pics of it yet. You can get the idea of how the coraline algae covers the glass from the pics though.
skippyreef
New member
Yes I do 
Did you have any Aiptasia survive the process? I have an infestation of these things and want to get them gone.
Did you have any Aiptasia survive the process? I have an infestation of these things and want to get them gone.
sherm71tank
Premium Member
I didn't have any of them that I know of when I cooked my rock. I had them once but I bought about 50 peppermints and haven't seen them since.
skippyreef
New member
how big is your tank bro?
sherm71tank
Premium Member
It's just a 90.
skippyreef
New member
Doing this on mine will be interesting because the tank is 270 gallons and I ahve to buy a few (lol) vessels to hold most of the water I need to drain out and then climb in it to scoop the sand and then try to get enough flow in there to lift what remains into the sump to siphon out or catch in filter socks
and then climb in it to scoop the sand and then try to get enough flow in there to lift what remains into the sump to siphon out or catch in filter socks sherm71tank
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13144068#post13144068 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skippyreef
Doing this on mine will be interesting because the tank is 270 gallons and I ahve to buy a few (lol) vessels to hold most of the water I need to drain out
This will be the easy part IMO. What the real problem will be is getting sufficient flow in the tank and in the right direction to make sure the detritus gets to your filtration to be removed. Remember, without the sandbed to absorb these nutrients your filter system has to be top notch or you will have problems very fast.
skippyreef
New member
I have two 6100 streams on the tank and two vortec pumps on the way. I have thought about changing out the return to a pressure rated pump for penductors from the Red Dragon I have on the tank.....or just buy more vortechs
sherm71tank
Premium Member
Sounds like a solid plan!
skippyreef
New member
I figure if I go ahead and get a total of four vortechs I can run them in reef crest mode and use the Streams to "Mop the Top" to keep the surface stirred up
skippyreef
New member
I am going to go some vessels today for the process. It occured to me that I can start cooking the rock even before I get all the sand out of the tank this morning LOL. I am taking most of it out to start it cooking.
I have some cinder blocks to place the totes on to make siphoning and changing easier on myself and plan on doing it in the utility room behind the tank. This takes up to two months to complete (this is usual estimates right) so I want to get on this now.
I have some cinder blocks to place the totes on to make siphoning and changing easier on myself and plan on doing it in the utility room behind the tank. This takes up to two months to complete (this is usual estimates right) so I want to get on this now.
skippyreef
New member
I am going to go some vessels today for the process. It occured to me that I can start cooking the rock even before I get all the sand out of the tank this morning LOL. I am taking most of it out to start it cooking.
I have some cinder blocks to place the totes on to make siphoning and changing easier on myself and plan on doing it in the utility room behind the tank. This takes up to two months to complete (this is usual estimates right) so I want to get on this now.
I have some cinder blocks to place the totes on to make siphoning and changing easier on myself and plan on doing it in the utility room behind the tank. This takes up to two months to complete (this is usual estimates right) so I want to get on this now.
ReefDreamz
New member
I would like to go bare bottom but I have a few questions. I will not be just scooping the sand out of my tank. I am upgrading from a 46 bowfront to a 36x18x25 70 gallon with a 29 gallon sump. My rock is covered in coral including zoas, ricordea, LPS, and SPS and it would be impossible to remove all this in order to cook the rock. How bad off would I be to just put some starboard down in the new tank and transfer over all the rock coral and all? What problems should I expect from doing this?
ReefDreamz
New member
bump for a great thread and my ? above!
sherm71tank
Premium Member
Just save the rock with the corals on it and cook the rest. You shouldn't have any problems so long as you seal the starboard so nothing can get under it and you have strong flow and filtration.
