Bare bottom vs sand

[duke62]

I want to go barebotom but im still on the fence. I want to use cutting board but really love the look of sand. Its a 180 and still havent really decided. Going 90 percent SPS which 50 percent being acros. What would you guys use WHO HAVE SPS DOMINANT TANKS. I like to hear mostly from SPS guys please

 

[Reefcowboy]

Go with sand...bare bottom tanks are not pleasing to look at. You can have a great sps tank with sand...ive seen WAY more successful sps tanks with sand than without.
I keep lps to "fill in gaps" in the tank and will sacrifice anything to get my acros to grow and color up nicely, except going bare bottom... A 180 can be such a thrill of a tank...unless you make it bare bottom and turn it to a tank from a fish store with corals for sale...thats what they remind me of.

 

[duromega]

DUKE the best of this hobby is that you have a piece of ocean in your house,
bare bottom, :scratch: doesn't look close to the sea to me

 

[duke62]

I dont care about looks. I care about optimal growth and color. But your right it looks alot better with sand. Alot more natural thats why im up in the air

 

[duromega]

I dont care about looks. I care about optimal growth and color. But your right it looks alot better with sand. Alot more natural thats why im up in the air

why don't you just go with a really thin sand bed 1/2 " is that possible ?

 

[prattreef]

I've never been a fan of barebottom tanks- it doesn't look right to me and I love wrasses too much--though obviously there are many spectacular ones. I've always preferred a shallow @ 2" bed that gets stirred regularly to help combat detritus accumulation.

 

[Waleedwale1]

I would go with a thin layer of sand like 2 inches with a lot of sand sifters to keep it clean like fighting conches.

 

[piranhapat]

Duke, I know what you mean. My 90 has low sand bed and 100% SPS tank. Either way SPS will need same water chemistry with or without sand. So don't look at it that way. Growth or color has nothing to do sand. But maintance with sand does. I gotten to dislike sand. I believe it's a trap for collecting just as much good bacteria as bad bacteria. Forget the looks of sand. SPS will take care of that. So my opinion bare bottom is way to go. As far as maintance goes it will be easier. And in long run it might be a better balance. Since bacteria will be in LR and not be collecting in sand bed. My upgrade is coming in fall and going sand less. Since last 10 years with sand. It's time to try without sand.

 

[MikeC]

Coming from someone who has a sps dominant tank and has had both.
I would never put sand back in my tank.

 

[TRUKINGNY]

I LOVE my barebottom tank honestly i dont even notice the sand isnt there i put tan color starboard down.. the plus for me is the cleaning!! all i do is suck up all the garbage off the starboard. also love having my MP10s on full blast... im also gonna do a SPS tank only have 3 in there now since its a new tank but if you ever wanna see it in person just lmk actually ill be posting updated pics to my thread today

 

[vio]

Coming from someone who has a sps dominant tank and has had both.
I would never put sand back in my tank.

+ 1000, Duke u have to choose between healthy tank, easy maintenance, low cost ($) easy control of Nitrate + PO4 and " look close to the sea ".
I got BB again , i said Bye,bye to " detritus factory" i stop using GFO. Now i dose Vodka .

 

[thirty6]

Coming from someone who has a sps dominant tank and has had both.
I would never put sand back in my tank.

Duke, I was going to suggest checking out mikes tank. He has a bare bottom setup and you would never know bc they tank looks tremendous. Mine is bare bottom, but no sps so not really in the mix on this one. I have found it easier to maintain, but my tank is only 6mo old

 

[peteyboyny]

What about glueing a layer of sand to some acrylic sheets? Easily removable for maintenance and cleaning.

 

[vio]

What about glueing a layer of sand to some acrylic sheets? Easily removable for maintenance and cleaning.

you may create a beast, under acrylic sheets, water have to flow 24/7, may be paint will be a dif. option ?

 

[peteyboyny]

you may create a beast, under acrylic sheets, water have to flow 24/7, may be paint will be a dif. option ?

It would be bare bottom only where rock sits on the glass. With some creative cutting, the acrylic could be removable for regular cleaning. I saw a thread on here a while back that talked about this. Just an idea.

 

[jerl77]

Bare bottom sucks

 

[Imbarrie]

I have seen people create elaborate back inserts for tanks, why not create the same for the bottom. You could adhere a few layers of sand and have contours that look natural yet be able to clean it during water changes.

 

[E.intheC]

Coming from someone who has a sps dominant tank and has had both.
I would never put sand back in my tank.

Mike's tank is amazing folks.

I can't stand sand in my tank personally, but I'm not a full-on SPS guy either. (Sorry Duke!!)

 

[peteyboyny]

Bare bottom sucks

There you go...Rainman Reefer speaks. Roflmao.

 

[thirty6]

I thought about a tan colored sheet of starboard for my tank, sort of dark for true sand but similar effect so not looking at glass bottom. Or flip tank over and paint the underside