New hobbyist with a bare bottom

[cjone234]

Hey everyone, I kinda found you by accident, and I'm so glad I did. Lemme ask opinions on my tank.
It's only 40 gallons, and I have a Coralife 65 superskimmer, Fluval 303, and two powerheads for water movement. Glo T5 lighting system, 40 lbs live rock, and no substrate. I asked Mike at Tropical Island Aquarium (so knowledgeable), and he said that a bare bottom tank was perfectly acceptable in this situation as long as there are no "dead spots" in the tank regarding water movement.
I have two false percula, some blue leg hermits, and some turbo and zebra snails.
After talking with him, and some guys at Pets Warehouse, they all came to the conclusion that I could easily sustain soft corals, mushrooms, and zoanthids in my tank. I'm so psyched to start.
My long, drawn out question is, I am having a love affair with the look of a black sand bed. Should I wait and transfer everything to another tank, and put in the bed, or am I screwed with the bare bottom? I'm thinking that with a bare bottom, I will never get to enjoy some things that require a sand bed like those beautiful clams.
Thank you for putting up with this long windedness. I'm very eager to read your opinions. I'll be on here a lot since I just joined.

 

[Staaan]

If you go out and buy live black sand - this will most likely cause a cycle (a spike in ammonia which will have to be slowly negated by beneficial bacteria and well the growth of even more bacteria)

So you would have to wait any where from a few days to a few weeks...

I'm not totally sure if adding "dead" sand would really cause a cycle at all, cause there is no die-off bacteria.. well at least there shouldn't be.

If you could get dead sand and then seed it with about a cup full of live sand from an established tank that might offset any additional cycle that could arise.

And IMO a sandbed (as long as it doesn't get stirred up) will only help you have success in a reef tank. I also thinks it just gives more authenticity to the tank.

Anyway.. good luck!

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

Welcome to MR.. BB alot easier to maintain, but as you stated you cannot put certain creatures in, +1 on you. Flow is a absolute must for any reef setup, it will help prevent the dreaded cyano attack. Umm my concern would be that canister filter... filters contain alot of media like ceramic rings that need to be cleaned often and for a reef setup should not be used for a filtration device, but used only like a reactor type(just carbon). I would look into a small sump perharps. Look at FallenLordz 55gallon thread. Easy and wonderfull to look at for ideas. Your lighting is fine. My rule for lighting is 5Watts per gallon. Some argue, some agree. Others will chime in. Have fun and please be patient in this hobby!! See you on the threads!!

 

[kerryadelfred]

Hello,

I m Kerry Adelfred. Today I use this forum first. I learn very much from your forum. Please give me more guidance related to this topic only. I am very happy after using this forum.

Thank You.




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