Are you happier with substrate or "bare bottom"

[reefracer]

I like the "look" of substrate in a tank w/exception of brown glass edges, I like the substrate creatures, but what I do not like is the build up of "dirt, fish poop, etc" and am starting to have some thoughts about taking out the substrate and going "bare bottom". Should I be so bold? What do you think? How many of you have done both ways and what is your preference and why?

 

[StirCrayzy]

Umm, i dont recall seeing many bare bottom tanks online or otherwise , except QT or LFS sale tanks.
Depending on your bioload and Live Rock surface area, your bacteria colony may not react well to that switch.
I cant think of any real benefit of a bare bottom, i think its ugly, unnatural, and you NEED that poop collection in the sand.
If the poop/dirt is noticable, i would suggest reevaluating your CUC.
Personally, I prefer shallow sand (2" ish) to deep, only because i like maximum viewing area, but deep vs shallow is a whole other debate.

 

[Reefmack]

While I prefer the look of substrate, I've seen several BB tanks, and there are some good benefits to a BB tank. The bottom usually gets covered in coralline, so it does end up looking a bit more natural:

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...1-bare-bottom-tanks-keeping-bottom-clean.html

 

[Frankie]

Im a shallow sand bed kinda reefer.
I fixed the spelling in the title btw

 

[Reddog170]

I really like the bare bottom. We went that way with Jon's 40.

 

[GrendelPrime]

i had a bb yrs ago before my tank poped a seal and leaked but now i run a shallow sand bed and real dig it

 

[Kovu]

I like shallow sand beds my self

 

[Yaten13]

I like the look and feel of a shallow sand bed. I generally put eggcrate down, then rock, then cover the remaining eggcrate with about 1 inch of sand. Seems like a bare bottom tank would be at a much greater risk for cracks if something falls. I've had some spills in my tank, but the eggcrate / sandbed can cushion a decent bump. Also poop in sand is more subtle than poop on glass. Plus I tend to put new frags in the sand for a few days when I get them. 1 to acclimate them to my lighting gently, and 2 until I have time to deal with them. Sand is nice to just stick plugs into also for this purpose.

OT: Have you guys SEEN how much a well fed turbo snail poops? I bought two and a day later my tank was COVERED in what looked like rat turds.

Edit: reading above and finding a few pics from google, A coralline bottom does look pretty awesome.

 

[Yaten13]

./rm

 

[LPS_Blasto]

Shallow sand bed in the tank for aesthetics. DSB in the refugium for nutrient export.

 

[Smokey301]

I went 3-4 inch bed on mine, sand on one side crushed coral on the other, kinda mixes in the center.... I was trying to give a good enviorment for several different types of life in the hopes of comming as close to possible to recreating a natural food web

 

[kathywithbirds]

I LOVE my queen conch. My favorite critter in there. I have a shallow SB with eggcrate under, so it's like 2 to 4 inch drifts.

 

[Pez]

crushed coral all the way!

 

[mbdave]

I like shallow sand bed, you do get many benefits including some nitrate reduction, a wider assortment of fish you can keep, and it just looks good. Some talk of a build up in the bed and that is usually a sign of poor circulation, and maybe a more open rockscape is needed.
Dave

 

[map95003]

I've done BB and shallow sand bed. It's easy to keep the BB clean, but IMO, it's just ugly, even after years and it's covered with coraline algae it still looked ugly...but you could get away with it in pics if you shoot from an angle where the BB is not visible. In my current tank, I have a 1.5-2" sand bed, with a 6-7" DSB in the fuge. Now that I have a sand bed, I can't believe I kept a BB for 4 years, and I found that it's not that hard keeping a sandbed clean either.

 

[Conrad25]

4 inch sand! Bare bottom is just to reflective and than you cant put anything on the bottom by just pushing it into the sand like new frags or anything than. Also my clam like the sand along with the snails

 

[sk8rdn]

Love the look of a bare bottom... and in tanks too Lol.

But for inhabitant purposes I always go with a shallow sand bed.

 

[PIMPALA]

I saw a tank last summer with a nice compromise.


he made a sand/epoxy mixture, put it on a piece of acrylic cut the exact same size as the bottom of his tank, and siliconed it in place where the sand bed would be. it looked exactly like a thin sand bed (because it was) and he used a really nice pink fiji fine granule sand, but it was all glued down.

when i asked why he did it... he said because he had LOTS of flow in the tank (sps dominated) and no matter what substrate he tried, it did nothing bu blow all over the place. he said he hated the look of a glass bottom tank, even when painted black or whatever, because its A) not natural looking. ever. and B) nothing you put in the tank (like rocks or corals) really sit very well on smooth glass. they need a little grip, or they slip around and move too much.


seemed like an almost perfect idea.

 

[yankieman]

I have done both but find a 2 to 4 inch sand bottom to look much better and no big deal on cleaning ,, jmo