BB comign to an END?

[Yarr]

Seems certain trends of late are for people to abandon the BB idea and return to running substrate of some kind.

Is it all just a fad ?? simple asthetics or requirements of animals that people are keeping ?

Enqurirings minds want to know!

me?? i still believe in BB.

[Icebox]

I wish I knew the answer to this.

[Little Luey]

For me it was difficult to keep my sand clean, too much algie and when I went ot vacum the sand I could not do this very good. Some times I miss the sand in my tank and my sand shifting gobies, but when it is time for a WC I love my tank.
Another thing that converted me was when I took the sand out of the tank it had a smell, my wife can certanly be a bloodhound and with BB she never complains about the tank smeling.
I really do not think I'll go back.

[daveat]

i prefer the look of a sand bottom, although i do not like DSB's. i have a very thin (1") layer of sand but it is just for aesthetics. and as far as algae goes i've got 2 turbos in 24 gallons-plenty of control

[Woodstock]

Over the years I've went from Crshed coral bottom, to DSB, to BB, to SSB, back to BB, now I'm back to medium sand bed. It all depends on your reasonings. BB is great because it allows for a much cleaner tank and super high flow rates...both of which I don't need. I have LPS, softies and xenia which all like nutrients in the water column and high flow would tear their flesh. I also like the nitrAte reduction of the anearobic bacteria that live in the bottom 2" of the sand bed... with a BB my nitrAtes were around 10ppm (sometimes 15ppm if I skipped a water change) now they are 5 - 10ppm and dropping. I also like keeping sand loving gobies and the look of sand is pretty..... those are my reasonings for switching back to a sand bed.

My 3" sand bed is now a few months old. I switched from BB to a sand bed for several reasons (noted above) knowing all the while that the mainteance would increase. No problem! I simply stir up the top 1/2" during water changes and vacuum up any diterus that floats out (keeping the siphon tube about an inch above the sand to prevent sucking up sand). I also have a sand bed cleaner crew (nassarius snails, certith snails, conch, and gobies). I had a slight cyno bloom at first but now my sand bed stays clean and white.

[Reelheel]

I went BB mostly out of convenience...it's a lot easier without sand, especially in larger systems. I"m always moving tanks/systems around and it's much easier without sand.
It also works well in an SPS dominant system, being able to achieve high flow rates. Like Doni said, though, there's nothing wrong with sand...it definitely has its benefits, and looks good too if it's clean.

[cheeks69]

The only problem IMO with sand is the eventual binding of po4. I have always used a SB for aesthetic reasons and the diversity of the fauna and the fact that it keeps my nitrates unmeasurable. Even though there are some great lookin BB tanks I'll stick to the sand. I've never had a problem with detritus buildup my fauna/infauna have always taken care of that and my sand always looks great.

[Dumpster Dave]

i like the look of the sand on the bottom... and of course the critters who care for it!

[mps9506]

I don't miss the sand, I don't miss the look, in fact the newest 144 we setup BB doesn't even get the typical questions about where the sand is. Think in the larger tank with all the rock it isn't as obvious, or maybe it's because it is a half circle.

But, nope, you won't see me going back.

[cheeks69]

Originally Posted by mps9506

I don't miss the sand, I don't miss the look, in fact the newest 144 we setup BB doesn't even get the typical questions about where the sand is. Think in the larger tank with all the rock it isn't as obvious, or maybe it's because it is a half circle.

But, nope, you won't see me going back.

Wouldn't having too much rock create a detritus accumulation problem even having a tremendous amount of flow ?

[reefjitsu]

I like the philosphy of BB, but I wanted something to cover the bottom. I put in large sized CC, LR rubble and shells. Just barely enough to cover the bottom. I was worried about detritus being trapped at first, but it has not been a problem. In fact it is very clean and due to the high flow functions the same as BB. It would be quite easy to vaccum if I need to.

[ScottT1980]

I always felt like a DSB allowed me to be a bit lazier (at least in the first few years) and keep costs down. I may be wrong or misinformed, but I always felt like softies and a refugium provided, at least in my instance, a neccesary sink for a large percentage of the phosphates. Having never taken a tank past 3-4 years, I can't speak to long term effects.

Of course, it is all anecdotal...

When the trend goes back to plenums, boy will I really start grinning at the irony.

Take er easy
Scott T.

[Witfull]

i just heard of a thing called an "under gravel filter" they are supposed to rock...i cant wait to get one~

[Jerome]

If BB is coming to an end I glad I am out of the loop. It will be difficult to put all that sand back in.

[Yarr]

id agree. ive even seen BB setups with sandoloving fish in them. living quite happily.. so.. aslong as the livestock is fine and the water params are good.. who cares i say

me.. ill be sticking to BB for a fair while to come yet.