thought on bare bottom tanks

[brokereefer]

im going to be resizing to a smaller tank for now until i get my house
just thoughts needed on anyone with experience with bare bottom tanks and benefits or non benefits actually thinkin of doing it for this new tank setup
thanks

 

[Gina McReeferson]

Well, you wouldn't be able to keep any sand dwelling fish/creatures. We have never had bare bottom, we're partial to the look of sand (and partial to sand dwelling fish), but I have seen beautiful bare bottom tanks before.

 

[penguinsix]

They are good if you are moving often or need really high flow, which was my case so I did it. I won't be doing it again though. With the high flow I had there was still a ton of detritus that would settle on the bottom, even with weekly water changes. The rockwork kept sliding until it hit the sides to keep it even stable. You also can't have nas snails so even more detritus will build up. and I missed the look of sand.

 

[this is me]

I've kept barebottom(starboard) and it was okay. But due to the look of the nasty coraline growing and chipping. I ended up putting the sand back on. I'm with Gina, the sand makes the tank look more natural.

 

[RiverReefer]

i think the barebottom looks much more modern and gives a different look than just every other tank....

 

[afboundguy]

Go with sand slacker... looks much better

 

[sbertomen]

My 37G cube is BB on starboard. The rockwork is just two towers zipped together. I had to move 3 months ago and it was relatively easy. I wish I could have critters who need sand sometimes, but all in all I am very happy with it. I do get some detrius build up - but it moves to only two spots, so easy to clean. For flow I have 2 tunze nanos and sometimes a Koralia 3, Deltec M600 skimmer, no sump, no top. The bottom is just about covered so you really can't tell it is bare anymore. I like it, my next tank will be BB too. I will try to get a fts soon.

btw - lots of people say that reefs look more natural with sand, but some of the best diving I have done was in Saba - just off St. Maartin. There is no sand on the island and always clear, so bb could be considered 'natural' or at least naturally occurring in limited instances.