Am I better off going bare bottom

Dilan Patel · Oct 19, 2017

Ok so heres the deal I am getting a new tank sorry for the repetivness of this statement lol. i am wondering about sand. So I was planning on doing black sand but its magnetic so maybe not. Then I might do white sand I need it heavy enough not to blow around by gyres any suggestions. Or my other option is bare bottom. thoughts what do you prefer for a reef tank of sps and lps. I want to keep wrasses and firefish I know that will be a problem right?

Radman73 · Oct 19, 2017

Dilan Patel said:
Ok so heres the deal I am getting a new tank sorry for the repetivness of this statement lol. i am wondering about sand. So I was planning on doing black sand but its magnetic so maybe not. Then I might do white sand I need it heavy enough not to blow around by gyres any suggestions. Or my other option is bare bottom. thoughts what do you prefer for a reef tank of sps and lps. I want to keep wrasses and firefish I know that will be a problem right?

Depends on the wrasses. Could be a problem for gobies if you want one. Look at sea floor special grade sand. I've used that on the last 2 tanks. Fine enough that sand burrowers will like it but heavy enough that flow doesn't create a sand storm.

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 19, 2017

Dilan Patel said:
Ok so heres the deal I am getting a new tank sorry for the repetivness of this statement lol. i am wondering about sand. So I was planning on doing black sand but its magnetic so maybe not. Then I might do white sand I need it heavy enough not to blow around by gyres any suggestions. Or my other option is bare bottom. thoughts what do you prefer for a reef tank of sps and lps. I want to keep wrasses and firefish I know that will be a problem right?

There's benefits to both however I have never heard of anyone liking black sand long term in a reef, I'm sure it's possible to have a good experience with it but it may require more maintenance to do so.

I personally like my sand bed, it is made up exclusively of CaribSea Arag-alive fiji pink and I have never had issues with it blowing around even with gobies, jawfishes, and melanurus wrasse moving it around and a powerhead in the tank (it's a 20 gallon IM Nano). If you're worried about it moving too much with the gyre's, maybe try a coarser sand mixed with crushed coral. I believe CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand is a good alternative and has a coarser grain size.

Dilan Patel · Oct 19, 2017

I wouldn't mind bare bottom since I have a sandbed rn and it is blowing around...but it also allows me to keep wrasses and firefish. i dont really want sand sifting gobys but maybe a dragonet some firefish and some flasher wrasses and some of the other types of wrasses. I do have a melanarus wrasse.

Oceanwave45 · Oct 19, 2017

I have this - never had any issues!

Reefltx · Oct 19, 2017

Dilan Patel said:
Ok so heres the deal I am getting a new tank sorry for the repetivness of this statement lol. i am wondering about sand. So I was planning on doing black sand but its magnetic so maybe not. Then I might do white sand I need it heavy enough not to blow around by gyres any suggestions. Or my other option is bare bottom. thoughts what do you prefer for a reef tank of sps and lps. I want to keep wrasses and firefish I know that will be a problem right?

I did black sand when I first started, hated it after a while. Tried Fiji pink on my second tank, it looked great but too fine. I settled on special grade from CaribSea.