Bare bottom or not?

[Misha]

Hey

I'm thinking about removing the sand (crushed corals) from my nano tank, I think it will be easier to control detritus, algae and I am making a zoa garden on the bottom that sometimes closes up because of the algae from the sand.

My concerns are:

-Does the bottom need to be painted and/or plastic?

-Will a small corner of sand be enough for my 2 nassarius snails

-I've got a big turbo snail that sometimes falls from my frag rack

-Does my six line need sand? I found him sleeping always in the rocks

 

[Empire]

You barely have any sand - have you tried getting more snails?

 

[Jon Fishman]

You are fine to remove. I plan on removing the sand from my Octopus tank to make maintenance easier

 

[Misha]

You barely have any sand - have you tried getting more snails?

At the back it's around an inch, the front is indeed almost none because I removed a lot when I had dino's. I did not tried more snails, my cuc: big turbo snail, 2 nassarius, 4 hermits and a bunch of stomatella's

 

[Misha]

You are fine to remove. I plan on removing the sand from my Octopus tank to make maintenance easier

Do you have snails that "need" sand? And are you going to cover the bottom in case of rocks falling?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Do you have snails that "need" sand? And are you going to cover the bottom in case of rocks falling?

I have some sort of sand sifting snails that definitely need sand. I plan on letting the octopus eat them though. If you only have a couple, I would just see what happens...... I have probably 40 snails in my BB tank, but none are sand sifters.

 

[Empire]

i'd cover with starboard. however, if you remove your sand, and remove your rocks to put in the starboard, i fear you'll disturb your tank stability and might cause a mini cycle. if you decide to go down this road, i'd have at least 50% of new water on standby.

 

[Misha]

Is the starboard really necessary? I looked it up and know what it is but does it have other names? I can't find it in the stores online in my country.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Is the starboard really necessary? I looked it up and know what it is but does it have other names? I can't find it in the stores online in my country.

Reinforced Fiberglass panel (RFP) or “PVC Sheets” work too. Pricey

It is not necessary though

 

[ca1ore]

..... six line is not a sand sleeper.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

No need for sand for the sixline.