Bare bottom rookie question

[Colgan10]

Did you get your cloudy water to clear up?

Yes everything cleared up nicely. I actually added a small uv sterilizer on the tank and it has been keeping the tank crystal clear. Tank has actually been coming along nicely and corals are doing good ans coraline algae is taking off.

 

[Marty's Reef]

Thanks for the update. I am going to look into a UV myself.

 

[PicassoClown04]

My father has been in the saltwater hobby for almost 40 years and I just got into it last year. He stopped doing sand bottoms about 20 years ago due to difficulty cleaning and sand shifting fish/ critters throwing it everywhere (he likes a clean look). We now have 3 BB tanks and it’s great! We’ve positioned powerheads to strategically collect detritus in the front left corner for easy vacuuming and my frags stay in place and fully exposed to light when I put them on the bottom of the tank. Currently, I’m growing a zoa garden to cover the glass bottom and I think it looks really cool and I definitely like it more than sand. Personally, I don’t medicate my tank or dose chemicals (I do dose alk and calcium and all that), as I do think that bb tanks are more sensitive to things like that because the beneficial bacteria can only live in the sump/ live rock and cannot take refuge from chemicals in the sand. Personally, patience and natural alternatives (manual removal/ getting livestock that eat the nuisance thing) have worked very well for us. IMO the tang and a good clean up crew will take care of any algae problem that you have. Good luck with your tank!

 

[Casket_Case]

I tried bare bottom and it didn’t work... the bottom of the tank got nasty and covered in algae n detritus and I just got a sandbed. Plus the sandbed helped with biological filtration.

 

[Colgan10]

I tried bare bottom and it didn’t work... the bottom of the tank got nasty and covered in algae n detritus and I just got a sandbed. Plus the sandbed helped with biological filtration.

Mine did that during the cycle now looks great and coraline algae is starting to grow so I think it will good when that and the corals start to grow on the bottom.

My father has been in the saltwater hobby for almost 40 years and I just got into it last year. He stopped doing sand bottoms about 20 years ago due to difficulty cleaning and sand shifting fish/ critters throwing it everywhere (he likes a clean look). We now have 3 BB tanks and it’s great! We’ve positioned powerheads to strategically collect detritus in the front left corner for easy vacuuming and my frags stay in place and fully exposed to light when I put them on the bottom of the tank. Currently, I’m growing a zoa garden to cover the glass bottom and I think it looks really cool and I definitely like it more than sand. Personally, I don’t medicate my tank or dose chemicals (I do dose alk and calcium and all that), as I do think that bb tanks are more sensitive to things like that because the beneficial bacteria can only live in the sump/ live rock and cannot take refuge from chemicals in the sand. Personally, patience and natural alternatives (manual removal/ getting livestock that eat the nuisance thing) have worked very well for us. IMO the tang and a good clean up crew will take care of any algae problem that you have. Good luck with your tank!

Yea I’m doing the same and I also quit dozing bacteria and just letting it do it’s thing and everything seems to be stabilizing.

 

[Colgan10]

Thanks for the update. I am going to look into a UV myself.

No problem def helps imo. Also almost six months now and my tank is getting way more stable.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hello I’m going to start off my saying I’ve been in reef keeping for 15 years. Had. 180 gallon sps dominated tank currently have a 300 gallon mixed reef and have just set up a Red Sea xl300 (80 gallon) barebottom tank.

This is my first barebottom I set it up in January with Caribbean Sea rock. I followed BRS hybrid method waited 4 months to cycle added one fish a white tail bristletooth tang. Couple weeks later I added test frags and everything was great started dosing bionic two part to maintain calcium and alk. Also added Microbacter clean. On Monday tank began looking cloudy and figured it was a bacteria bloom from adding Microbacterclean.

I personally i my experience haven’t had issues with bacteria blooms as I have with this barebottom I’ve always used live rock and sand. I placed a uv on the tank today noticed polyp extension was down on most of the frags especially the ORA pocillipora tested water

salt 35 ppm
Calcium 430
Alk 8.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 5ppm ans phosphate couldn’t detect

I’m guessing corals are retracted due to bacterial bloom hopefully I’ve will clear up water and corals will recover. I would appreciate advice or help of those with bare bottom experience I’ve read it takes a year for these types of tanks to stabilize. Just want to know is this is common with these types of tanks also was alittle worries I could of been calcium precipitation but had no clue how you know if it’s that or bacteria. Thanks again.

I'm going to take a wild guess, your pH is low, because of the bacteria consuming oxygen and thus carbon dioxide from bacteria effects dissolved oxygen and PH

 

[Colgan10]

I'm going to take a wild guess, your pH is low, because of the bacteria consuming oxygen and thus carbon dioxide from bacteria effects dissolved oxygen and PH

Could have been that was awhile back everything is doing fine now as far as polyp extentension and noticeable growth and encrusting. I will say I still have a couple frags that are pale or brown but color is coming back on most corals since bumping my alkalinity to 9.2 ans holding steady there. Phosphate was at .04.

 

[Acros]

I am 6 weeks into my BB 4 month BRS cycle. I emptied 1/4 bottle of MicroBactor7 earlier this week into the tank and have been having a bacterial bloom since then.
I am going to wait it out and see if it goes away on it’s own.

Any pointers/things to look out for later in the cycle or after the cycle is complete?

 

[Brandon3152134]

I run BB also, but I haven't seen a bloom only gha and other algae. Not a reef without some sort of algae. Don't give up on BB, personally I think it is easier, no sand sinks.

I have a very thin sand bed purely for looks. I blow it out with a turkey baster during water changes and I think it's been working really well. I had a 2 inch undisturbed sand bed in my 110 and it was extremely dirty.