Bare bottom, sand, or ??
- Thread starter ddaddy2420
- Start date
- Tagged users None
SPS2020
2500 Club Member
Many valid replies. You should outline your tank goal(s) first and then decide. BB is great for an all SPS tank with lots of Acropora, etc. That is the current direction I'm going with my new EXT 100 build. I have had BB for at least 20 years and prefer that over dealing with cleaning sand and having it blow everywhere in a high flow system. Sand looks better and provides filtration as others have mentioned. So choose a goal, make a decision and be patient regardless.
bigjgmac
Active Member
Mind if I ask how you would go with a mixed reef? I do love the sticks - acros, monits, and stylos in particular, but I have no intention of getting getting rid of either my softies (zoas and ricordea) or my LPS got a slew of different ones.
I have ordered at Waterbox 100 gallon FRAG series which is 48" W x 24" D x 16" deep. I would say with this setup my Vortechs are going to be about 10" off the bottom (two MP10 on one side and one MP40 on the other) I may be begging for a sandstorm.
Any htoughts on the matter? I'm waffling too much on my decision...
SPS2020
2500 Club Member
At 16" total height, you might find it difficult to place certain SPS (especially Acros) since they can be somewhat fast growers and frequently reach the surface of the water in a short time (think year or more down the road). Also, you are looking at different "zones" of flow for each type (SPS versus LPS). The zoas will do fine on the bottom, regardless. Placement will be key, IMO. You could always remove the sand and put it in the refugium (for filtration). I know that takes away from the aesthetics though. Gyres may help since they are going to blow across the top and circulate back in not as forceful manner; thereby creating good flow up top for SPS and not as intense for everything else. Just throwing some things out there...your mileage may vary! Good luck and looking forward to seeing the build thread!
HaveFishWillTravel
Active Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2020
- Messages
- 340
- Reaction score
- 341
Hi there, one of my first saltwater tanks had black sand and it looked really cool, but came with several problems. Certain black sand is filled with lead, iron, nickel, copper and other heavy metals and is magnetic. The sand will stick to your impellers on your pumps and your glass cleaning magnets. Sand in your impellers and glass cleaners is not good (sand on the magnets scratches the glass). I eventually changed it out for white sand and that worked for a couple of years. Then, it started to fill up with algae and it looked mostly brown. I think it’s important that you don’t make it too deep so you can siphon out what you don’t want in the substrate. I ended up scooping most of it out and I added ‘live’ sand. The next thing that happened was I think I created the perfect habitat for bristle worms because it was right after that that I had a terrible bristle worm infestation. All of these worms plus, the bacteria in the substrate caused my Nitrates to climb and I had a much harder time controlling them. I never regained a balance and my tank, tanked...
For my new REDSEA XL200 Reefer, I opted for BB. I love it! The rock crumbles and drops pieces of rock and debris that can easily be siphoned up on water change day leaving some small rock debris and not entirely destroying the entire habitat for my CUC. There truly are many options for ‘sand or no sand’. Once you make a decision, You are somewhat locked in, but it is not impossible to change things if you want to. Personal preference and how much maintenance you want to do are pretty much the determining factors. Hope this helped. Best of luck! JL
HaveFishWillTravel
Active Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2020
- Messages
- 340
- Reaction score
- 341
I totally get it. I have had saltwater and freshwater aquariums for years. I have had very good luck and total disasters. Every tank is different and every person who maintains the tanks does and looks for different things. I am much more on the side of being a perfectionist. Wanting to keep things organic and as natural like the sea as possible. But, when you have 20 gallons to work with, sometimes that is almost impossible and you have to go with Door #2.
Clyde Nowlan
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2018
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 13
If bare bottom on tank, I would do sand in the refugium.
TheDallasCollector
Community Member
This seems like the best balance for me — sand and hearty corals & leathers in the refugium. I’m setting up 300 gallon DT, with a 100 gallon Sump / Refugium (which is 72” long). If I did a bare bottom DT, in theory I could creat plenty of surface area for bacteria with a ton of corals and sand in the refugium, wouldn’t you all agree?
Mywifeisgunnakillme
Valuable Member
Another option is to just go with crushed coral very thin. Add some sand sifting fish and/or inverts. You get the white natural look, the fish/inverts stir it up enough, and the crush coral allows very heavy flow.
Smarkow
Valuable Member
Display refugiums are the best. Also the "It's not another fish tank, it's just the filter for the main tank" argument is one of the few I've ever found to be successful with the Mrs.
TheDallasCollector
Community Member
I’m 1000% with you on that lol. I’m doing an in-wall set up so fortunately I have a hidden fish room that she will never go into so in theory my refugium can be a gross bacteria ridden beneficial cesspool.Display refugiums are the best. Also the "It's not another fish tank, it's just the filter for the main tank" argument is one of the few I've ever found to be successful with the Mrs.
