Bare bottom tanks

[Wolf89]

I am thinking about making my new tank bare bottom. I have one concern, which is microfauna. I want as many pods and other microfauna as possible. Will no sand affect their populations? Thanks

 

[Jon Fishman]

I am thinking about making my new tank bare bottom. I have one concern, which is microfauna. I want as many pods and other microfauna as possible. Will no sand affect their populations? Thanks

I don't know..... but I am going bare-bottom on my current build. You could always add sand to the sump if you're concerned, but I think they do just fine in rocks.

 

[Peace River]

I am thinking about making my new tank bare bottom. I have one concern, which is microfauna. I want as many pods and other microfauna as possible. Will no sand affect their populations? Thanks

I noticed that you posted this in the “Fish Breeding Forum”. Will your new tank be focused on breeding? If so, what species? Are you planning on having a sump for the tank?

 

[Wolf89]

I noticed that you posted this in the “Fish Breeding Forum”. Will your new tank be focused on breeding? If so, what species? Are you planning on having a sump for the tank?

Sorry, wrong forum, when I press new topic on app, it automatically went to the last one I posted this in. I meant to place in new to saltwater. How do I move it? Yes, 90G DT, 15G sump and 40G refugium

 

[sfin52]

#mods #reefsquad can you move this to the right forum

 

[Peace River]

Sorry, wrong forum, when I press new topic on app, it automatically went to the last one I posted this in. I meant to place in new to saltwater. How do I move it? Yes, 90G DT, 15G sump and 40G refugium

#mods - please help move this thread for OP to New to Salwater Forum. TIA

 

[sfin52]

Sorry, wrong forum, when I press new topic on app, it automatically went to the last one I posted this in. I meant to place in new to saltwater. How do I move it? Yes, 90G DT, 15G sump and 40G refugium

Its all good it happens

 

[Crabs McJones]

Moved

 

[MnFish1]

I personally don't like the 'look' of a bare bottom tank - but I dont want the problems with a lot of sand - so I have between 0 and 1/2 inch of sand - depending on water flow in my tank. When the flow changes there are tons of 'worm tubes' even in the shallow part. To answer your question - you might be limiting 'some' with a bare tank - but I think those worms, etc will also populate your rocks. I might consider - a very shallow sand bed - it actually (to me) looks quite nice - without some of the problems

 

[sfin52]

Moved

Thanks glitter fairy

 

[Peace River]

Assuming you have at least a moderate amount of live rock then between the microfauna coming from the fuge and what lives in the rock then you should have a fair amount of microscopic life in your tank. Additional you may want to skip filter socks.

 

[andrewkw]

This is my frag tank, it's had water in it a couple of weeks and does not even have live rock in it - there is a ton in the sump. I scraped the glass a couple days ago as well.

I also painted the bottom white and I'm surprised how many times I think I see crud but it's creatures. Under the tiles there are still bristlestars, bigger pods, worms ect. Now some things certainly do live in the sand but you still get a ton of life without it.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Thanks glitter fairy

you bet!

 

[MnFish1]

This is my frag tank, it's had water in it a couple of weeks and does not even have live rock in it - there is a ton in the sump. I scraped the glass a couple days ago as well.

I also painted the bottom white and I'm surprised how many times I think I see crud but it's creatures. Under the tiles there are still bristlestars, bigger pods, worms ect. Now some things certainly do live in the sand but you still get a ton of life without it.

do you have a problem cleaning the (NICE) white bottom - thats a good idea btw - I like it better than bare glass - my guess is that it also increases brightness in the tank

 

[Crabs McJones]

This is my frag tank, it's had water in it a couple of weeks and does not even have live rock in it - there is a ton in the sump. I scraped the glass a couple days ago as well.

I also painted the bottom white and I'm surprised how many times I think I see crud but it's creatures. Under the tiles there are still bristlestars, bigger pods, worms ect. Now some things certainly do live in the sand but you still get a ton of life without it.

Question, with the white bottom, do you notice more light getting reflected back in the tank? I know when we paint the back of our tanks black it absorbs light, so does the white reflect back any?

 

[andrewkw]

do you have a problem cleaning the (NICE) white bottom - thats a good idea btw - I like it better than bare glass - my guess is that it also increases brightness in the tank

I've only cleaned it once, it does make crud easier to see but it's going to get dirty. Not the end of the world. I have 2 other bare bottom tanks that are both displays and they aren't painted. In one you can hardly see the bottom in the other it might be noticeable but unless you plan on scraping the back in time none will make much difference. I probably will scrape at least some in the frag tank but we'll see. It's a brand new tank and I just wanted to try it.

 

[Wolf89]

I personally don't like the 'look' of a bare bottom tank - but I dont want the problems with a lot of sand - so I have between 0 and 1/2 inch of sand - depending on water flow in my tank. When the flow changes there are tons of 'worm tubes' even in the shallow part. To answer your question - you might be limiting 'some' with a bare tank - but I think those worms, etc will also populate your rocks. I might consider - a very shallow sand bed - it actually (to me) looks quite nice - without some of the problems

I dont really like the look either, but I want to grow a gsp, zoa, chalice, coraline, etc carpet which I think would look amazing.

 

[Wolf89]

I noticed that you posted this in the “Fish Breeding Forum”. Will your new tank be focused on breeding? If so, what species? Are you planning on having a sump for the tank?

Though, coincidentally, I really want the largest amount of pods possible b/c I really want to try and breed mandarins.

 

[andrewkw]

Question, with the white bottom, do you notice more light getting reflected back in the tank? I know when we paint the back of our tanks black it absorbs light, so does the white reflect back any?

Maybe a bit but I don't think it's a huge difference. The permanent lighting isn't even setup on this tank, but I guess the fact 2 T5 bulbs are keeping my softies happy (black box over the acros) points to yes. I painted the bottom mostly for cosmetic reasons and curiosity not so much for any real benefit. Like I said, unless you scrape you will never know what is painted on the bottom.

The same can be true for a really full bare bottom tank. I personally don't think it's that noticeable that there is no sand in my display below :

I probably could make more of an effort to hide the fact it's bare bottom but I don't personally care. I do love the look of sand, and I like a few select sand dwelling creatures but I love everything else about a bare bottom tank, thus most of my tanks are bare bottom. A sand bed is not forever in most cases it is a ticking time bomb be in 2 years or 10, but in most cases tanks aren't forever either. If you want to try bare bottom give it a try. Worst case you hate it and go back to sand. While it's no fun adding sand to an established tank it can be done, just like removing sand can also be done.

 

[jk_s124]

I love the idea of bare bottom. I want to do this on my next build too. From what I have read some micro fauna might be affected. So refugium might be a good idea. Also, I Found this build not long ago and I love how it looks. Hope the OP doesn’t mind me sharing a link to his thread. Like @andrewkw , this tank has a painted white bottom. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/30gl-long-nano.309284/