You cant even see the botom of this tank any more but it started out bare. No on has ever mentioned how unnatural it looks though.
Bare Bottom tanks?
- Thread starter Bjhatcher80
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FisheriesOmen
Active Member
Technically it's un-natural to have such a large concentration of SPS in one area....
It is definitely a beautiful tank (minus the gunk on the bottom part of the glass maybe), but that doesn't mean its "Natural" (also I have never seen egg crate on a Reef before :wink
btw I must say that Acro on top looks pretty awesome.
It is definitely a beautiful tank (minus the gunk on the bottom part of the glass maybe), but that doesn't mean its "Natural" (also I have never seen egg crate on a Reef before :wink
btw I must say that Acro on top looks pretty awesome.
robert
Valuable Member
True - don't watch the video...totally unnatural...lol...did you see the sand bed?
[video=vimeo;23540261]http://vimeo.com/23540261[/video]
Stunning tank Dave
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FisheriesOmen
Active Member
What video? Also no I did not see the sand bed.
-Logzor
2500 Club Member
I loved my old BB tank. I have sand in the new one. It looked nice for about a month now it's just hell. I plan on removing it but unfortunately it all turned to concrete for some reason....
Bjhatcher80
New Member
There's definitely a lot to consider. I do lean toward bare at the moment. Would there be a benefit in at least putting rock frags across the bottom to camouflage the glass bottom? Or would that cause problems with the detritus getting trapped down under it?
Pkunk35
Valuable Member
Dog Boy, your tank is SICK. That's one of the most impressive acros I've ever seen.
I've been a big fan of sand beds and the benefits they can offer...but I've been slowly changing my mind after reading some threads and opinions...
Does anyone here think that a BB tank could possibly have as big or diverse a pod/critter population as a tank with a sand bed? My initial reaction is no but I've never owned a BB tank.
Honestly, I think either method works well, depends more on the habits and knowledge of the reef keeper more than what methodology used.
I've been a big fan of sand beds and the benefits they can offer...but I've been slowly changing my mind after reading some threads and opinions...
Does anyone here think that a BB tank could possibly have as big or diverse a pod/critter population as a tank with a sand bed? My initial reaction is no but I've never owned a BB tank.
Honestly, I think either method works well, depends more on the habits and knowledge of the reef keeper more than what methodology used.
FisheriesOmen
Active Member
why the hell didn't that video show up before? lol
Also it looks like pretty much all of those acros are the same species and it is still a larger volume of space than his fish tank. I don't see the sandbed, but I don't need to know cause I know it's there.
FisheriesOmen
Active Member
You probably don't have enough organisms stirring it. I have had my sand bed for over a year and the top is as white as when I bought it.
fraggingfish
Community Member
I prefer the bare bottom look.
Once coraline algae spreads, you really don't care for sand anymore.
You're always able to have powerheads going full blast.
I guess it's more beneficial towards SPS's vs Sand for LPS.
Once coraline algae spreads, you really don't care for sand anymore.
You're always able to have powerheads going full blast.
I guess it's more beneficial towards SPS's vs Sand for LPS.
fraggingfish
Community Member
You don't clean it, naturally you should have sand sifters stirring it up for you.
It'll disturb the natural order if your hand were to be involved.
Pkunk35
Valuable Member
I vacuum my sand bed. I think it's necessary, in particular over the years. There's just too much debris buildup if you don't and that's when your hand moving the sand will actually cause harm (b/c you didn't vacuum for the prior # of years). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this thinking, but I'm pretty sure this is optimal way to keep any sandbed unless it is 6+ inches deep (I would still vacuum the top layers tho personally).
AS long as you can keep enough flow so that any debri build up happens in a place where you can reach it you can put frags rocks and anything else on the bottom that you like. IF the system is healthy its all going to be pink and over grown in a couple of years anyway. I have seen many healthy bare bottom tanks that look very nice. The glass is covered fast with growth and coraline and most people dont even notice the bottom of these tanks. The size of the system also matters. Its much harder to keep the bottom clean under rocks in a larger system.
In my experience, I have often seen man made objects in an underwater environment. Man made objects are just as natural as termite mounds. However, in the natural world any man made object is quickly covered and smothered with life. In the reef envirenment life takes advantage of every nook and crany. In my opinion, the variety of life and the heavy bio load is what makes a tank look natural as we attempt to mimick the best environment that we can and still provide optimum conditions for our system. Just in passing, although the images i posted show a bare botttom tank, the system itself contains several areas of bio filteration including a 75 gallon tank with a ten year old ten inch deep sand bed system.
