Barebottom or not to Barebottom

tkd · Jan 30, 2021

Not sure where to post this one, so putting in the reef aquarium discussion.

I have been pondering this for quite some time. I have had a sandbed in all my tanks. My tank originally had about 2 inches of sand and now has maybe a 1 1/2 inches as i have been pulling some out over time. I have about 35 pounds of rock in my 55g tank and a 20g sump. This tank has been up for 4 years. I am actually getting tired of trying to keep the sandbed clean, even with a CUC over the years. My rockwork is sitting on top of the sand. If I were to start removing the sand around the rockwork slowly over time and move to a BB tank, will this have major impacts on my system, i.e., (removing good bacteria, having a tank crash or possibly my rockwork shifting) to name a few. Any feedback would be helpful.

lapin · Jan 30, 2021

over time no, other than it will look bare.

Tony11 · Feb 27, 2021

Hello how’s it going. As long as you remove the sand slowly it will be ok. I have one of each, sand and bare bottom and I get better results in the one with sand so I added sand to the other one.

Mywifeisgunnakillme · Feb 27, 2021

I like less than an inch of sand... easy keeping and looks MUCH better. Add crushed coral or calcium reactor chunks to areas that blow away.

My tanks tend to run low or undetectably on nitrates, so i think of sand as an in tank nutrient reactor, lol.

I feed heavy and once in a while stir up the sand. Coral loves it.

Azedenkae · Feb 27, 2021

As per others, if you slowly remove the sand it should be okay, provided the rocks and other stuff are enough to harbor all the beneficial microbes you would need (generally that is the case).

tkd · Feb 28, 2021

Hi all, thanks for all of your feedback. i have slowly removed sand during water changes. This particular tank has been established and stable for the last 4 - 5 years and have plenty of live rock in the tank. Now that i have removed most of the sand it is so much easier to keep clean.

Timfish · Feb 28, 2021

There's a lot of important biology in sand. With pH gradients and endoliths doing some interesting chemistry I's keep at least some sand.

tkd · Feb 28, 2021

Timfish said:
There's a lot of important biology in sand. With pH gradients and endoliths doing some interesting chemistry I's keep at least some sand.

HI Timfish, thanks for your feedback and good points. I still have some sand in the tank. After giving it a little more thought, I don't plan on removing the remaining sand any time soon.