sand vs no sand

[FFKiwi]

hey about your tile floor?

Tank looks nice with the tiles. But I'm curious, obviously there is no grout between them like an actual tile floor, correct? And also, what is the purpose of the mesh grate(?) underneath? Is that what people here are calling "egg crate"? I am asking because I am also looking for safe alternatives to sand, as i hate sand now... LOL

I switched over from sand to barebottom and love it, I use white tile as a floor and love that I can put as much flow anywhere without having to worry about sand blowing.

 

[inurocker]

For a display tank I like the looks of sand better but for grow out and frag tanks BB all the way. Like Bob Ross said "Any way you want it to be, that's just right."

 

[ValorG]

That tile looks awesome. You don't get coralline on it?

A few specs for now but I dont mind, tile will eventually be covered with zoas anyway. And if i wanted to keep it white I could take them out and scrape em if i really wanted to. But im too lazy for that lol

 

[ximanamix]

i have one big tile (brown rock-like) cut in the shape of my tank bottom, and later i put live rock rubble to aid coralline growth on the bottom so that it will have a natural feel and also that i can later glue GSP and Zoas to grow. But now i think im loving the natural reef look of the bottom, i pull out the detritus that gets collected in the rubble when i do the water change, but im afraid i cant clean all and this might slowly give me nitrate problems. i will see in the long term what happens and might have to take the rubble. but for now im just loving it.

 

[ValorG]

Tank looks nice with the tiles. But I'm curious, obviously there is no grout between them like an actual tile floor, correct? And also, what is the purpose of the mesh grate(?) underneath? Is that what people here are calling "egg crate"? I am asking because I am also looking for safe alternatives to sand, as i hate sand now... LOL

These tiles are just placed on the egg crate without any grout. The eggcrate was put under the rock to cushion the glass from any points of stress and to spread the weight out. Put down eggcrate on the entire bottom of your tank and do your rock work. The tiles were then cut to fit in each nook and cranny. This i was a pita. The exact type of tile I used is in my tank thread.

 

[tlove]

that tile really looks good, but I perfer sand and the critters that burrows in it. I have 2 horse shoe crabs that I dont see often though occassionally it is seen moving beneathe the sand.

 

[TarHeelReefer22]

I currently have one of each...I have a 45 gallon Deep Blue frag tank sps dom... and I have a 37 gallon tall that has a one and half inch sand bed. The factors that I took into account with the sand bed or bare bottom was mostly what livestock I was going to be keeping. I was honestly tired of my gobies or flow blowing sand around if a tang swam by redirecting the flow down. When this happens and you have corals like Montis, Chalices, anything that cups (pagoda cups) or any scroll corals they will be where the sand settles. Most of these corals require the high flow which is in turn blowing more sand on your corals and they tend to be sensitive to this contact on the flesh. If it goes unattended you will find yourself left with spots of dead tissue which can lead to RTN (rapid tissue necrosis). So with that said I found my self using a turkey baster more than a wife on thanksgiving blowing sand off my corals multiple times a day.

So when I split my 160 mixed reef into my now current tanks I had to consider the bare bottom method. I found this bare bottom is best for a low nutrient tank. You already have the idea of having a fug which is a good thing b/c that and your liverock will be what supports your bacteria and micro bioload. I personally dose a product from thrive called Bio-Stimulant Liquid and or some use Vodka. All week long my tank will test at 0.0 Nitrates. This is also my sps tank which makes them very happy. Also the detritus settles according to your flow so you will soon see piles which are easily removed with a weekly water change and siphoning. (I hope you are planning weekly water changes) I tried both egg crate and tile on the bottom and both just made it easier for the detritus and sand particles to hide and harder for me to siphon them out. The bottom will eventually be covered in corals or coralline algae which makes for an amazing showcase. You will still get sand as your liverock will break down.

Now for the sand bed you get all positives such as increased life forms like worms, and other sand dwelling inverts you will only see at night. I choose to do my softy tank with a one and a half inch sand bed give or take a few as it has been moved by my gobies and M. Wrasse. To be honest if it weren't for my wrasse who needs the sand bed to sleep in I would probably go bare bottom on this tank as well. I am having a harder time keeping the sand off my zoas and palys more so than I thought. I have actually even had to dig whole plates out from the sand bed as they got covered over in one afternoon. With the added constant fear that I will have some unexpected spike in nitrates or PO4 I would say go bare bottom if you are thinking about keeping corals. If there is a fish you can't live without like I am with my wrasse then you are stuck with a sand bed like me I have even considered when i can afford a third tank moving my softies to it bare bottom and do a goby macro-algae and wrasse tank with my one with sand in it now. Sorry for the length of the respond hope it helps.

 

[bruno21447]

Thanx all this info helps. Alot to consider. Yea I like the tile idea would make some things easier. One thing I didnt even think of Is I do have one wrasse. I loke him alot and didnt think about them sleeping that may be a deal breaker. dang it.

 

[jtucker022187]

What kind of wrasse? Not all burrow

 

[FFKiwi]

hey ValorG! 2nd question about your tank. where do you buy "egg crate"? is that something you buy at say a home dept or at a fish store? is it plastic?

 

[Sacohen]

Shallow sand bed is the way I go.
It's what you find in nature and the point of this (at least to me and others) is to make the tank as natural as possible.

I've never been on a dive and seen a bare bottom ocean.

 

[Dan1789]

There are beaches in Greece that are white stone floors under the water.

 

[Lemony Lemons]

Check out my tank thread for more details. https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/me...ing-diodes-light-build-do-yourself-heavy.html

That tile looks amazing! Do you have any complaints with the tile at all? Now I'm considering tile for my next tank, nice setup

 

[Railcar79]

If using tiles why not frag tiles? Keep a bit of natural look, buffering, and easy to frag corals, just pull the tile

 

[Dalmatia]

I took my sand out after 2 years and noticed a nitrate drop instantly and it's staying down!!! It's been 3 weeks now and my nitrates haven't bugged, but as looks go..... Dammmm I miss the sand

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

hey ValorG! 2nd question about your tank. where do you buy "egg crate"? is that something you buy at say a home dept or at a fish store? is it plastic?

Home depot in the lighting dept.

 

[bruno21447]

Its A sunset wrasse. He is usually in the rocks I belive will watch and see. Im not worried about the natural look alot of things about a tank is not natural. If it don't effect the fish or coral in a negative way then Im happy. And I see alot of people in posts saying they have wrasses and do fine I also went and talked to my LFS that have a bottomless and they said they have had coris and many other wrasses and they are fine and happy. So still thinking about goin for it.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

You won't regret it.

 

[gacolt]

i have no sand and will never have sand.i can point my powerheads where ever i want cleaning is easy.if a coral falls on the bottom upsidedown i dont worry about it getting killed by the sand.coraline is growing in which looks alot better to me then sand.im also starting to place zoas/palys on the bottom one day the whole bottom will be covered in z/p.i can move my rock when ever i want without a sand storm.fish cant barrie my corals.i dont get red algae anymore.i cant have some fish/inverts that i want but its a fair trade off.hope this helps.

 

[ValorG]

hey ValorG! 2nd question about your tank. where do you buy "egg crate"? is that something you buy at say a home dept or at a fish store? is it plastic?

Yeah home depot in the ceiling department.