Substrate advice for my system

thedru13 · Sep 11, 2015

So been doing a ton of reading on substrate. I am starting up again after a few failed tanks over the years. Have always had a sand bed. Used Live Fiji Pink Live sand 3 inches in my RSM250 65g reef tank. I am just setting up the tank now. I have 75lbs of dry rock to go in the tank. I am on the fence as to if I want to go BB or SSB. My goal is to have LPS corals and some fish. With my tank I don't have a sump so everything is in the tank. 2 pumps and the skimmer. I have a MP40 as well for added flow. I want to create a healthy system that will support good coral growth. Why i was leaning towards BB instead of going the sand route again. But after reading everything just not sure what is the best route for my particular set up to obtain the type of reef i want. would love to hear some opinions.. Thanks

spllbnd2 · Sep 11, 2015

Personally I have always enjoyed a sandbed and usually never go over a 2" deep bed. Over the years I have always had a love hate relationship with substrates until about a year ago when I found Tropic Eden Reef flakes and mini flakes. They are a little more money, but from what I've seen in my systems is the sand stays very clean when compared to other brands. Only issue I've ever had was the only place in the US to get the stuff is from Premium Aquatics and they are sometimes out of it. Mel over at Melevsreef did a write up on the Tropic Eden substrate.

Cheers,
Alex

Justiful · Sep 11, 2015

WARNING: these are random fairy tale ideas that I thought of. I have never actually tried any of this, and it may be crazy. lol.

What if you placed a divider about 1/4 to 1/2 inch higher then beds in the tank and did one side with BB and one side with SSB. A piece of acrylic, and some acrylic safe glue could attach it. You could even make a design like a X or your initials. Now that would be really unique. Or you can use petri dishes filled with live sand for your corals. And have the rest of the tank BB. Suchtion cups attached to the petri dishes would make them easy to move around. You can also use magnets and attach the petri dishes to the side of the tank and if you need to move them with another magnet outside the tank.

If sand shifts to the BB portions you can vacuum it up on your regular cleaning schedule. With the petri dish method you can even try out different substrates and see what ones perform best for your corals. A little crushed gravel might help to place around the coral after it is placed to prevent Wave maker from blowing any sand out.

Sabellafella · Sep 11, 2015

I just setup red sea reefer 450 was strongly going to bb but went with the 2 inch because i just lovee how sand looks, if your going all lps i would put sand , mixed lps sps sand , all sps bb

thedru13 · Sep 11, 2015

Thanks for the responses!!! Seems that it falls inline with my thinking of going with a shallow sand bed.. As much as I want to try a barebottom just not sure I can fully commit.. Would be interesting to try some of your ideas Justiful not sure i am the right man for the task..

So leaning towards about 45-50lbs of sand right now for a SSB.. Tank Dimensions are 38L x 21W x 26.2H”

ReefMadScientist · Sep 11, 2015

I have a true 2" sand bed. Pink Fiji.

Love the natural look.

dnyceli · Sep 11, 2015

I am on the same boat right now with a 100 gallon. Couldn't decide either and wanted something different. Ordered some frag tiles and I am going to lace the bed with it. This way I will have the barebottom with still some buffering from the frag tiles. But most of my biological will be inside my sump using Marine Bio Pure balls and a 2 inch bed refuge. Thought this idea would also be good for me when it comes time to frag corals because I could just lift them off with the tile and replace with a new tile. This will save me on having to have a seperate frag tank. All comments welcome. What do you guys think?????

ReefMadScientist · Sep 12, 2015

dnyceli said:
I am on the same boat right now with a 100 gallon. Couldn't decide either and wanted something different. Ordered some frag tiles and I am going to lace the bed with it. This way I will have the barebottom with still some buffering from the frag tiles. But most of my biological will be inside my sump using Marine Bio Pure balls and a 2 inch bed refuge. Thought this idea would also be good for me when it comes time to frag corals because I could just lift them off with the tile and replace with a new tile. This will save me on having to have a seperate frag tank. All comments welcome. What do you guys think?????

It is a cool idea but I can see detritus building up under the tiles. Unless you will move them all the time and clean underneath, I think it will be a pain.

Ditch the bio ball idea. They are just more detritus traps. In my fuge I did mineral mid (2 inches) and put some macro algae such as Chaeto and Cualerpa. Oh and add live rock.