Substrate vs bare bottem ?

[CORAL JUNKY]

I know this subject prolly gets beat to death but im newer to the hobby and am curious how some more experienced hobbyist feel about the subject . Pros and cons of both . I currently have a mixed reef mostly softies and polyps with a shallow sand bed but would love to add some acros eventually . Im having some nitrate issues and my LFS says the first thing I should do is to pull the sand out of my tank because it traps detritus and un eaten food . Watcha think ?

 

[TJ's Reef]

I'll start out with stating that there are many merits and or benefits to both but...... I have kept Reeftanks for just about 33 years now and every one for the full duration has had a sand bed and have never ever had Nitrate issues resulting from them. Over feeding maybe. For me it has everything to do with aesthetics and bio-diversity in keeping a sand bed that greatly outweigh the bennies of going BB. Pluses are also in being able to properly keep certain Wrasses species as well. But to each their own and ultimately one should do what they feel best suits their style and not worry about pleasing others.

Cheers, Todd

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

Hello Coral Junky!

Im see your new to this forum as well. My experiences over the last 2 years have been mostly dismal save my current tank ( which I took down 2 weeks ago to upgrade). It was a 45g shallow tank, BB and high flow (65x). I had softies that I started with 2 years ago. Seeing as softies prefer nutrient rich "Dirty" water, they did not thrive and grow as I'd hoped. I never was able to detect nitrates after the cycle regardless of how much I fed. Keeping filter sock changed and skimmer running likely contributed to this. I believe that my tank was too clean for softies. They are now housed in a skimmer less 29G. Normal feeding and weekly WC's is my plan, which will hopefully provide the nutrients the kenya tree, GSP, Zoas and shrooms need to grow well.

In my experience,

Sand bed pros:
Looks more natural
Can keep sand dwelling critters

Cons:
require more maintenance ( cleaning)
possible sand storms

BB Pros
Unlimited flow options
Easy(er) to keep clean


Cons
Looks sterile
No sand critters

Just my personal opinion, as my experience is limited, I would start by cleaning sand bed well and up water changes, which should reduce nitrates If you do decide to pull the sand out siphon out a little with each water change. When I first pulled my sand out I lost some zoas and a damsel.

 

[CORAL JUNKY]

My current setup is a 90 gal cube with filter sock , skimmer and as I've recently going out not enough flow . I actually like the look of a nice BB tank but that's my opinion . My only concern about going BB is that since I'm so new to this I'm just not sure if sand is needed to have a healthy system or not.

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

Like I said my only issue with BB was not being able to keep water with enough nutrients for softies. A mixed reef is more difficult to keep in general simy due to the different water conditions needed by various types of coral. Some have suggested that I try running skimmer every other day or every third day to boost nutrients which I may try in my new build. For now BB is my preferred setup, ideally with a FSB. Starboard is another option if you don't want to see the glass. Many reefers have gorgeous thriving tanks with no substrate. So yes it is possible to do.

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

Also I use high flow in a BB as a way to keep detritus suspended in the water column in the DT so it can be carried into sump more efficiently. This allows the sick and skimmer to remove as much crud as possible. For me high flow is about more than keeping coral

 

[CORAL JUNKY]

I agree . I'm planning on making a spray bar to run along the bottom of the tank in the back to keep stuff off the bottom . Along with additional power heads to keep rock clean and add more movement .

 

[hart24601]

I love BB, I like the looks and the maintenance - I really doubt I will ever have another sandbed. But TJ has a great statement there "But to each their own and ultimately one should do what they feel best suits their style and not worry about pleasing others." Can't agree more.

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

Yes sir! There are successful tanks of every configuration out there. Just figure out whats best for you.

 

[CORAL JUNKY]

That's it I'm doing it ! Lol making the move . It's ultimately what I want and there's no time better than now . I've ordered sine new circulation pumps and am waiting on my new lights from Rick at reef radiance so it looks like I'll b redoing my tank . Any suggestions on the safest way to remove my sand ? All at once , little at a time ..... I have 100 lbs of live rock , a few fish and some corals . A few mushrooms , Duncan , leather , frogspawn and a birds nest coral

 

[ReelRednekReefer]

Slowly! Whatever you can get out with water change each week. Don't wanna shock the tank!

 

[CORAL JUNKY]

Gotcha . Yah I definitely do not wanna do that . Thanks

 

[CORAL JUNKY]

Anyone with a BB tank mind sharing photos ?

 

[beaslbob]

I know this subject prolly gets beat to death but im newer to the hobby and am curious how some more experienced hobbyist feel about the subject . Pros and cons of both . I currently have a mixed reef mostly softies and polyps with a shallow sand bed but would love to add some acros eventually . Im having some nitrate issues and my LFS says the first thing I should do is to pull the sand out of my tank because it traps detritus and un eaten food . Watcha think ?

I think algaes like macros or an algae turf scrubber will be a much better nitrate consumer then any sand bed.
And bare bottom or sand substrate is irrelevant.

 

[rayn]

Sand or bare really depends on your end goal. I have always fought nitrate in my systems, not really sure why. My latest setup was going sps, so I went BB to save the hassle of cleaning the sand. Shortly after cycle plans changed and it is now a anemone tank...without sand. I want to add a sand bed back into it now so I can get a sand dwelling anemone for it.

Point is, know your and goal and build your tank to your end goal. Who cares what others think of say is best, you have to maintain it and look at it and be proud of it...no one else.