Switching to bare bottom?

[GoVols]

Thank you everyone! Maybe I'll hold off on it for now and look into starboard or something of the such.

I've been BB for three plus years and can't see any reason to justify going back to a sand bed when weighing out the pro and cons.

If you do go BB, take out the sand (slowly) over an 3 week period to give your bacteria time to colonize into your live rock.

Good luck and wish you all the best.

 

[DanTer]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I will begin making the switch tomorrow!

 

[GoVols]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I will begin making the switch tomorrow!

If you don't mind, just a few more tips:

The best thing that I've found for removing sand is an medium sized fish net to scoop out the the sand.

To keep the BB clean:

Pickup one of these

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/python-no-spill-water-change-system.html

And one of these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OMHJAS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then, You'll have your main weapon for keeping the BB floor and the sump squeaky clean.

 

[DanTer]

If you don't mind, just a few more tips:

The best thing that I've found for removing sand is an medium sized fish net to scoop out the the sand.

To keep the BB clean:

Pickup one of these

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/python-no-spill-water-change-system.html

And one of these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OMHJAS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then, You'll have your main weapon for keeping the BB floor and the sump squeaky clean.

Already got both of those!

 

[Johnnylamp]

Good morning everyone!

I'm going to be moving my 20 gallon long today and I'm considering switching to bare bottom when I'm at it. Anyone think it's a bad idea to dump the sand bed or have any words of advice? Thank you!

I have a 25 Gallon and I changed to barebottom about a year ago, I will never use substrate again, it scratches the glass/acrylic and if you have a lot of water flow its spotlessly clean and you dont have to worry about sand blowing all over the place, some people say that sand looks better but thats an opinion i have pictures of my tank with sand and it collected all the detritus and algae, good luck on your decision

 

[DanTer]

I have a 25 Gallon and I changed to barebottom about a year ago, I will never use substrate again, it scratches the glass/acrylic and if you have a lot of water flow its spotlessly clean and you dont have to worry about sand blowing all over the place, some people say that sand looks better but thats an opinion i have pictures of my tank with sand and it collected all the detritus and algae, good luck on your decision

It'll definitely be easier to clean!

 

[needbiggertanks]

Another fun thing about bare bottom is when the lights are out, you can hear your hermits jumping off your rocks... "clank"