Went bare bottom, but now there's a lot of filth down there?

[frankdontsurf]

I went bare bottom about two weeks ago in my 10 gallon. I do 5 gallon water changes weekly. When I change the water I siphon the bottom glass, looks great for three days. After 3 days there's a bunch of what looks like gritty brownish/gray crud along with a random fish turd floating in the current.

 

I feed 5-10 1mm pellets a day to my maroon - the only fish in there. Other than that my feedings are Coral Frenzy a couple times a week and I target feed the corals qtr cube of mysis the day before or of my water change. I'd feed him less but then he seems to pick at the corals, could just be hunting pods.

 

The reason I removed the sand was because the top of my sand was getting filthy (same grayish filth) and it was uber difficult to siphon effectively - and I like the look. Figured I have more room for corals to grow as well. I assumed the stuff was accumulating in the sand and I couldn't remove I never thought it was being created so quickly, It almost looks like dust from the live rock mixed with poo.

 

I cleaned my koralia the other day and flow increased significantly which makes me inclined to clean my HOB filter, maybe it's not pulling in strong enough.

 

Is it normal to have so much stuff on the bottom so quickly?

 

What are my options for an easily maintained substrate?

 

Should I force all my flow to the bottom of the tank to keep the filth in the water column and make filtering more effective?

 

I'm not so content with the look of crap on the bottom glass

[GlassHouse]

I'm not so content with the look of crap on the bottom glass

 

This is why I never go bare.

[Gilligan]

In my opinion (as a beginner), I would increase flow at the bottom or overall, and possibly reduce feeding.

 

If you can keep that stuff in the water column, it will eventually make it's way to the filter. You can catch it with some fleece and swap that out 2-3 times a week.

[Gilligan]

Double post here..

 

I had a Hydor nano 240 and the factory (60 GPH) pump in my Spec V. I thought it was decent enough at the time.

As it turns out the Spec return pump was leaking 40 volts into the tank, probably out through the heater which also had a leak of around 3-5 volts.

By the time I discovered this my fish had succumbed to the stress of it all (ich).

 

This setup had a bit of grey detritus that would be layered on the sand, just like your glass.

 

Anyhow I used the opportunity of a fallow tank to upgrade the return pump.

 

I have a Eheim Compact something or other rated at around 150 GPH.

 

I also just tossed in a MP-10. I originally wanted the Vortech as my researched showed that it could be turned down and used in a nano tank. My LFS insisted it was too much (Which it would be on higher settings!), and suggested the little Hydor. Whatever, I did not feel like pushing the matter given the difference in price. I knew better, but still came back for the stupid "wave maker" box which is really just a glorified timer. That nano 240 would not last long being turned on and off like that. I took it back right away.

 

Anyhow the point of this rambling story is the wide flow of the MP10 combined with my down-firing returns from that Eheim pump does a very nice job of keeping the tank pristine. I know my tank is fallow now, but I can kick up sand and have my water clear up much faster now. I am really excited about it.

[jahoban]

My 40 breeder frag/holding tank is bare bottom and i have the same build up you are refering to. I have 2 mp10s for flow and the crud still builds up constantly. I do weekly 7-8 gallon water changes and siphon the detritus up every week. From my experience this looks to be one of the issues of running a bare bottom tank.

 

 

.Jason

[Gilligan]

My 40 breeder frag/holding tank is bare bottom and i have the same build up you are refering to. I have 2 mp10s for flow and the crud still builds up constantly. I do weekly 7-8 gallon water changes and siphon the detritus up every week. From my experience this looks to be one of the issues of running a bare bottom tank. .Jason

 

His tank is only 10 gallons though.

 

I will take your word for it, but it seems hard to imagine you cannot get enough flow from two MP10s in a 40 gallon. I guess there are areas in some tanks that can let things deposit. Did you check those areas for gold?

 

I could pretty much keep my whole sand bed in suspension if I wanted too! (5 Gallons though).

I'm running it @ 25%, any more and it lifts sand, not just the fine stuff.

 

Besides it's the same detritus that would land on a sand bottom tank, so I don't see this is a particular problem with glass tanks, aside from it being unsightly.

 

Anyhow I think a glass bottom tank should have all the return water and circulation done at the bottom of the tank, which may require modifying it from a more traditional setup.

[frags]

Do you have snails? My bare bottom looked so much better after snails

[SteinsFish]

I have the same issue as well - brownish sandy detritus seems to appear out of nowhere and accumulate on my bare bottom tank.

 

My guess is they came from the food, poo and also the live rock themselves (flaking?).

 

Even if I point my powerhead towards the bottom, there will still be small weak/dead spots which need to be vacuumed off.

[Gilligan]

It would be understandable that liverock, especially in the display or frag portion of the tank will shed a some pebbles and sand.

 

My impromtu frag tank has poor circulation and has what you guys are describing.

In my case it is left-over mysis shrimp bits that gets caught in the riffles of the eggcrate, which is not suspended of the bottom. (Like it should be.) I have some PVC stand-offs cut, I just have to notch them, then I will put a wave-maker under the rack.

 

Ultimately a glass bottom tank will show everything. A tank with live animals and stones are bound to drop something.

Seriously consider your water turnover rate, filter and circulation. Then just siphon any little bit left behind obstacles with your water changes. Consider rearranging items as well.

 

Also consider that the bottom is no different then the display glass that will require periodic cleaning to keep algae and bacteria from forming a sticky film.

 

Having a random flow from from a power head would also minimize slow spots where sand collects.

[Bobyboy]

My frag tank had the same problem, I solved it by placing a power head as low as I could, basically having it sit on the bottom and it blows anything that settles right back up into the water.

[Mr. Microscope]

This seems like a normal thing for any tank, it just shows better with barebottom and is much easier to remove. Imagine all that crap building up week after week in a sandbed without being effectively removed.

[Tamberav]

HIgh flow across the bottom to keep everything suspended basically.

[CrazyEyes]

As unsightly as it may be, I think it's so much better being able to actually remove the stuff from the bottom of the tank whenever you do a wc. I actually every 3-4 days take some 1/4" airline hose and siphon it out from the bottom. I just siphon it into a bucket with a filter sock and pour the water back in the tank.

[patback]

Good flow and clean rocks to start with. I haven't done a water change in about 3 weeks and I have barely anything on my bare bottom.

[CrazyEyes]

Only thing that really settles on mine is the rat size turds my golf ball size turbo snails excrete out of their stupid bodies on what seems like a constant basis. Tank will have plenty of more flow when I start filling it with fuzzy sticks.

[frankdontsurf]

I moved the koralia down to the bottom and moved the rocks a bit, looks a tad bit better. Also cleaned the Marineland 350 HOB I have on this tank, seems to be circulating better as well. Still have a couple of dead spots but the snails seem to be congregating there so I guess it's better. I can't add anymore pumps, it's a standard 10 gallon. I'm a tad bit happier, at least I'll only have to siphon one back corner when it comes to water change time.

 

I need to move out of this place already, lol I need a bigger tank.