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Team Bare Bottom


NorthGaHillbilly

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NorthGaHillbilly

I left the hobby for several years, when I left bare bottom was the new big thing and I found it to be very beneficial at the time. Years later Im back and Ive been noticing that bare bottoms are getting back into the main stream, or perhaps they never left. I was hoping folks that run a BB could share their experiences, positive or negative.

 

Here are my thoughts

 

Positive

  • Much cleaner, I cant stress this point enough, detritus can be vacuumed up or kept suspended and caught by a sock. Seeing the trash that gathers on the bottom of my tank in a week amazes me
  • Flow can be increased without problems (I keep 1300 gph in a shallow 20 gallon tank)
  • Corals placed on on the bottom wont be covered with sand

Negative

  • Looks less "natural"
  • Limits livestock (several wrasse, sand sifting gobys...)

Alright guys, lets hear what yall think.

 

NGaHB

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I'm going bare bottom in my 5g for the first two reasons you mentioned. I'm not a big fan of corals placed directly on the sandbed, so that wasn't really a consideration for me, although it is a good point. There has also been a lot of talk lately about the longevity of picos and how bb may be the way to go to prevent "old tank syndrome."

 

Oh and another positive is no scratching your glass with rogue grains of sand.

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Definitely prefer bare bottom to a sand bed. Not to say sand beds don't work because they obviously do but I personally really like the look a bare bottom tank over a tank with sand. I think another pro of a bare bottom tank is, in an SPS tank you can run as much flow as needed without turning your tank into a snow globe.

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I love this topic. I know you already know what I have to say,but I love bare bottom. Even though its always a huge debate lol. I can hear the naturalists waiting to attack lol.

 

PROS:

 

- Easier to keep detrius down

- Easier to keep unwanted nutrients (phosphates,nitrates,nitrites,ammonia) down.

- Get the bottom covered in that lovely purple algae.

- Lets certain corals encrust making for a nice look.

 

CONS:

 

-You hit all the big concerns on the head already.

 

 

EDIT:all the people who commented before me taking my answers because I got side tracked.... <_<

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con, less biodiversity with not being able to keep critters that reside in sand beds. Thats a deal breaker for me.
Sure is nice not having all the algae outbreaks such as cyano.
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Spiderguardnano

I will be going bare bottom on my new pico

1.dont feel like buying a new $20 Fiji pink sand

2.its really hard to get all the debris in a pico tank

 

Let's get some photos of bare bottom tanks

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I think you covered it!!

 

I love bare bottoms in small tanks since it is really easy to keep everything suspended. I have a 5g set up currently with a powerhead pointed at the bottom and it is sparkling clean. Everything gets blown up into the filter, I don't even have to vac!!

 

My other tanks have sand though because some critters I just can't give up. The sand is pure white though. I just carbon dose those tanks so I can feed whatever the hell I want anyways.

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I had bare bottom for the past 5 months, just switched back to sand. For me, vacuuming detritus from a bare bottom tank is just like vacuuming out a sand bed. Its a like 5 more minutes of work every couple weekends to get the detritus from the sand bed and it looks better. Plus i really wanted to add a goby/pistol shrimp pair. I also like to keep corals on the sandbed.

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PROS:

You can see and clean every speck of dirt

maintenance is easier(seriously, take a turkey baster and hit everything, let whatever didnt go into the overflow settle and suction out)

theres no real dead spots(no sudden deaths rocks shifting and releasing trapped gasses

it looks neat

you can grow coral on the floor of the tank(I'm going to put my cool pieces to cover the bottom)

FLOW... ALL THE FLOW

no excess nutrients from feedings or poop(cause you can see them)

 

CONS:

There will always be small particulates of sand formed from the rocks and you'll have to suction them out

if there is a mess you will see it

you cant keep certain fish because #nosand

polyp growth may be effected?(some people suggest this but imo it hasnt been proven)

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Not trying to thread jack. Just wanted to also say, I think the way white starboard looks is really amazing. Keeping it maintained can definitely be a pain in the arse but not too bad. Just silicone it down and around the edge to keep shit from underneath it, otherwise it's counter productive. Just wanted to share a photo of mine with white starboard.

 

http://s27.photobucket.com/user/DrftNme/media/10660556_10152611056110202_2004201982_n_zps87e9410c.jpg.html'>10660556_10152611056110202_2004201982_n_

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NorthGaHillbilly

Not trying to thread jack. Just wanted to also say, I think the way white starboard looks is really amazing. Keeping it maintained can definitely be a pain in the arse but not too bad. Just silicone it down and around the edge to keep shit from underneath it, otherwise it's counter productive. Just wanted to share a photo of mine with white starboard.

 

10660556_10152611056110202_2004201982_n_

Im about to upgrade tanks and Im debating to go with starboard or not, It definatly seems like a good idea in a lot of ways, but I really like the look of just the glass

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Im not gonna lie, if I had a rimless tank or atleast a tank with a center brace (since the bottom trim has a center brace also) I'd probably run it without the starboard but seeing the center brace while I wait for the coralline to cover the glass would drive me bat crazy.

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Mr. Microscope

I've got tons of flow going in my cube and my corals love it. I had probably half the flow when I had sand and always had problems with it piling up on one side. If I had a long tank or larger cube I think it might be a different situation, but for this size I think BB is the way to go. BB also forces you to be more organized with your corals as most don't look good just hanging around on the bottom of a glass tank. I just rescaped my tank with fresh rock and don't think I'm missing anything aesthetically not having sand.

 

FTS20140908_zps66ba7aa7.jpg

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BB PRO: You can see detritus on the bottom (so you can vacuum it out)

 

BB CON: You can see detritus on the bottom (so you have to vacuum it out).

 

 

Clean it out, and the next day it looks dirty again. It really helps you keep it clean (much cleaner than a sandy substrate). However, I feel that sand beds "look" cleaner longer (and more natural).

 

A clean glass bottom makes the rock look like a sculpture in a display cabinet. Sometimes that's a neat look. The pics you tend to see online are usually taken just after it has been cleaned (although the same is typically true for sand bed tanks).

 

Disclaimer: I tend to replace my sand beds every year or two. That might be more challenging/expensive for my new 100 gallon tank. Still, I'm opting for another sandy bottom. I might just have to be more aggressive about my cleanings.

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Mr. Microscope

BB PRO: You can see detritus on the bottom (so you can vacuum it out)

 

BB CON: You can see detritus on the bottom (so you have to vacuum it out).

 

 

Clean it out, and the next day it looks dirty again. It really helps you keep it clean (much cleaner than a sandy substrate). However, I feel that sand beds "look" cleaner longer (and more natural).

 

A clean glass bottom makes the rock look like a sculpture in a display cabinet. Sometimes that's a neat look. The pics you tend to see online are usually taken just after it has been cleaned (although the same is typically true for sand bed tanks).

 

Disclaimer: I tend to replace my sand beds every year or two. That might be more challenging/expensive for my new 100 gallon tank. Still, I'm opting for another sandy bottom. I might just have to be more aggressive about my cleanings.

+1 about detritus build up. I was considering using a thin layer of sand in this current scape and using a large siphon to vacuum out the sand every time I do a water change. I might have executed it if it weren't for flow.

 

I think a nice alternative to sandbed with the perks of barebottom would be to make a pseudo-sandbed. This would basically just be a mono layer of sand adhered to the bottom somehow (perhaps on a piece of acrylic). The challenge would be executing it properly. Failure would look awful.

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+1 about detritus build up. I was considering using a thin layer of sand in this current scape and using a large siphon to vacuum out the sand every time I do a water change. I might have executed it if it weren't for flow.

 

I think a nice alternative to sandbed with the perks of barebottom would be to make a pseudo-sandbed. This would basically just be a mono layer of sand adhered to the bottom somehow (perhaps on a piece of acrylic). The challenge would be executing it properly. Failure would look awful.

 

People have done this. I researched it quite a bit a year or so ago before I set up my nanocube. They mix epoxy with sand either in the tank or in a mold. It had pros and cons just like everything else though. While they did tend to look nice when clean, they soon start growing coraline just like a bb. One guy pressed loose sand into the top before it set, but if I remember right they were saying it trapped a lot of detritus because it was rough.

 

Your rockwork is beautiful by the way :wub:

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