bare bottom vs sandbed

[Teenreefer15]

Im thinking about starting a new 20 gallon reef and am wondering wether I should add a sandbed or not. I recently saw this beautiful display tank at my supplier and he had it bare bottom. He told me that all a sandbed is, is a trap for nitrates. I know a sandbed does have some biological properties and your nass snails like it but what do you think? Im inclined to go bare bottom. Will this be a good idea?

[Kaman8]

Bare bottom is more easy to maintain , but I like sandbed , looks more natural.

[cloak]

Even a bare bottom tank can be mucked up in the wrong hands... Having sand in a tank looks more natural to me as well, and a shallow sand bed is just too easy to keep clean. GL.

[breadfan]

This is always a hotly debated topic, and there are a lot of really good reasons to go with a bare bottom tank. That being said, I like the appearance of sand and therefore I have it in my tanks. Beautiful healthy systems can be set up either way, just decide what you prefer and make sure you do it right.

[Teenreefer15]

I like the appearance of sand too but don't mind bare bottom when it has good coraline growth on it.

[kurfer]

Can't stand the look of bare bottom, so ugly...even the smallest piece of rubble/waste looks out of place.

Unless you can keep the bottom perfectly spotless and clean and then in that case it ends up being more maintenance. Also, when I ran with no sand bed initially on my first tank I found my crabs would constantly eat my snails that would normally burrow.

[Scorpius]

Being able to keep my tank cleaner is why I stay BB.

[reepher315]

Ive seen some reefers actually paint the outer bottom of the tank an off white. Looks really good if you keep the glass clean.

[slief]

I run bare bottom in my display although I do have a couple small islands of sand still left in there. After several years of my tank being up, I was having some nuisance algae issues and removing the sand eliminated that. Bare bottom is much more sanitary and if you have good flow, you won't have the issue with stuff settling into the sand. Bare bottom requires much less maintenance as a result. It also eliminates scratches on the glass or acrylic from the sand. Sand does however have a biological value in the system and I do run a remote DSB along with sand in my display refugium.

That said, my bare bottom looks like the live rock that my aquascape is made up of. My bottom is completely covered with coraline that is plating and making it's own natural formations. In some areas, there are 1/2" tall solid coraline formations growing on the bottom the tank. I also have soft coral growing all over the bottom as well. Heck, even my live rock has grown inches over the years thanks to coraline growth. I have coraline plating that has grown a couple inches beyond the edge of the rocks.

While bare bottom may be unsightly at first, if you tank is healthy, it will look like part of the aquascape before long provided you have good calcium levels and good lighting.

[tclndcrz]

I like having the sandbed because it is more natural. The gobbies sift it, snails and crabs really enjoy it not to mention pistol shrimp dig and build homes

[Teenreefer15]

Originally Posted by reepher315

Ive seen some reefers actually paint the outer bottom of the tank an off white. Looks really good if you keep the glass clean.

Originally Posted by slief

I run bare bottom in my display although I do have a couple small islands of sand still left in there. After several years of my tank being up, I was having some nuisance algae issues and removing the sand eliminated that. Bare bottom is much more sanitary and if you have good flow, you won't have the issue with stuff settling into the sand. Bare bottom requires much less maintenance as a result. It also eliminates scratches on the glass or acrylic from the sand. Sand does however have a biological value in the system and I do run a remote DSB along with sand in my display refugium.

That said, my bare bottom looks like the live rock that my aquascape is made up of. My bottom is completely covered with coraline that is plating and making it's own natural formations. In some areas, there are 1/2" tall solid coraline formations growing on the bottom the tank. I also have soft coral growing all over the bottom as well. Heck, even my live rock has grown inches over the years thanks to coraline growth. I have coraline plating that has grown a couple inches beyond the edge of the rocks.

While bare bottom may be unsightly at first, if you tank is healthy, it will look like part of the aquascape before long provided you have good calcium levels and good lighting.

sounds like a very nice tank