Bare bottom and Invertabrates.
 

I know that there are alot of threads about BB tanks, but I did a search and I couldn't easily find what I was looking for.

I am setting up a 75g with 33 gallon sump this week that I just picked up, and am thinking about going BB (hopefully transfer over my livestock before the weekend). I am thinking barebottom mainly because I spent all of my money on the tank and lighting, but also because I think that it will make maintenance easier, and although I like the look of a sandbed I don't like the look of a dirty sandbed. Additionally I have read that it is a bad idea to transfer the sand from an established tank to a new tank, as stirring it up that much releases alot of nasties - is this correct?

My question is this - how are my crabs and snails going to do without a sandbed? Also, by not having a sandbed, what livestock options am I eliminating (e.g. Brittle starfish, golbies, ect)?

Snails, except nassarius, have no problem without sand. They actually have more surface to cruise on. I have no experience with hermit crabs. Little brittle stars live on the rock. I have a couple of spaghetti worms that live in the rock that are great detrivores. Don't have experience with gobies, though.

Gobies do fine. I had a Yellow Watchman Goby that loved sitting out in the open, even if he died via powerhead 3 days later.

:(

Ive found that the snails do well with a BB as Beverly mentioned, but for hermits, Ive found that stocking lighter is nice since they have nowhere to hide.

Thanks for the info, from the sounds of it going BB isnt going to limit my livestock choices at all - is that correct?

Besides appearences (according to some, I have seen some nice BB tanks), what are some of the cons of BB?

don't go there
 

oh please don't go there :mrgreen: this tread will turn into a 50 page of the on-going debate. do a search on "pros cons bb" and you should get more than you can read in a day

Really no cons that I can think of, and lots of pros. If you can handle the appearance initially, you'll have a cleaner tank.
That being said, I have moved existing sandbeds without any problems in the past, so you could do that if you wanted. I kept lots of inverts in there with a bare bottom, no issues at all.

Cons?

Less natural look.

Here it is in a nutshell:

1. Pros of a BB tank is that it's easier to maintain. Simple.

2. Cons of a BB tank is that you won't have access to the microfauna/organisms that come naturally when you have a sandbed (of a certain depth). BUT, since this is Calgary, even if you had a sandbed, how ARE you going to obtain organisms anyway? Alot of the organisms in question are obtainable in the States but extremely hard to get here.

It's a no-brainer that there will be someone who disagrees and wants to venture into minutia about the specifics of a sandbed without regards to what is obtainable here in Calgary (Canada, even) but I think I pretty much summed it up.

Thanks for the help. BB it is! Hope to get the tank in place and start filling it tonignt.