hi noticed this thread about BB tanks, i just took my sand out and personally like the look so far, as for siphoning without taking sand out, nope, a bit will get lost every water change. so far 3 weeks and getting nice little dots of coralline all over the place. however you gotta consider what fish you'll have, alot of wrasses prefer/need sand to hide/sleep in at night, so something to consider. however maintenance wise i'm finding it ALOT easier you can clean all around the rocks, silicone, crevices, etc. good luck on the tank build
