sandbed
I have a shallow sandbed approx. 1.5" and it serves my setup just fine, mind you I have 120g with about 170lb fiji, 10g refug, and 30g sump.
I think as long as you have enough rocks to maintain the constant break down of waste you're okay with a shallow bed. However, I wouldn't go without a sandbed. For one, it just doesn't look natural for a reef to have a bare bottom. Secondly, the aragonite sand plays a major role of naturally buffering alk, ph, Ca, etc. to keep things at a desirable balance. Without the sand, you will have more work to maintain this equilibrium.
-Will
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