Shallow Sandbed or No Sandbed

[Delphinus]

Maybe I'm singular in this opinion, but all of these starboard tanks have a "rocks placed on a cutting board" look to me that I just can't get used to. I'm sorry but there's just nothing natural looking about it! I understand the reasons and blah blah blah that's great and all, but all I see is just rock placed on a cutting board. I concede that the pics are of new setups before there is coralline or whatever, maybe I need to see some more aged setups, but there's something about the edge definition that doesn't seem right to me. Whenever I see an ocean or a reef or whatever, the rock doesn't "end" at the sand, it continues underneath it. If one could somehow address that issue I think it would look better. I'm also guessing that dragonets, wrasses, gobies, and other animals that burrow or bury themselves in sand, will be out of place in setups like this. Oh and forget about jawfish!

More power to you guys trying this, but, I think I'm staying with my sand bed.