Your opinions regarding bare bottom vs shallow sand bed vs deep sand bed

[Bravoman]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to start some discussion regarding the advantages and disadvantages of bare bottom, shallow sand, and deep sand beds in reef aquariums.

I don't want to get into which is "BETTER", but rather what each has to offer and the possabilities unique to each type of set up.

I'm in the planning stages of my first reef aquarium. I've read and studied books, and websites and talked with friends who have tanks for the past 3 or 4 years and now I'm finally ready to take the leap. So..... basically I'd say I'm fairly educated with respect to theoretical knowledge, but don't have any real world knowledge of the subject myself. And I'd like to have some good reasons to go one way or the other.

Right now, as I see it I think I'd like either a shallow or deep sand bed because I like the asthetics and I'd like to have creatures in my tank who live and "work" in the sand.

Please add your thoughts on the subject with reasons you like one system over the other as well as limitations one might have over another. (i.e. Fine sand blowing onto coral, nutrient sinks, creature limitations, waste removal, cyanobacteria, etc, etc)

I'll leave it with you all for now.

Thanks everyone. I hope this stirs up some good conversation and debate.

Bravo

[marie]

I never did like the look of 6" of sand in the bottom of the tank and nitrates have never (yet) been a problem.
Bare bottom always looked to sterile to me and I believe life is supposed to be a little bit messy.
So going with 1-2" of sand was an easy decision.

[Beverly]

Over the past several months, we've had several discussions on the merits of the three types of systems you're asking about. Do a search on the various key words in your post and you will find these discussions.

HTH

[Ruth]

I have all of the above! A 230g with a DSB (about 4-5"), a 190g and 24g BB and a 44g and 12g with a SSB. Which do I like better? Hard to say - they all have their pluses and negatives. With the DSB I find that it tends to facilitate the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate a little better or faster than the BB. I love the fact that I can siphon all the crud out of my BB and it is easy to see. I like the look of the SSB but find that I have to replace the sandbed as it starts looking yucky and then nitrates start to build. I also have to watch for nitrates in the BB tanks. It is still a hard comparison because all the tanks are different with different inhabitants. My large BB is very high flow and I skim the heck out of this tank. My small BB is low flow and no skimmer (just lots of water changes). There was a couple of huge threads on Reef Central that got totally out of control and actually ended up with some of their "experts" leaving RC and going and starting or participating in other boards so it is a highly debated subject. I think you have to decide for yourself what you want to keep in your tank, how much flow you will need, and which method is going to better suit your needs. I am sure others will chime in as there are many many opinions out there.

[Marcus K]

I like fine crushed coral the best, little larger grain size over sand. Seems to have a brighter white colour and stays in place better than sand. But you have to vacuum every water change.

[AndyL]

So many different methods... All the methods have various benefits and downfalls.

Personally, I really dislike the look of barebottom. However I use all 3 methods. My frag tank is bare bottom with lots of macros, My seahorse tank has a 2" sandbed (lots of macros there too). My FOWLR has a ~1sq foot fuge with a 8" DSB in the sump.

For me basically, I believe we strive to keep a ecosystem, anything less than a full system is incomplete. So much life exists in/around the sandbeds on the reef, that I can't see leaving it out.

[ron101]

I ran a sugar sand DSB for a few years and it eventually became a nutrient factory and I had to pull it out. Initially, there was a lot of hype about it, with some claiming that with a good selection of detrivores it would make a near self-sustaining ecosystem. As time passed more and more people started having problems. Personally, I would not run one again. Also keep in mind that due to the amount of sand required it is basically the most expensive option.

IMO go either bare bottom or a thinner layer of a coarser substrate that allows you to siphon/vacuum out detritus.

[Chin_Lee]

This is my opinion from a previous post (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=23314)
regarding the same topic.

if you are contemplating on BB or substrate, go BB first. If you still don't like it after a few months, then add substrate. Otherwise its a PITA to do it the other way around.
I concur with the BB supporters - crud is inevitable and I feel that sand just hides it really well. some critters in your live sand will eat some of the crud but you will never have enough critters to sustain an aquarium environment's bio-load.
I can relate to this theory by this scenario - imagine yourself and your entire family being stuck in your house without any methods in which to remove your biological waste but a mysterious hand will continuously put food and water into your house to keep you alive. You are real happy for the most part because there's the big screen TV, computer, workout gym, various boardgames etc. However everyone dreads having to go to the bathroom but when they do, how many critters will be needed to live with you in your house to continuously eat and remove all that biological waste in your house? HOWEVER if that same mysterious hand can come in with a plastic tube and suck out all that biological waste, I think it will be somewhat ........ alright.

In addition, if all those critters (ie rats, mice, worms, beetles, grubs) were to eat ALL your biological waste, they will in turn produce biological waste as well. Kinda a crappy situation....

[Bill]

BB or very light cover of sand in the main tank for easy detritus removal, and possibly a section of the sump dedicated to dsb and algae for critters. I put some sugar size sand in a 3" deep container that fit into my sump. This way it's easy to remove if I have to.

[b_james]

I personally like the natural looks of a sand bed oppose to a BB tank.

Do you guys vacuum your sand? I dont think I have ever done that.. I just ocasionaly stir up the gravel and mechanically filter it out through the sump. Besides, my corals seem to like it