Bare Bottom vs substrate

Scavenger · #1 03-10-2007, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronk

changing out a % of your sand doesnt seem necessary so long as you have sand sifting creatures or even just mix it up as you do a water change.

The best sandsifters in my system are a plastic chopstick and a hairpick with every second tooth broken off. I just rake here and there now and again.

Beverly · #2 03-10-2007, 09:16 PM

I was skeptical about the look of a BB tank before I tried it almost two years ago. Yes, at first, it looked unnatural. Over time, however, the bottom got encrusted with coralline algae, so it no longer has that "bare" look.

The greatest benefit is being able to siphon out crud on a weekly basis. You absolutely wouldn't believe how much crud comes out of our 120g

We do two passes with the siphon, pictured below:

The first pass is to get all the loose stuff from the back of the tank. Then we use a turkey baster to blow the crud out from under the rock to the back of the tank, and siphon out the rest. The water in the pail is totally brown

Here's a pic of what we used to get out of our BB 67g when it was running compared to a pail of new salt water. The 67g cruddy pail looks clear compared to what comes out of our 120g:

Black Phantom · #3 03-10-2007, 10:22 PM

For sure the bare bottom is easier to keep clean and a nice layer of coraline helps to make it look nice. I installed a high tech cleaning system that covers the entire tank and keeps my sand nice and white.

Hermit Crabs (about fifty of them)

matix · #4 03-10-2007, 10:29 PM

[quote=Black Phantom;240092] I installed a high tech cleaning system that covers the entire tank and keeps my sand nice and white.QUOTE]

What do you have for a high tech cleaning system?? Chop stick and a comb??

Black Phantom · #5 03-10-2007, 10:51 PM

I was refering to my hermits as the high tech system. Blue legged, red legged, common brown ones. You name it. I've got em.
Their great at keeping the tank clean

Der_Iron_Chef · #6 03-10-2007, 10:54 PM

I am so happy I went to a BB system. As Beverly said, so easy to suck up all the detritus...and once the coraline starts building up, it does look nice, too.