Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > FOWLR

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #21  
Old 06-11-2014, 06:42 PM
tt101 tt101 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: edmonton
Posts: 108
tt101 is on a distinguished road
Default

Just personal preference here that I hate bare bottom tanks and could never imagine running one. I see a lot of people with discuss tanks do this. It just doesn't look or feel right to me.

I always mention to people that with a sand bed you must include something that will sift it up to prevent the build up of toxic gasses. In my 90Gallon freshwater I have a horseface loach and in my SW setup I have a sleeper goby. (considering a sand sifting star but I know how difficult they are to keep)

So really it comes down to you, both ways are fine and BB is much easier and cleaner but it all comes down to you.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 06-11-2014, 06:56 PM
hfp75 hfp75 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: calgary ab
Posts: 431
hfp75 is on a distinguished road
Default

I have a Sand Sifting Star in my 55G and it has been in there for over a year without any issues.... hes moving all over and looks absolutely fine. Now its not a large one... maybe 2" diameter...

Just get the right size for your tank...
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 06-13-2014, 07:54 AM
tt101 tt101 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: edmonton
Posts: 108
tt101 is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by hfp75 View Post
I have a Sand Sifting Star in my 55G and it has been in there for over a year without any issues.... hes moving all over and looks absolutely fine. Now its not a large one... maybe 2" diameter...

Just get the right size for your tank...
With the sleeper goby, its no longer necessary, he does a good job but I will definitely be getting a star at some point in time.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 01-11-2015, 10:01 PM
crackedcorn crackedcorn is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: New Brunswick
Posts: 5
crackedcorn is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tt101 View Post
With the sleeper goby, its no longer necessary, he does a good job but I will definitely be getting a star at some point in time.
Is your sleeper sifting and making the water milky (all stirred up)? Some say it's a nightmare some say it's not too bad...
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 01-11-2015, 10:33 PM
hfp75 hfp75 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: calgary ab
Posts: 431
hfp75 is on a distinguished road
Default

Depends on your sand???? If you've got OO Lite yes....

And if it's really dirty....
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 01-11-2015, 11:42 PM
tt101 tt101 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: edmonton
Posts: 108
tt101 is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by crackedcorn View Post
Is your sleeper sifting and making the water milky (all stirred up)? Some say it's a nightmare some say it's not too bad...
No, not at all. He used to keep the surface of the sand pure white and prevented anything from growing on the sand or any debris to build up. He was a really interesting guy to watch. Unfortuantely my 2 clowns were *******s and wouldn't let him sift all areas of the tank and by the time I realized...it was too late. I had one in my 75 gallon salt and he was in there for a while. Never had issues with him at all in terms of milky water.

Now I am too scared to put anything else in the tank, so the sand is nasty and needs cleaning every once in a while.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 01-12-2015, 12:53 AM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
Good Guy Albert
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Richmond
Posts: 3,035
albert_dao will become famous soon enough
Send a message via MSN to albert_dao
Default

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhh... I've always thought of sand as an unnecessary evil. Spraypaint the bottom of your tank white. Done.
__________________
This and that.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 01-13-2015, 04:43 AM
gmann gmann is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Richmond
Posts: 407
gmann is on a distinguished road
Default

no sand and you would never get to see the awesomeness of a jawfish
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 01-13-2015, 05:29 AM
EarthEaterBob EarthEaterBob is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: GVRD
Posts: 14
EarthEaterBob is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kien View Post
My thought is that I have never seen a bare bottom ocean. Or sea for that matter. Or lake even. Or river.
If you think the majority of the coral that we keep in our tanks actually get anywhere near sand in their natural environment, you'd be fooling yourself

That being said, I like sand for the aesthetics. But BB is definitely a ton easier to clean...
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 01-13-2015, 02:41 PM
Myka's Avatar
Myka Myka is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
Posts: 11,268
Myka will become famous soon enough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Leach29 View Post
I am in the process of setting up a new FOWLR tank. Dims are 72x24x27.

I am curious on everyone's thoughts on sand vs. bare bottom? I have seen lots of bare bottoms recently.

Thanks
What types of fish do you plan to keep? Many large fish, (big Tangs come to mind first) are quite smart and will use their pectoral fins near the sand to flush food out. In the process they move the sand around - some do this A LOT. Most of the FOWLR tanks that I know of personally may as well be barebottom because the fish have moved the sand about so much that half the glass is showing anyway!

If you do want sand, keeping one of the larger sand sifting fish (like Valenciennea sp gobies) really helps to keep the sand much cleaner. They can be a pain in the butt in reef tanks because they bury corals in sand, but they are a must-have in FO tanks imo. Also, choose a larger grain sand so you can vacuum it easier - nothing finer than the Caribsea Special Grade, but not so coarse that it traps food like crushed coral will.

You can go either direction and have a healthy tank. It's more about how much maintenance do you want to do and what look you prefer. Barebottom tanks, if you position your flow right and lift your rocks off the bottom you can do absolutely no vacuuming/bottom siphoning and can incorporate an easy water change system. With sand, you will be (should be) in there vacuuming it every week or two.
__________________
~ Mindy

SPS fanatic.


Last edited by Myka; 01-13-2015 at 02:45 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
sand


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 07:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.