Is clear bottom or sand/gravel bottom better?

[McNugget]

Hi all,

Gonna setup a new tank. Was wondering if it is advisable to have a clear bottom or a sandbed?

My concern is that if I have a clear bottom, it may not look wry physically attractive as overtime, unconsumed fish food and waste will settle down. Requires constant cleaning to make my tank look more appealing..

However if I have a sandbed, than it would be very difficult to clean up the waste...

Any advice??

[Harlequinmania]

Both got it;s pro and cons. A sand bed will make the tank look more natural as well as additional biological filtration whereas bare bottom will make the tank cleaning much more easier.

[comycus]

Sis, welcome to SRC!

Bare bottom makes it easy to see dead spots and clean detritus. Over time, coralline algae will also grow on the glass, so you may or may not like the effect.

Sand is nice aesthetically, but there is potential for detritus build up in dead spots, and you might not be able to spot them as easily. Best to have a cleaning crew such as sea cucumber, sand sifting star, sand dollar to assist you in keeping your sand clean.

[McNugget]

Sis, welcome to SRC!

Bare bottom makes it easy to see dead spots and clean detritus. Over time, coralline algae will also grow on the glass, so you may or may not like the effect.

Sand is nice aesthetically, but there is potential for detritus build up in dead spots, and you might not be able to spot them as easily. Best to have a cleaning crew such as sea cucumber, sand sifting star, sand dollar to assist you in keeping your sand clean.

Hey Bro! Yeah!

How do I clean the coralline algea on the glass if its a bare bottom? Is there any way to prevent the growth of such algae?

WAH!!! Sea cucumber? Do you literally mean the sea cucumber which is consumable?

What is a sand dollar?

So do you personally prefer bare bottom or have a sandbed?

[tunicate]

I prefer bare bottom. It discourages worms from crawling about.

[darrentyl]

I will prefer to go for sand bed as mentioned this is more natural.

However this is what i feel. Currently using small coral chips i find it way too thick.

[dnsfpl]

currently bb

prefer 1" sandbed

more natural

[desideria]

btw coraline algae is something you would want in the tank.

I personally prefer a sandbed as it's more natural and certain fishes like yellow wrasses, green wrasse and other fish prefer sand to sleep in. But as other reefers have mentioned, it's a personal preference. And yes seacucumber is the one that you eat Sand shifter starfish and sand dollars will help to turn over the sandbed so that it doesn't get too dirty But you will definitely get a certain level of dirt either way.

[darrentyl]

I heard ppl saying that once the sand bed was "disturbed", will cause certain increase on the no2 spike which can be harmful to the livestocks. Any comments on that?

[engineer]

My home tank is sand bottom. Office tank is bare bottom. Depends on entirely on yourself. Pros and cons for both

[McNugget]

I will prefer to go for sand bed as mentioned this is more natural.

However this is what i feel. Currently using small coral chips i find it way too thick.

Yoz Darrentyl,

small coral chips?? whats that? Do you have a picture of it??

sorry sounds abit mountain turtle here...

[McNugget]

btw coraline algae is something you would want in the tank.

I personally prefer a sandbed as it's more natural and certain fishes like yellow wrasses, green wrasse and other fish prefer sand to sleep in. But as other reefers have mentioned, it's a personal preference. And yes seacucumber is the one that you eat Sand shifter starfish and sand dollars will help to turn over the sandbed so that it doesn't get too dirty But you will definitely get a certain level of dirt either way.

Hi Desideria,

What is the purpose of a coraline algae? Correct me if Im wrong, coraline algae has a symbiotic relationship with the coral. It 'makes food' for the corals, and yet on the other hand, the corals will in turn release carbon dixoxide for the algae to photosynthesize?? But coraline algae may form at the bottom of the tank like what comycus said, which is unsightly and thus undesirable for a bare bottom.

Sea cucumber!!!! Must be quite cute I supposed!!

Actually i was just wondering, by putting in a few cleaning crew like starfish and sand dollar that consumes the detritus, does it really contribute to keeping the sandbed clean?

How do you maintain your sandbed? I heard some people actually vaccum the sandbed, which I dont really understand. And like what darrentyl mentioned earlier, when the sandbed is disturbed, doesnt it actually 'pollutes' the water even more?

[Harlequinmania]

I heard ppl saying that once the sand bed was "disturbed", will cause certain increase on the no2 spike which can be harmful to the livestocks. Any comments on that?

Part of it is true especially if you are running a deep sand bed. It may also release toxic or cause a diseases outbreak so best is not to stir your sand bed unnecessary..

[darrentyl]

Hey, no worries. We are here to share...

Anyway after doing some search, what i buy might not be the right term as stated coral chips...

http://www.ocreef.com/5_piece_dried_live_rock_frag_chips

Something similar. Thinking of it, maybe i can smash it up to make into finer one and use it as the bed....

Yoz Darrentyl,

small coral chips?? whats that? Do you have a picture of it??

sorry sounds abit mountain turtle here...

[darrentyl]

OIC, what about having about 2cm for a 2ft tank? Will it be consider deep?

Part of it is true especially if you are running a deep sand bed. It may also release toxic or cause a diseases outbreak so best is not to stir your sand bed unnecessary..

[McNugget]

Hey, no worries. We are here to share...

Anyway after doing some search, what i buy might not be the right term as stated coral chips...

http://www.ocreef.com/5_piece_dried_live_rock_frag_chips

Something similar. Thinking of it, maybe i can smash it up to make into finer one and use it as the bed....

hi, the rock fra chips look very porous... wouldnt it make cleaning of the tank bed more difficult because more detritus will accumulate at the bottom of it?

[starfish123]

DSB is 6cm and above, if i'm not wrong. mine is 2cm

[darrentyl]

In the way yes. As i was brainwash to have this form of setup.

So far my livestock are fine. Was thinking of doing up a bigger tank with more planning.

hi, the rock fra chips look very porous... wouldnt it make cleaning of the tank bed more difficult because more detritus will accumulate at the bottom of it?

[darrentyl]

Bro, can share with me the meaning of DSB?

DSB is 6cm and above, if i'm not wrong. mine is 2cm

[digibee]

Bro, can share with me the meaning of DSB?

DSB = Deep Sand Beds

[darrentyl]

Got it. Thanks..

So anywhere from 2-6 cm is fine?

DSB = Deep Sand Beds

[starfish123]

actually, DSB helps with filtration also. but in my opinion, sandbeds as deep as 6 cm do not look nice in display tank. can build a refugium for it.

[raymus]

A fine thin layer of sand on your tank if u prefer.

Best is bottomless.

DSB if u insist, 6 inch at least , in your sump like what bro star mentioned. Best is grow some cheatos for exporting nutrients. Or mangrove.

[braincoral]

Many reefers move from DSB to BB.

Hardly seen the other way round

Some reefers experience tank crashes

While running DSB for a long period

of time

[Ketchup]

The reason why DSB is not so common for display tank is it gets ugly over time! LOL... the algae on the sand, the glass put people off. As for tank crashing, it will happen if too much of the nitrate trapped under the DSB is suddenly released (i.e. suddenly rescape the whole tank, disturb the DSB). The recommended action is to get snails, starfish, sand dollars etc to turn the sand gradually. Also, you can turn some of the sand manually.