Bare bottom or Sand?

My 120 is barebottom. My 210 has a sand bed. The 210 is more " natural looking ". By my own admission, my 120 is neglected but the corals and fish are in fabulous condition. Nothing dies in it. Detritus is easy to siphon off as it forms. The 210 is so-so. Not sure if it's the sand bed but if I had to do it again, I would go bare bottom on the 210.

 

It is amazing how much detritus gets trapped in a sand bed.

 

I have had great success with BB. I'm not a fan of the look so much.

Never used sand myself.

 

Our frag tanks is starting to cover over in coraline on the bottom. I think they look awesome that way. I like the look of sand, but it is a real PIA IMO

 

Not having sand can limit you on some of your choices of fish.

 

go au-natural and get the sand!

 

I have a shallow sand bed, I like the look, hides inevitable detritus build up, and I siphon it out and replace a portion of it every year. Easy to do, looks great!

 

take epoxy cover the bottom of your tank then add fine dry sand let cure then dump ot extra sand and presto bare bottom with sand look

 

Have any links for this little DIY project?

 

Did any of you guys see the fake sand "mats" at the Reefbrite stand at MACNA? The guy wrote "I can't believe its not real sand" on the tank and if he didn't I wouldn't have noticed it wasn't a real sand bed. They have fake rock walls as well, but I lost the business card so I can't tell you the company name anymore.

 

We currently have a 55g with a sandbed and we are upgrading to a 130g and going bb with it, the look of the coraline growing on the bottom not to mention the easier it is to keep tank parameters in line made bb a win hands down. We are putting starboard down on the bottom of the tank and sealing the edges with silicone that way our rocks aren't sitting on the glass bottom, you cant see through the bottom into the stand below, and it will cover in coraline over time and wont be seen anymore. Plus we live in a 3rd floor apartment a sandbed means even more weight and when we do decide to move in a few years it means even more tear down and set up. I think you just have to weigh out the pro's and con's of both and decide what is best for you and keep in mind that with a bb there are some corals and fish that you cant have. Good luck with your new tank /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif