Why my Reef Tank is barebottom despite sand looking better
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- Опубліковано 8 жов 2024
- I've run 10" deep sand beds, shallow sand beds, sugar sized, course sand ect but bare bottom seems to work the best. My tank stays clean and I have no nutrient issues. At times I think about adding a sand bed but when you see what I remove weekly from the tank you'll know why I don't.
If this was my final dream tank I probably would go with a shallow course sand bed and just vacuum it every single week with pockets of deeper fine sand for wrasses and other creatures to bury.
You’ve inspired me to go bare bottom. :) On my stocking list I’ve ended up with, no fish that really use sand as part of their routine.
I've never looked back. Sand may look better at the start but eventually you don't even notice. Especially if you look at my tank now compared to this video.
@@captivebredcanada Yeah I see what you’re saying. Easier maintenance is always a plus. I’m not a fan of high bioload tanks crammed with just about every fish one can possibly find. Doesn’t give the peaceful look and the fish have to compete more for food and room.
Nice video the reef looks lovely. I have just started a new reef build and thought about a bare bottom but will go with a small layer of sand :)
You have a beautiful setup
I use a mixture of small pebbles and sand to give the "live rock" a more stable place on the tank bottom.
how often do you have to clean it?
@@captivebredcanada I do a partial water change about every two months when I get home. I'm a truck driver and I usually stay out on the road for 2 months at a time. I just don't like looking in my tank and seeing the floor underneath the tank. I do see how having a barebottom tank would be easier to clean.
Beautiful corals!!
I love your tank man!
TMG vlogs thanks!
I know I am late, but I had a 50 gallon fresh with gravel bottom and always had algae issues. Went bare bottom and never had issues again with algae. I am thinking it would be the same with salt water. I am thinking of doing a marine pure block bottom. ;-)
Never had a freshwater tank so I wouldn't know, but it works well for saltwater. I would not do a marine pure bottom. For one they need to be rinsed out so it will be a real pain to take each one out. 2 they are very brittle and will break over time. 3 I don't think it will look good.
To my view it does not as good as sand but when when sand is not properly cleaned and free of algae and dirt which is 95% of times, bare bottom looks way better.
Beautiful!!
Very nice system. I have subbed.
Got to say it again, so above average. Don't think I could sell here bottom to my wife...
I don't really think it's better but it works better in this case. If I had planned to keep it bare bottom I probably would have put starboard down on the bottom. As for the average comment thank you. I call this tank average reef mostly because it's just an average tank both in size and in content. While I'm certainly happy with how it looks I used to have much nicer livestock in the past and more tanks so I still have along way to get it back to where it once was. Besides the crashes I have endured over the years I moved 700km away far from all LFS which further complicates things. That being said I have a lot of time these days to work on the tank which is why I started to create videos.
Average Reef keep the videos coming, I really enjoy them
Awesome tank! What is that zoanthid called in the thumbnail? With a brown center and green outsides? Ihave it too but I don’t know the name
palythoa grandis
barebottom is the easiest and cleanest way to maintain a fish tank if you have a strong filtration system.you put any sand into your tank only leaves you dirt and a lot of troubles need you to clean up very often. If you don't then your fish would easily get sick and die But if you do not put any sand then all the aquariums will lose a lot of money can earn. That is why the aquarium will not tell you the truth. People don't like to use barebottom it's because they think it's ugly and looks unnatural but don't forget one thing that is your fish tanks filtration system no matter how strong it is still can never compare with nature river water
Slowly removing the sand from our 125 gallon reef tank now too, I think the benefits of bare bottom far outweigh the visual appeal of sand.
Did you paint the underneath of your aquarium
No. It won't really show up unless you paint the inside. I don't do anything just bare glass, but you can buy starboard which is the same material as cutting boards to put on the bottom if you prefer either white or black on the bottom.
How do you get the detritus off the bottom (it can be "sticky") from all places around and under rocks to a place where it can be siphoned?
The way I have my flow most of the detritus ends up on the far side of the tank. The small rock structure on the right is moveable so I just siphon from there. I'm not trying to remove 100% it's good to have a bit for pods worms bristlestars ect but I get lets say 90% of what is created weekly so I don't have a massive buildup 6 months or a year later.
The only reason i run barebottom is because im scared of scratching my tanks lol
Eventually you scratch a tank if you keep it long enough. As long as it's not major shouldn't take away enjoyment.