Bare Bottom?

[tntdsol]

I am getting ready to set up a 40 gallon breeder that will be a mixed reef. I am trying to decide if I want to go with a sand bed or not. I will be running a fuge with a deep sand bed in it. What are the pros/cons of bare bottom? I was thinking of just painting the underside of the tank black. Also, if I do go bare bottom do I need to glue rocks into place? Any input or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
TNT

[rage]

I started with a 2" sand bed but I could not keep it clean so I removed most of it over the last year. I only have some of it left under the rocks where I cant' get to.
If I were to start over, I would go bare bottom completely. It's much easier to keep clean. You don't have to glue the rocks, they are heavy they are not going any where.
You only need to worry about not having critters that need a sand bed. Painting the bottom black is a good idea if you will keep a light on on your sump, it gives the fish a quiet night time.

[ometh]

The good things are that you can point direct your flow so that any waste will just thrown in the water column, food will be easier to find for the fish and it's a lil less maintenance.

the bad things are that if a piece of rock (medium to large size depending on weight) falls it will surely crack the bottom, I personally think it looks ugly, you wouldn't have the benefit of borrowing critters either.

over all id go with a sand bed. it may not be much easier to clean but, in the long run it looks better and you get the benefit of all the lil critters.

[Bedlamer]

First of all I'd say go with what you find the most pleasing to the eye. Then consider if you want critters that require the substrate as rage pointed out. Then as ometh pointed out a substrate can act as a cushion for any tumbling rock work--but I'm kind of assuming that for a mixed reef in a 40 breeder--you won't be having any livestock large or robust enough to easily knock over your rocks? Without a substrate there is nothing for smaller burrowing fish to dig under and cause a topple anyways. The rockwork should be resting either on the bottom of the tank or on egg crate anyways not on any substrate--to avoid the sapper effect from any diggers. If you find it hard to make up your mind you could always just start up the tank bare bottom--then add a substrate latter if you change your mind--easier than starting with a substrate then trying to remove it. If you do add substrate later--test your water parameters a couple of times to make sure your tank doesn't go through a mini-cycle if you have any livestock in it by that time (more likely to happen if you add live rock after the initial set up--but always pays to be vigilant).

If the thought of falling rocks still bothers you—you could always get some marine epoxy putty and put a few dabs here and there as you stack up your rock work. Some people drill and insert acrylic rods to stabilize things—but that’s probably overkill for the height of the rockwork you’ll put in a 40 breeder.

Some people are fastidious about wanting their bottom clean; some prefer a more natural look. Personally I like the look of a substrate. I saw somewhere black marine substrates online--which I think would look pretty snazzy--and not show most detritus. I have seen largish reef tanks (6' length) in person that were bare bottomed--I found it a bit sterile--but it pleased the owner--which is the main thing. I have seen pictures of an award winning tank in Europe somewhere with a bare bottom that was breath taking. Mainly because there was such a dense and varied profusion of coral growth in the tank that there was really hardly any room left in the front bottom of the tank for a substrate.

If you do decide to go with a substrate for the display tank--consider using aragonite rather than sand in the display tank—its coarser grains help prevent anaerobic areas in the DT and also helps to replenish dissolved material taken up by your corals/clams/critters. For your sump's DSB you will of course need sand. In the area over your DSB try and make every effort to ensure that once it is up and running, there is nothing hanging over that area of the sump that could fall off and disturb the DSB--releasing large amounts of nasty stuff into your system all at once.
Good luck with your new reef setup—I hope to see pictures posted up here someday down the road.

[eklikewhoa]

depending on what you plan on stocking with would make the difference.

I personally prefer sand bed and never had much trouble keeping it clean but I ran rithedonkalous flow. For the most part I would say sand bed even if it's a light sand bed, just enough to scatter across the floor bottom.

[tntdsol]

Yea, I have decided to go with a very shallow sand bed in the tank and a DSB in the fuge. we will see how it goes