Bare Bottom tank info anyone?

[william1]

How many people here have a BB tank? Is there any usefull information that anyone has to offer. This is for a frag tank I am setting up. I want to run a refugium and a closed loop system with a UV, skimmer... I wish I had the room to loop both of my tanks together but I just dont. I have heard you need to house a couple fish!

 

[glxtrix]

BB rocks! And is very good for frag tanks. If it's not tied into your main system, it is pretty good to have a few fish in there to generate waste....tho I don't think its really needed. If you dont have fish in there, I would suggest dosing amino acids for the corals.

 

[glxtrix]

true BB'ing however has NO sand anywhere in the system. The whole theory behind it is there is NOTHING in the system where any ditritus and excess food to sit and rot. The high flow kicks it up and both removes it from the system and feeds the corals. Its just another way to run a tank....and IMO is better for frag tanks.

 

[sailfish]

<span style="font-family: Vrinda;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I have a bare bottom frag/growout tank and I like it very much. It’s not a true bare bottom system because I have DSB in the sump. The only negative I have is it limits fish choices and is not very </span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';">aesthetically</span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"> pleasing.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">No bare bottom thread goes without controversy so I will add some.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">When I started my bare bottom I noticed that my Phospate were lower than in my main tank.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Its always .01 with HANNA and always .02 to.03 in the display.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">They have the same fish load or maybe more in the bare bottom. The have everything the same amount of food(a little more in the bare bottom), water changes, salt. My RODI water phosphate is at .02 with a TDS=0</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So from my experience bare bottoms have lead to less phosphate. Is this a fact? NO! Just a statement based on my own experiences.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I did find it very interesting.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana Ref';"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Joe</span></span>

 

[stickx911]

thats good to know. any other frag tank suggestions? any fish recommendations? I was just thinking of adding a damsel just because they're cheap, but damsels suck...

 

[jetchris]

Having a BB tank is like going to the beach at a lake. Having a sandbed is like going to the beach at an ocean. They both are similar but would you rather see the ocean?

 

[stickx911]

let me rephrase before I get in trouble, I juust think they're not the best necessarily because they grow large (too large for my tank at least) and are aggressive...

 

[william1]

Ya Im gonna have a 6 inch bed in the refugium! as for the DT should I put in an overflow corner and plum the return straight threw the bottom with a check valve..

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[william1]

I have been doing some thinking about the tank and trying to come up with the best flow for the tank... I have seen other tanks go threw the bottom so just thinking hmmm.

 

[william1]

Gotcha..... I will work on simple.

 

[acroholic]

dawgdude;189337 wrote: Your just asking for problems to go through the bottom. And what do you mean by best flow? I dont really see a need to put water flow from below the corals when if you have enough flow it will be bouncing off the bottom and back up. I wouldnt make this system to complicated because like I said, your asking for more things to go wrong. Its a frag tank, it doesnt need to be complicated.

+1. The simplest solution is usually the best solution. I have an auto water changing system on my 265 and 240 gallon freshwater tank. Water goes in thru a hose and exits thru a gravity feed overflow pipe. Simple, no moving parts, and I have never had a flood in over 10 years of use.
Dave

 

[william1]

Thanks dawgdude I will let you know all the help has meen a learning exp...

 

[william1]

So this thread hasnt been up in a while and I thought I would get some more info before setting up my bare bottom cube. Wht are the negatives of having a bare bottom. Any little helpful hints.... Im hoping to have my cube up and running by sunday.

 

[derek_s]

I think the only disadvantage I can think of (which isnt even a disadvantage) is that you need to get that detritus out on a regular basis. So regular waterchanges are more important since the whole idea is that you get the detritus out before it decays.

With sand it kinda stays and the bacteria in the sand takes care of the decay.

I would so go BB if I liked the look. But I really like some sand.

 

[seedless reefer]

My opinion is that it doesnt suit my personal tastes I think tanks look better with sand and BB tanks just look spartan.

 

[weaglereefer]

I think for a frag tank, BB is good. For those talking about it looking unnatural, if this is a dedicated frag setup, it's going to have shelves made of PVC and eggcrate; what's natural about that? I say go BB, keep up on the water changes, add a few chromis, not damsels, some live rock, the same lighting as in your display tank, and call it a day.

 

[william1]

Derek_S;293820 wrote: I think the only disadvantage I can think of (which isnt even a disadvantage) is that you need to get that detritus out on a regular basis. So regular waterchanges are more important since the whole idea is that you get the detritus out before it decays.

With sand it kinda stays and the bacteria in the sand takes care of the decay.

I would so go BB if I liked the look. But I really like some sand.

I added a closed loop system that pulls water out of the back bottom of the tank with a mag12. I will post a picture of the tank. The area where the closed loop get water from has a grated box over it were the rock will sit. This way theres no obstructions to the pump. Ill kick up the water flow in the tank as well.

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[lees]

I concurr with Loren. Tank looks good Will. Very nice for a frag tank

 

[william1]

As of right now this tank will hold most of whats in my 90 gallon. Probly end up filling the sump with some of the LR I have too. The 90 will come down and be sold and a new tank is going to replace it. In the end it will be a frag tank just not at first.

 

[glxtrix]

Need to remember it's not about doing water changes in a BB tank (yes it helps though to get excess detritus out of the tank) but it's about circulation so nothing rests on the bottom of the tank. Properly utilizing your flow will help with this. And as always, the better of a skimmer you have the better your BB system will be. It's definitely not for everyone....as you can tell from all the haters ..... it's just a completely different approach to a clean and healthy tank.