Sand Or No Sand?

[nuggetsgotmilk]

I am about to setup a 30 gallon rimless tank. I have noticed a common trend of not putting sand in tanks. I expect this to be a reef tank. Should I put sand and why or not? Thanks, Ben

 

[mattgee87]

I personally have sand because some of the creatures I keep have to have sand. I also like the look of a sand bottom vs a sand less tank. I will say I have never tried a tank with no sand though.

 

[massivedynamic]

mattgee87;965004 wrote: I personally have sand because some of the creatures I keep have to have sand. I also like the look of a sand bottom vs a sand less tank. I will say I have never tried a tank with no sand though.

^ ditto

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Mainly comes down to personal preference and what you will be keeping. Most gobies need sand, some inverts also like it.

 

[thefishbuddy]

I took the sand out of my 40b a few months ago. And now I'm ready to put it back in.

 

[snowmansnow]

I think that my next tank will have NO SAND.
Just my opinion at this point in my reef keeping life

 

[jdavid]

I got sand for the 60 cube I'm setting up

 

[declanisadog]

I personally like the look of sand, and i love sand dwelling wrasses. At the same time though, i have seen plenty of tanks that look great without it. It really is all about personal preference in regards to both aesthetics and tank inhabitants

 

[tonymission]

BB looks ugly but is easier to maintain and keep parameters in check. I'm going with a very shallow send bed on my next tank. I siphon out a little bit of sand on every water change I do currently. Trying to get it down to about an inch or so.

 

[player_505]

Put sand in the tank less work

 

[berje]

Why not go with a faux sand bed? Get the aesthetic pleasures of a sand bed but the ease of maintanace of a bb tank.

 

[thefishbuddy]

it is way easier to clean and keep looking nice with sand on the bottom

 

[berje]

thefishbuddy;965074 wrote: it is way easier to clean and keep looking nice with sand on the bottom

Actually a bare bottom is a whole lot easier to keep clean.

 

[franciscosalazar]

I have no issues with algae.

 

[glxtrix]

I personally don't have sand. Ran BB tanks for years. I do like the look of sand though, just not for me.

 

[berje]

glxtrix;965133 wrote: I personally don't have sand. Ran BB tanks for years. I do like the look of sand though, just not for me.

Why not do a faux sand bed?

 

[picoreefguy]

ive never heard of a faux sand bed. is it just a sheet of vinyl with a picture of a sand bed printed on it?

 

[glxtrix]

Berje;965136 wrote: Why not do a faux sand bed?

Picoreefguy;965158 wrote: ive never heard of a faux sand bed. is it just a sheet of vinyl with a picture of a sand bed printed on it?

I don't care to see it if it's not the real deal....It all comes down to what you visually like...BB is not for everyone. To help keep BB going well, make sure you have good flow in the tank and a good skimmer to help remove the waste as effectively as possible. Pico, people have taken starboard (pretty much food grade cutting board) put epoxy on it and sprinkled with sand to get that effect. You can then put epoxy over that again if one would want.

 

[berje]

glxtrix;965161 wrote: I don't care to see it if it's not the real deal....It all comes down to what you visually like...BB is not for everyone. To help keep BB going well, make sure you have good flow in the tank and a good skimmer to help remove the waste as effectively as possible. Pico, people have taken starboard (pretty much food grade cutting board) put epoxy on it and sprinkled with sand to get that effect. You can then put epoxy over that again if one would want.

It looks pretty close to the same thing, just doesn't get blasted away with all the flow us BB users have.


When running BB its also nice to have a spot where all the detritus can settle so it can be easily siphoned out. My next build i will be putting in a cone settling tank for all the crud to settle in to instead of my tank.

 

[tonymission]

Berje;965166 wrote: It looks pretty close to the same thing, just doesn't get blasted away with all the flow us BB users have.


When running BB its also nice to have a spot where all the detritus can settle so it can be easily siphoned out. My next build i will be putting in a cone settling tank for all the crud to settle in to instead of my tank.

Assume you use this... Do you have a pic?