Sand bed ---> bare bottom

[leftme]

How would you go from having a sand bed (~2"-3") to going bare bottom? I don't want to tear the whole tank down or start a new tank. My snails have a hard time with the sand bed and I am having hair algae problems (although phosphates and nitrates are 0) So I am thinking of going bare bottom. Do I still need to have sand in the sump?

Thanks,
Clayton

[danny zubot]

I think the easiest way to achieve a bare bottom without ripping down your tank would be to siphone the sand out. When I had a cyano problem I attached a long rigid tube to my hose so I could control where I was sucking. You'll be left with a bit of sand under rocks but it will work its way out eventually.
Why have you decided to go bare bottom if you don't mind me asking?

[mr_alberta]

An easy way to do this would be to siphon out a little bit of sand with each water change. Its not a drastic change where you remove everything at one, but a slow change.

Also, the point of removing the sand bed would be to remove a place where nutrients could build up. If you left a nice sand bed in the sump, it would defeat the purpose of removing the sand from the display. The sand in your sump would just become a remote sand bed.

Another thing to look at is what you have in your tank so far (coral wise). Bare bottom tanks are usually best suited for hight flow SPS type tanks or lower flow softie tanks.

I doubt that the sand bed is the main cause of your problems though. How long has your tank been up and running? I would try adding some Macro Algea like Chaeto first to try to help use up the excess nutrients in your system.

[muck]

Also, the point of removing the sand bed would be to remove a place where nutrients could build up. If you left a nice sand bed in the sump, it would defeat the purpose of removing the sand from the display. The sand in your sump would just become a remote sand bed.
Unless the reason for romoving the sand in the display tank is to seriously increase the amount of flow in the tank. This will ensure not having to deal with a huge sandstorm. :cool:

[Beverly]

Clayton,

Unless your rock is already sitting on the bottom of the tank with the sandbed added later, siphoning out the sandbed, either a bit at a time or all at once, will cause your rock to shift and probably topple in some places.

I would go the extra mile and tear down the tank (removing as much tank water as you can), remove the sandbed, clean where the sandbed may have left algae on the glass, then put it all back together. Have lots of new salt water on hand to help refill the tank. I know this is the PITA way of doing it, but I think you will be more satisfied with the result.

Once you do have your tank BB, make sure you siphon out the crud that accumulates on the tank bottom and thoroughly clean any foam or poly filters you may be using during water changes, otherwise you're going to be back where you started in terms of excess nutrients fueling the growth of unwanted algae.

I would also suggest having some sort of macroalgae in the tank to utilize the nutrients so nuisance algae is less of a problem.

A 29g is a relatively small tank, imo. Too large of a bioload (ie, too many fish, or having leftover food in the tank) might be the reason you have so much algae. In my 37g, I only have a pair of ocellaris clowns and a pair of cleaner shrimp.

Am wondering how many fish you have in the tank and how often you do water changes and other maintenance.

[leftme]

I really should add all the tank details to my signature.
I have 2 Clowns and a lawnmower blenny, asst. hermits and snails.
I have recently replaced my DYI skimmer for a remora pro, I couldn't get the DYI skimmer dialed in (for about a year). I also have a colony of pink star poly.
I do a 5g water change every week or two, and clean out the filter socks in old tank water. I use store bought RO/DI water for change and top off.
I just thought a bare bottom tank would be cleaner. I could clean out the crud on the bottom of the tank. I also wanted to increase flow due to changing the remora pro pump to a Mag5 I am using as the return.


Clayton

[Beverly]

Clayton,

Not too many fish in your 29g, that's good :biggrin:

In our three BB tanks (37g, 67g, 120g), we left space around the sides and back of the tank where there is no rock so we could siphon the tank better. We also do the siphoning in two stages. First stage is siphoning the crud that's easy to get at, where it usually builds up at the back. Second stage is blow the crud from under the rock to the back of the tank, then siphon that stuff out once it settles, usually 15 minutes later. Powerheads are turned off and removed from the tank for cleaning before the siphoning begins. We do this weekly in all the tanks.

Also, the day before water changes, I clean the glass then turkey baste the rock and some of the corals. You'd be surprised at how much crud accumulates in the porous rock, and the tank gets kinda cloudy. Some of the crud is picked up by the mechanical filters in the tanks, some drops to the bottom of the tank, and then some just falls back onto the rock, but at least we're getting as much crud out as possible this way.

HTH.

[leftme]

I have not totally decided to go bare bottom but I am thinking about it.
I want to change my mag5 return pump for a mag9.
The tank has been running for a year.

As for macroalgae, I have some red spiny looking stuff and green leafy stuff that was on some LR that I bought from someone, I don't know what it is though. And neither of these algaes grow very fast.

So what are the pros and cons for BB tanks?

Clayton

[Richer]

Pros:

You have the ability not only to increase the flow rate of your tank, but to distribute it evenly all over your tank... rather than having a large majority of it directed in the top half of your tank. Many SPS keepers are a big fan of big flow rates. Its easier to keep a tank clean with a BB because detrius does not have the opportunity to build up in a sand bed, and higher flowrates can keep them suspended in the water column longer, making it easier for your overflow+sump or any mechanical filters to remove it from the main system. Having no sand bed also gives you that extra couple of inches of space that is normally occupied by the sand.

Cons:

Certain kinds of fish (ie. sleeper gobies, jawfish, etc.), corals, etc. cannot be kept without a sandbed. Quite a few people don't like the look of a BB tank.

-Rich

[StirCrazy]

here is a pic of my bare bottom after 10 weeks

http://members.shaw.ca/crystalk/coral13.jpg

Steve

[kari]

Steve,

A nice bare bottom would be a little more curvy looking. Sorry but even after 10 weeks your bare bottom does not really appeal to me.

[AJ_77]

Steve,

A nice bare bottom would be a little more curvy looking. Sorry but even after 10 weeks your bare bottom does not really appeal to me.
That's a GOOD thing... :eek:

:lol:

[G1GY]

Steve,

A nice bare bottom would be a little more curvy looking. Sorry but even after 10 weeks your bare bottom does not really appeal to me. :lol: :lol: :lol:

If I didn't have sand in my tank, it just wouldn't look real anymore.