Sand bed indecision...

[asylumdown]

Thanks everyone. I suppose this debate will never be truly "settled". I'll keep weighing the options and we'll see what happens. there is a very small fuge section in my sump (not big enough to have any impact on nutrient levels), so I might try one out in there and see what happens. If anything, I can always add more sand later...

[dc4]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Thanks everyone. I suppose this debate will never be truly "settled". I'll keep weighing the options and we'll see what happens. there is a very small fuge section in my sump (not big enough to have any impact on nutrient levels), so I might try one out in there and see what happens. If anything, I can always add more sand later...

I see it less of a debate and more of personal preference, I had a 3" sand bed in my 29g and when I moved to a 72g, I only have about an inch of sand for my pistol and and a few gobies to call home. It all depends on what you like and what you want to planning to add to the tank.

[Reefer Rob]

Am I the only one who actually likes the reef-crest bare bottom look? Sand is so distracting, it takes away from the corals.

[toytech]

If you like the look of bb and dont mind sucking the crud off it ( or have mega flow so nothing settles ) go that way . If you like the look of sand put enough sand in there to make it look nice then worry about getting some cuc that will take good care of it instead of trying to find a magic depth .I think the only important note for sand is it takes some upkeep .

[asylumdown]

Upkeep is the key I think. In my 90, I had... jeez I can't remember how many snails. But I also had lord knows how many hermit crabs. As time wore on, the number of snails i had dropped dramatically (but my crabs always had nice, new homes to carry around), and my algae problems increased in relative amounts...

[Myka]

My personal opinion is...it doesn't really matter.

I don't like deep sandbeds because of the potential issues that could be associated with it. I like to avoid potential issues whenever possible. Having no sand could have potential stock selection issues. So, that means the happy medium is some sand...?

My 90 started off with 4" deep sand on each end for Jawfish paradise, and then 1" in the middle because I didn't want too much sand. This was all fine and dandy, and the Jawfish kept the sand clean. I eventually siphoned out most of the sand so there was a little less than an inch all around. The Jawfish is now no longer, and the tank got dirty (long story you've probably heard before) so I siphoned the sandbed out. I couldn't be happier. My tank just has a light skiff in some places, but mostly bare. Coralline algae is starting to cover the glass and I really like the look. The color of the coralline is whitish/pinkish so it doesn't look much different than sand, but without the mess. I like that detritus is easily siphoned out during waterchanges.

Keep in mind I'm a sand vacuumer. I vacuum it right down to the glass all over the tank on every waterchange. I wouldn't do it any other way. I also don't notice any detrimental effects to the sand inhabitants. Well, that was when I had sand.

I have a wrasse and he just lays on his side on the glass at night...he doesn't seem to care, and I get a chuckle out of it. I did have a pile of sand in the back for him, but he didn't use it, so I siphoned it out.