There are a number of healthy debates in the hobby and one of the more popular ones is whether to go with a live sand bed or bare bottom in a reef tank. Folks in the bare bottom camp like the fact that they can easily siphon off detritus (dead organic matter such as fragments of dead organisms or fish waste) collecting on the bottom of the tank, making it easier to export excess nutrients such as ammonia, nitrates and phosphates. Small amounts of ammonia in the waste can be toxic to many reef inhabitants and high levels of nitrates and phosphates can inhibit coral growth and colors. Detritus will also be less likely to collect underneath rock work in a bare bottom tank where MORE
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