Removing the sand bed...Is this a good idea?

[Jackson919]

Hello,
I have a 55 gallon tank that has been running for about a year....I have about 60 lbs of LR, 3 damsels, an open brain, a hardy green polyp, and the usual assortment of shrimp and crabs......A small bioload to say the least......I spend more time automating and improving the plumbing than anything else??????

I have about 2" of crushed coral as the sand bed, started out with a fish only but moved to reef tank very quickly, that is 1 1/2 years old.....

I would like to remove the sand bed and just have a bare bottom tank.....Are there any guidelines or proven methods to do this....I was thinking taking a scoop out a week and eventually it will be gone....

Will I have to replace it with LR or will the current LR make up the difference? Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

I think removing it in small amounts at a time is a good idea. I also think your current live rock will be fine, no reason to add more. My preferred method for removing substrate is to syphon it out, that way you pull out all the crap in the sand bed at the same time you remove the sand. This is easier with sand, but I have removed crushed coral this way too using a 1" diameter section of tubing.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Why do you want to go with a bare bottom? I know it's the latest fad, but I still believe sand is very beneficial to a reef tank.

If you do do it, I would take out a section at a time, over several weeks. Siphon it out, so you dont get detritus spread through the tank.

 

[Jackson919]

I like the look of a barebottom tank more, for some reason........I find the sand bed traps to much deitrus.........I'll make up the filtration difference with LR.....If need be

Also, aren't you supposed to change the sand from year to year anyway, I've heard this but have never done any length of research.......Thanks

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Also, aren't you supposed to change the sand from year to year anyway, I've heard this but have never done any length of research.......Thanks

Jeez it will take it a year to fully mature, why remove it. Trick is to have enough life in the sandbed to deal with the detritus. With the right critters in there detritus isn't a problem.

 

[Anonymous]

One way the locals have been doing it is coinciding with large water changes, and basically getting a large diameter hose (ie not quarter inch ) and just suck the sand out with the siphon sucking up any nasties that you might be disturbing in the process. The swap out water, wait until you're ready again, rinse and repeat

 

[Anonymous]

As long as you have sufficient plant life you should be fine. The bed you are removing is probably helping with nitrates. I would feel much better about the change if you had a refugium full of macros to process the nitrates formerly processed by the sand bed. But extra live rock with thriving plant life on it could be enough.

Never heard of having to replace the sand bed each year or so. But I have heard of adding sand as it slowly dissolves.

 

[MitchMc]

no :wink:

 

[ChrisRD]

IMO you have plenty of live rock in there and a minimal bioload so you should be fine just taking the bed out. Personally, I would remove it all at once, but if the bed doesn't have a lot of crap built-up in it, taking a portion at a time would probably be fine too.

My preference would be to make-up a bunch of new saltwater, temporarily relocate the rock and livestock to some buckets or other holding container, and go to town for a couple of hours.

Not everyone is a fan of a BB setup, but personally I like them (although I do like the look of sand too :wink: ). One thing is for sure though - BB is far from the latest fad. People have been running BB reefs for decades. If you decide you want sand again some day it's easiest enough to add it back in...

JMO and good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

To me a fad is something that comes and goes, kinda like bell bottoms, and horned rim glasses. Same with bare bottom tanks, and probably in the future dsb's will gain popularity again.

I wasn't saying it was a new method.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Here is a good read on the subject. This is part one of a two part article by Borneman
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/eb/index.htm

 

[KensReef]

Honestly you are better off leaving it as it is. BB is just another fad. If you are worried about detritus accumalating on the sand bed, why not increase circulation, feed less and add more of a cleanup crew? Each of these options will provide more benefits to your tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Typically those who go BB are those who have SPS dominated tanks as they really like to whip the flow around, but if you just have a nice normal mixed reef I wouldn't remove the sand.

Besides think of those poor little crabs spending so much energy to walk along the glass and getting no friction!

 

[middletonmark]

Honestly you are better off leaving it as it is. BB is just another fad.

It's funny, because IMO DSB is more of a fad. It's only appeared [compared to other methods] recent on the scene - made a huge splash, and appears to be less popular as time goes by.

Something that recurs [like BB method] is a weird fad if it keeps appearing every 5 years like clockwork. `Old reliable' seems more like it IMO

 

[KensReef]

It's funny, because IMO DSB is more of a fad. It's only appeared [compared to other methods] recent on the scene - made a huge splash, and appears to be less popular as time goes by.

Something that recurs [like BB method] is a weird fad if it keeps appearing every 5 years like clockwork. `Old reliable' seems more like it IMO

I agree that DSB is another fad. I won't use either. Just because BB keeps coming back doesn't make it any less of a fad.
Either way wouldn't you agree that changing your tank setup by doing something as drastic as removing all the sand is quite unnecessary?

 

[middletonmark]

Depending on what's going on, it may or may not be.

If export was poor in the past, lots of debris accumulated ... it's going to be a hard battle to slowly leach out those nutrients and get them out of the system. I don't think regular disruptions of the tank are good, but I'm not so sure about irregular disruptions if the long-term results are good.

 

[KensReef]

I don't believe that is the problem that he is trying to fix.

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree with Mark - I don't see BB as a fad either. IMO they have always and will always be around because they're easier to run "clean" if you're after very low nutrient levels. At least that has been my experience after having run several systems with and without sand.

At any rate, I say run what you want. As long as you have enough flow, lighting and good water quality it's just a preference thing IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

Honestly you are better off leaving it as it is. BB is just another fad. If you are worried about detritus accumalating on the sand bed, why not increase circulation, feed less and add more of a cleanup crew? Each of these options will provide more benefits to your tank.

The first corals to be successfully settled reared and reared were done so in barebottom systems... in the 1800's. "Bare Bottom" may be a fad to the hobby, but they work. Period.

 

[KensReef]

Honestly you are better off leaving it as it is. BB is just another fad. If you are worried about detritus accumalating on the sand bed, why not increase circulation, feed less and add more of a cleanup crew? Each of these options will provide more benefits to your tank.

The first corals to be successfully settled reared and reared were done so in barebottom systems... in the 1800's. "Bare Bottom" may be a fad to the hobby, but they work. Period.

Not really the point is it? My point is that you are better off not changing the system in such a dramatic way as removing all your sand, when a much simpler solution for example increasign flow, cleanup crew and less feeding.