Barebottom and Rock Cooking
- Thread starter E.intheC
- Start date
I wish it were that simple. Trust me, if you took the sand out of your tank and emptied it into a bucket, there would be tons of gunk in there..
- Location
- Coram, Long Island
Eric, I think we are in agreement here, my only concern is for new hobbyists who haven't been through this debate before (ad nauseum) yanking out their sand beds without understanding what they are doing.
Regarding "cooking" rocks, aside from the term which I hate, it certainly works for killing off algae and other stuff on the rock surface, and I have no reason to doubt some very smart folks that affirm the bacterial cleansing claims, but Ive personally never done it and in fact use rock in all my systems that is at least in part a decade or more old. So, I guess my position is-- there is no reason not to do it, but Im not sure there is a compelling reason to make the effort either unless you have problems to begin with.
Those are pretty new, geologically speaking.
:wink1:
See #2
http://reefbuilders.com/2010/10/16/blast-polarazing-hobby-trends-influenced-reeff/
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
http://reefbuilders.com/2010/10/16/blast-polarazing-hobby-trends-influenced-reeff/
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
I got into the hobby when this was a heated debate every day on reefentral. There was a small army of barebottom rock cooking people spreading "the good word".
You don't run into too many of those people anymore. If the method worked so well you would see it everywhere and noone would use sand in their tanks anymore.
What has actually happened in the hobby since those days is quite the opposite.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
You don't run into too many of those people anymore. If the method worked so well you would see it everywhere and noone would use sand in their tanks anymore.
What has actually happened in the hobby since those days is quite the opposite.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
Wow ... I guess the author of that article thinks people that run a bare bottom system are "stupid".
Running a BBT just makes more sense to me.
"BB is different than a sandbed because you are relying on immediate exportation instead of delayed. In a BBT, detritus shouldn't settle and it can be removed via, siphoning, skimmer and filter socks etc. A sandbed may be thought as a temporary holding area for the detritus until it is exported."
I guess I'm to dumb to run a DSB ... LOL
OK. Let's throw a few things out there. First, Wes.. I respect your opinion. I don't respect the author of the articles opinion as he is just ranting. There's no evidence to support anything heels saying.
We also can't use the argument that because people are not utilising a barebottom system (widespread anyway) that it doesn't work.
My intent with my orig. post was not to say "BB is the ONLY way to run your tank.". I've said that a few times already. Its just something different. There's no "one way for everyone" in this hobby especially with running your tank BB. I can also relate to you regarding the BB and DSB fanatics that were hyper opinionated. I hope I don't come across that way as I certainly don't mean to. (nor do I think I am).
We also can't use the argument that because people are not utilising a barebottom system (widespread anyway) that it doesn't work.
My intent with my orig. post was not to say "BB is the ONLY way to run your tank.". I've said that a few times already. Its just something different. There's no "one way for everyone" in this hobby especially with running your tank BB. I can also relate to you regarding the BB and DSB fanatics that were hyper opinionated. I hope I don't come across that way as I certainly don't mean to. (nor do I think I am).
The author of the article "Scott Fellman" has been a guest speaker at MR Frag Swap. He's not just some angry ranger with a blog.
I don't think anyone is arguing against barebottom. The issue is "rock cooking" and whether or not it is beneficial.
I can think of other methods to remove phosphates from rock that require less work without killing off all photosynthetic life from the rock.
I have "cooked" my rock in the past. As I said before I got into the hobby when people told you that your tank was destined for failure if you didn't.
I'm just saying that the people who came up with this "rock cooking" method are not too prominent in the hobby anymore.
Is rock cooking bad? Not necessarily but there are easier methods. A waste of time and work in my opinion.
Just an opinion from a guy who "cooked" rocks in the past.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
I don't think anyone is arguing against barebottom. The issue is "rock cooking" and whether or not it is beneficial.
I can think of other methods to remove phosphates from rock that require less work without killing off all photosynthetic life from the rock.
I have "cooked" my rock in the past. As I said before I got into the hobby when people told you that your tank was destined for failure if you didn't.
I'm just saying that the people who came up with this "rock cooking" method are not too prominent in the hobby anymore.
Is rock cooking bad? Not necessarily but there are easier methods. A waste of time and work in my opinion.
Just an opinion from a guy who "cooked" rocks in the past.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
Thedlo-I see what you're saying. I don't like to add the sand sifting stars or gobies unless you have a very large sand bed, else they will starve over time. Snails or hermits never really worked sufficiently enough for me.
Last edited:
it depends on the goby. i have a decorated goby and it eats what ever i throw in the tank. the heavy sand sifters are the ones that have a hard time switching to other foods. after reading this thread i was curious to see if my sand bed was "filthy". shook it around a bit and nothing came up really. im sure the sand bed problem is from it not being aerated cause it just sits stagnant, and "crap" just keeps building up.
That's why its very important to use starboard or similar, and make sure you secure the live rock sufficiently.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
