live sand vs. no sand

[j46561]

Hello everyone, I am contemplating setting up a 90 gal. reef tank, I am reading up on the subject, talking to people , and I have heard from a local guy that grows corals , that you dont really want sand in your tank, because of a possible later contamination, he suggests live rock only with a bare bottom , but yet I am seeing all kinds of posts for getting live sand?...help! I was thinking of going bare bottom to avoid possible problems? ps...Love the web site and forum, Thanks J

 

[Mikef1]

I would have to say got with live sand but make sure you keep it maintained. I would say 2-3 inches.

 

[Johnsteph10]

A 2-3 inch sandbed seems to be the most popular choice at the moment -- it allows for some denitritifcation, etc. anaerobic areas to form and makes it look more natural. Sure, it's harder to keep clean but if you have a good skimmer with a lot of flow in the tank, most particles won't settle out. Add a good cleanup crew with sand-sifters and I think it is second to none.

Plus it just looks cool to see all the life in the bottom of the tank! Lots more than a BB would support!

Just my $.02.


John

 

[j46561]

Thanks for your input everyone, feel free to put in more two cents, im all eyes and ears now, thanks , J

 

[ChrisRD]

You can always start the tank bare-bottom and see how you like it. You can add sand later if you want to. Lots of folks run BB tanks with no problems so the sand is definitely optional IMO.

 

[Baianotang]

The majority of biological filtration occurs in the sand, with out it you can get your livestok to poison itself (it is a serious issue)

 

[Anonymous]

I'd say go with a nice DSB but don't go crazy like some. Only go a max of 6" and let it vary in depth throughout. ie: two to three inches in some spots and six inches in some as well.

 

[Anonymous]

sand is gonna be personal preference and honestly i dont believe its gonna effect anything in your tank..

The majority of biological filtration occurs in the sand,with out it you can get your livestok to poison itself (it is a serious issue)

i disargee with that..im not sure how true that is..if you siphon sufficiently and do frequent water changes i dont see a problem with fish "poisoning" themselves...but having sand as a substrate does provide many plus's biological filtration is one as well as home to many inverts and fish(ie certain gobies) and you have the whole natural look of a reef! but its up to you and ChrisRD is correct to go bare bottom will work good too... HTH

 

[ChrisRD]

The majority of biological filtration occurs in the sand, with out it you can get your livestok to poison itself (it is a serious issue)

Can you provide a link or reference to support this statement? IMO/IME it's completely untrue...

 

[shawnz28]

Substrate size and depth is a bit of a debated issue at the moment. Not too long ago it seemed everyone was prasing the benifits of a 4"+ DSB, now many of those same people are blaming those same sandbeds as the reason for their tank crash. Like almost everything in this hobby, depth and type of substrate is an experiment and partially personal preference. I like 2-3 inches of a mix of sand to medium small substrate like sea floor. It is what I have been using for the last 4 years and has worked well for me.