Reef #2 is full ... bare bottom vs. sand bed for upgrade?

[aquavista99]

My basement reef tank is now full (IE, no room to add new corals). Has anyone encountered any problems by moving all the existing (established) sand to a brand new system or is it easier to just add some old sand and mix it with new sand? I am also curious if anyone here has experience with bare bottom reefs (no sand bed at all).

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[scott wilson]

i found a spot:)

[bigfalcon36]

Bare Bottom is sweet...go that way.

[Slicktrax]

i have never seen a bare bottom in person, but i have heard that they are beautiful.  i read on rc about a tank that had the bottom covered with zoo instead of sand.  that would be cool to see.

[micki]

When we upgraded from 55 to 125, I used all new sand and put a few cups of old sand in two panty hose legs and left that in the tank for 2 weeks.  I then removed the panty hose and my sand was then seeded.  I had no problems what so ever.  No cycle or spike in anything.  I also did it all in one day. 


Nice looking tank by the way. 
 

[andrewr]

I think that starboard reefs are cool but i do like the dsb. my dsb is 10 inches and wavy. i like the sand

[aquavista99]

I am considering starboard. The main reason to install it is to prevent a rock slide from cracking your otherwise bare bottom tank.

[REDPYRO]

there is plenty of room in there

[REDPYRO]

your not trying hard enough

[ohioreef]

there is plenty of room in there

Until they grow out.....

[REDPYRO]

more rock to stack up the back wall....that would give plenty of surface space to attach to.

[Reefinmike]

starboard reefs can be nice looking but it takes a lot of growing of the corals to draw attention away from the fact that there isnt sand. i personally dont like barebottoms too much. i always use about an inch of sand. looks natural and dosent trap too much crap. i also never transfer the old sand. IMO its not worth the trouble. first you have to scoop all the crap out, transfer it, then worry about all the crap in it getting stirred up which can be a problem since you need to put corals and all in the tank soon. i just toss a bunch of new sand and out with the old.

you should have specified, your tank WILL be full when everything grows out.. but wouldnt it also be full in years if you just throw a dime size piece of montipora capricornis in it?!?!?!?

nice progress

mike

[verper]

you should have specified, your tank WILL be full when everything grows out.. but wouldnt it also be full in years if you just throw a dime size piece of montipora capricornis in it?!?!?!?

nice progress

mike

Good point!

[aquavista99]

The sand I have now is from the ocean floor, filled with lots of worms, sea stars etc, so I am thinking about keeping some old sand and mixing with new. I like the idea of having a bare bottom tank with SPS (easier to clean, etc), but at the same time, I like the look of coral sand.

As for the tank being full.....sure, there is some room for growth, but right now, I have very limited space for each coral to grow out in all directions, which is my goal. The more room you can provide, the better in my opinion (unless you are in the business of selling coral).

I do have monti caps in my upstairs reef. They grow to fast to add to this reef.

Black starboard is another option .... Sand, bare bottom or starboard......so many options!

[angel]

more rock to stack up the back wall....that would give plenty of surface space to attach to.

yes you have so much more room. it will be years before those grow out to the size you are estimating.

[aquavista99]

When we upgraded from 55 to 125, I used all new sand and put a few cups of old sand in two panty hose legs and left that in the tank for 2 weeks.  I then removed the panty hose and my sand was then seeded.  I had no problems what so ever.  No cycle or spike in anything. 
 

Thanks, Micki. I may have to try this approach as well.

[rmstevensiii]

What was the purpose of the panty hose???

[Slicktrax]

that way she could pull out the old sand.  i think it was crushed coral.

[micki]

What was the purpose of the panty hose???

Slick is correct. My old sand was crushed coral and the new sand was sugarfine.  I didn't want the crushed coral in my new tank.

[rmstevensiii]

OK... makes sense now.  thx.

[aquavista99]

I think that starboard reefs are cool but i do like the dsb. my dsb is 10 inches and wavy. i like the sand

The trend now is that some very experienced SPS keepers are moving away from a sandbed and relying on just turbulent water circulation to keep detritus afloat, coupled with a very good skimmer and believing that if you prevent detritus from building up & export it fast enough, you can effectively control nitrates & phosphate.

In their opinion, using starboard bottoms, although fake looking, is the alternative to a bare bottom tank. It will become natural looking over time with coralline algae .

[aquavista99]

there is plenty of room in there

You are right...I found more space to add  more SPS!

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[Slicktrax]

cool.  what are the green/white things in the first pic (lower right corner)?  they almost look like bean sprouts.

[aquavista99]

cool.  what are the green/white things in the first pic (lower right corner)?  they almost look like bean sprouts.

It is some type of macro algae.

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[ohioreef]

They're kinda cool looking at least!!