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  #1  
Old 08/18/2007, 11:59 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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my bare bottom.....

I'm starting this thread to fully convince myself that bare bottom is what I want -

I will be using my 210 g (24x29x72) with three 400w 20k radiums, after fifteen plus years of deep sand beds, LPS and softies I'm ready for the next step..............I want some acropora

If you have a bare bottom tank, please post a picture so I can see what's in store for me - feel free to post any useful wisdom on the BB also.............I'd appreciate it, Thanx. T
  #2  
Old 08/19/2007, 03:22 AM
tankslave tankslave is offline
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http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...49#post8792049
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  #3  
Old 08/19/2007, 12:00 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Holy smokes tankslave! That thread is the cat's meow! Thanx's. T
  #4  
Old 08/19/2007, 04:44 PM
tankslave tankslave is offline
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No prob! There's some other thread called "barebottom tank pics" or something, but I cant seem to find it. That one had some really nice pics.
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  #5  
Old 08/19/2007, 08:36 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by tankslave
No prob! There's some other thread called "barebottom tank pics" or something, but I cant seem to find it. That one had some really nice pics.
I've pretty much read most of that thread..........it's an oldie and most of the photos aren't there anymore. I'll try a search again for some more BB tanks.
What did you go with? the epoxy and sand? I've got some ideas from that last thread - I'll kick some of those around and come up with something. Thanx again. T
  #6  
Old 08/20/2007, 04:48 AM
tankslave tankslave is offline
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I got the black starboard. Makes a nice impact/scratch resistant bottom.
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Whoever said fishkeeping will lower your blood pressure never had a reef aquarium...

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  #7  
Old 08/20/2007, 01:04 PM
RichConley RichConley is offline
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why do you feel you need to go BB to keep acros?
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  #8  
Old 08/20/2007, 04:00 PM
coralnut99 coralnut99 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by RichConley
why do you feel you need to go BB to keep acros?
Same question here.
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  #9  
Old 08/20/2007, 08:11 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by RichConley
why do you feel you need to go BB to keep acros?
I want a change, I've used sand beds for filtration the past three tanks. I'll still be using a DSB remotely, I just want keep the detritus, poo and food in the water column for filtration and not build up anwhere- with the BB in this 29 inch depth tank, I can finally direct the water to the bottom, I like that


Here is what I've done, I'm cutting in a whole house fan above the tank to keep the heat down. I've never ran 400 watters and only can imagine the heat I am using my TinMan mojo to fabricate the reflector. This is the bed room side collage. T

  #10  
Old 08/20/2007, 08:18 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by tankslave
I got the black starboard. Makes a nice impact/scratch resistant bottom.
What thickness? does it cut easy and can it be glued to itself? I've got an idea.....

I saw the BB picture in your gallery, what was that bottom? please post some pic's ........T
  #11  
Old 08/20/2007, 08:34 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by coralnut99
Same question here.
Howdy coralnut99 ! I'm confident that BB will be saving me some heaches. Do you have a BB pic that you can post? Thanx...T
  #12  
Old 08/20/2007, 09:51 PM
coralnut99 coralnut99 is offline
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One of my fondest wishes is to have a camera that can take decent pictures. There always seems to be something else costing several hundred bucks cropping up.

Fwiw, I have 3 separate systems. Two are BB, and one a ssb. But all 3 systems have extra large refugiums with dsb's. After many upgrades, and tank consolidations, the oldest of them is now about 3 years old and all are fully stable with a wide range of corals. I honestly can't say bb is any better/worse from my experience. Failures, etc. have been due my own errors, extended power failures, etc. I've been toying with re-installing a ssb in my lps display, but just have too many other things on the to do list that don't get done during baseball season.
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  #13  
Old 08/20/2007, 10:13 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Thanx coralnut99, do you have rock to glass, or something between them? I haven't had an extended power outage, knock on wood........that's a bummer. I have an inverter as a last resort, I would like to some day have a generator back up but not this year.
  #14  
Old 08/21/2007, 03:04 AM
ScarabRa ScarabRa is offline
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just my 2 cents

Yeah, back in the day (1989), I found a book in the library which talked about a liverock only tank ecosystem. Soon after I had a 55 gal glass Berlin setup, meaning Live rock with BB, and I eventually added a skimmer. My first saltwater tank.

It eventually migrated to what I called a Berlin Hybrid. Which consisted of an alge scrubber which used prolifera alge (now called refugum...lol), and added a gravel bed to the front open bottom area of the tank.

I added a medium large pump with a spray bar across the back bottom edge. at first ran 24/7, but eventually I had better luck getting the gunk out by leaving it off, and switching it on right before I did a water change. It would sweep all the sediment to the front where i could suck it out easily

I Had a fairly heavy stocked tank, and never had ANY nitrate issues, and did fewer water changes too.


Its funny, as im debating going with a deeper substrate....lol

The grass is always grenner...right?
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  #15  
Old 08/21/2007, 08:53 AM
coralnut99 coralnut99 is offline
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T Man, Power outages have really been a huge issue for me. We went through a spell about 4-5 years ago with several daily outages that would barely knock out the digital clocks. But it was more than enough to fry every Rio pump I owned. We had a REALLY long one about 2 years ago that sent me running to Home Depot (about an hour's drive), to buy one of last generators they had (yet anothe of those things keeping a good camera out of ny hands), only to have the power come back as I'm getting the darn thing off the truck. Funny how life works, lol!
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  #16  
Old 08/21/2007, 08:55 AM
coralnut99 coralnut99 is offline
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Oops, forgot......No starboard used here. I took a fair amount of care in selecting and stacking rocks.
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  #17  
Old 08/21/2007, 02:24 PM
RichConley RichConley is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by T Man
I want a change, I've used sand beds for filtration the past three tanks. I'll still be using a DSB remotely, I just want keep the detritus, poo and food in the water column for filtration and not build up anwhere- with the BB in this 29 inch depth tank, I can finally direct the water to the bottom, I like that
You can do all that with a sandbed, you just need adequate flow.
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  #18  
Old 08/21/2007, 07:58 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by ScarabRa
Its funny, as im debating going with a deeper substrate....lol
I've got three hundred pounds of aragonite fiji pink in the 210 now. I've divided the sand to both ends and it's a twenty inches deep at the top. I like the look, but it needs to be contained in tiers like a rice patty. Another BB plus..... I'm building a pair of tiers with acrylic, I have considered a small deep sandbed on the tier for my clams.

How deep are you talking about? I've had a ten inch bed years back and I tell ya'......I had no issues ever. T
  #19  
Old 08/21/2007, 08:15 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Rich, I'm looking at it like this.. acros grow on table after table separated from the sand bed. If I want to simulate that type of growth, the RDSB will function as in the wild.

Have you ever used a WaveBox? I want that action but would hate to pay five bones for something that appears I could cobble together for eight bucks- I guess I'm just scotch....T

Last edited by T Man; 08/21/2007 at 08:43 PM.
  #20  
Old 08/22/2007, 03:06 PM
RichConley RichConley is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by T Man
Rich, I'm looking at it like this.. acros grow on table after table separated from the sand bed. If I want to simulate that type of growth, the RDSB will function as in the wild.
The whole "acros dont grow near sand" is a completely false red herring that the BB crew throws out. THere are infact, a whole bunch of lagoonal acroporid species. The vast majority of the ones we want to keep are lagoonal.


If you want to go BB, great (I run BB), just say "I want to run BB".Theres no need for the false "I need to go BB because I want to keep SPS" , or "I want to go BB because theres no sand on the reef" crap.


I've played with a wavebox, never owned one. Wasnt all that impressed.
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  #21  
Old 08/22/2007, 06:25 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by RichConley
If you want to go BB, great (I run BB), just say "I want to run BB".
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by T Man
I want a change, I've used sand beds for filtration the past three tanks. I'll still be using a DSB remotely, I just want keep the detritus, poo and food in the water column for filtration and not build up anwhere- with the BB in this 29 inch depth tank, I can finally direct the water to the bottom, I like that
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I guess you missed this earlier post. As for listening to the what the "BB crew" claims, that is a concensus that I'm not aware of nor influenced by. I have seen SPS on the reefs in the south Pacific and have observed the separation of the two.There is the reef and the sand bed- then the lagoon and the sand bed. I want the table part of the reef at each end of the 210, with the three 400watters and my twenty-nine inch tall tank- I can grow a table colony at depths of twenty-four inches.
Show me some pic's Rich I want to see your BB and livestock, what do you use for the cleaning crew? will my four year old star fare well without the sand bed? it's never been without one....it spends a good amount of time on it.

  #22  
Old 08/24/2007, 10:52 PM
reef / aholic reef / aholic is offline
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BARE IT BABY!!!
  #23  
Old 08/25/2007, 11:37 AM
NoSchwag NoSchwag is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by RichConley
You can do all that with a sandbed, you just need adequate flow.
Can you please explain how one could get the high velocity flow needed at the bottom of the tank, to keep particulate matter from settling with sand? Just curious that's all. If there is ANY type of sand in the tank, it should be in the water column, or in neat little piles.

I know I have multiple penductors on pressure rated pumps, multiple maximods, and I still get a lot of settlement.

I put my penductors on loc-line so that I can point them every which way, and my power heads on magnets. I have been trying for YEARS to keep stuff from settling on the bottom, haven't figured it out yet. I did manage to keep it settling on the rocks, which to me, is wayyy more important. When the stuff is on the bottom I can see the piles, not so much when it's on the rocks.
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  #24  
Old 08/25/2007, 11:44 AM
NoSchwag NoSchwag is offline
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T Man, welcome to the club. If I may, a little advice..

Get a becket and skim wet!!!
Siphon always.
Feed a lot.
Go easy on the halide.
Keep the sump clean and dark.
Forget about filter socks (unless you beckett keeps clogging because of snails )

Good luck man!
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Last edited by NoSchwag; 08/25/2007 at 11:49 AM.
  #25  
Old 08/25/2007, 07:36 PM
T Man T Man is offline
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Thank you NoSchwag, I have cosidered all of your suggestions. I would like to grow table colonies as deep as two feet with the three four hundred watters, I honestly don't think I'll get the rate of growth I've anticipated with anything less.
I understand why a wet skim would be benificial, I am going to need a better skimmer for sure. What do use use for a cleaning crew besides snails? what about my linkia and conch, how will they fare without the sand bed? Thank's a bunch. T
 

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