Bare Bottom???

aufan1 · #1 05/26/2006, 08:06 AM

Yesterday my tank developed a small leak and fortunately for me and the fish, I was able to obtain a loaner tank. While shoveling out the DSB, I started thinking about a BB for the next tank. What are the advantages and disadvantages of going bare bottom? And what about livestock? I was thinking about getting a Mandarin one day. Will a bare bottom bother this fish? With a bare bottom, do I really need snails and crabs anymore?

unimike · #2 05/26/2006, 08:38 AM

No it won't bother the fish but the drawback is that you might will lose some of the biological filtering that you can benefit from the live sand

thor32766 · #3 05/26/2006, 08:48 AM

yeah i would rather have the sand bed. some people love it though/

aufan1 · #4 05/26/2006, 08:49 AM

I thought of that drawback but figure that my 70 pounds of LR will more than make up for that. (70 gallon tank)

whiteshark · #5 05/26/2006, 09:52 AM

Well, my tank was BB for a few years. It is much easier to clean, especially if you have a spray bar in the back. However, I converted to a sand bed because it just looks a lot better. You will still need a clean up crew to clean up anything that may settle in the rock and the algae. I also wouldn't be able to have my sand sifting goby without the sand bed

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