a tank without sand?

[Mermaid]

does anyone out there have a tank with no sand/substrate in it at all? my 150 reef has a DSB with plinum (sp?). my husband has been talking about taking out all of the sand and the plinum and just covering the bottom of the tank with just the live rock. i've heard that over time DSB can build up a lot of toxins and eventually crash the system. so i'm tempted to just let my husband at it. but i wanted to check here to see what ya'll thought about a tank without sand/substrate.
thanks,
Mermaid

 

[HoopsGuru]

For research, you will find plenty of information around the web under the name "bare-bottomed" or similar. It is a standard method that has been around for awhile and just relies on a different means of nutrient export (normally heavy skimming, detritus siphoning, etc.).

You will find equal information describing which is "better" so it is not really possible to tell you what to do with any accuracy. I would research BB as mentioned and then make a decision amongst the two of you. It is a method that can be very successful.

I still use sandbeds though and approaching 3 years am not much concerned about the latest chatter. I am setting up a 16g BB though just experience something new.

 

[indy]

The dsb "crash" is a lot like bigfoot. Everyone's heard of it, no-ones seen it I think lfs' propogate the rumor to sell more wetdry's. Other than that you can go bare bottom if you want to.

 

[William]

The ocean hasn't crashed... So why would the tank if its propperly cared for?

 

[arizona reefer]

only one question from me. what i don't understand is will having no sand bed efect live forms in the tank like worms and brittle star fish? i mean little animals live in the sand bed. where will they live if there is no sand bed?

 

[luntiz]

I'm running a BB. Got lots of flow to help w/ the detritus buildup and then I siphon it out. A lot easier than siphoning out detritus from sand (siphoning will pick up much of the sand.

 

[HoopsGuru]

The ocean hasn't crashed... So why would the tank if its propperly cared for?

While we try to recreate it, our tank's are not a functioning replica of the ocean. Our bioloads' are high, our macro & micro fauna are in limited numbers (some die off and are not replaced), etc. While I don't believe sandbeds are "doomed" for failure at all, I don't believe they exactly replicate nature (and no method really could).

only one question from me. what i don't understand is will having no sand bed efect live forms in the tank like worms and brittle star fish? i mean little animals live in the sand bed. where will they live if there is no sand bed?

You are correct, many infauna will not be there if there is no sandbed. But they aren't needed either. BB uses siphoning and skimming as the main means of nutrient export.

 

[indy]

You don't siphon a sand bed if you have a good cleanup crew, so no worries there.

 

[Mermaid]

thank you for all of your info! well we did it, we removed the sand and plinum! it was not an easy task. the bottom is now just covered with live rock, except for the beach we left in the front of the tank! looks great, and everything is still alive! thanks again ya'll!
Mermaid