Yes or no substrate

[Awesomefazekas]

I was wondering if i could not put any substrate in my tank

 

[Sillyfishies]

I was wondering if i could not put any substrate in my tank

SORRY! Read the question wrong.

Bare bottom tanks are fine. You can keep them clean because you can suck up all the waste. Bacteria isn't a problem if you have biomedia in your filter.

 

[KidFish]

of course you don't have to put a substrate in there! its called a bare-bottom aquarium. It can be a kindof cool industrial look. But the thing that might get in the way is that there is hardly any beneficial bacteria area then. I know beneficial bacteria like to chill in the substrate, so i guess you wouldnt have much of that. It also can be cumbersome to keep it clean, gravel and sand and whatnot keep it pretty hidden

 

[Rivercats]

I've run bare bottom tanks and they can be as nice as ones with substrate. It does look better IMO to paint the bottom of the glass.

KidFish most of your BB lives in your filter as it needs a constant supply of oxygen and food which it gets both as water passes through a filter.

 

[Mebbid]

If you are thinking of going with a bare bottomed approach I would suggest that you paint the bottom and take a fairly high flow approach to the tank. An extra powerhead or two pointing at the bottom will help keep detritus suspended in the water column long enough to be removed through mechanical filtration.