Thinking of ditching sand

[cilyjr]

So I'm thinking of going sandless.
I'd likely do some faux bottom similar to what people have done with foam walls only much less texture. Im aware it will cover with coraline algae eventually.
Has anyone here used west system 105 (205 hardner)resin in a tank? It would be cheaper for the amount I'd need to do a 6 foot by 2 foot area.

 

[reefstarter]

why would you want to ditch the sand ? I have both a BB tank and one with sand , and I tell ya I like the sand better . more activity at night with all the critters that come out of the sand

 

[mnavick]

I've had sand FOREVER.......and now my Tunze's have cleared the center portion of the tank and coraline has taken over.....kind of like it and may start removing portions as coraline keeps expanding until "sandless".

 

[jselzler1]

I've decided my new 90g build is going to be bare bottom. I've been searching for a summary list of all types of fishes needing a sand bed which I'd be giving up. Haven't found one yet.

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[cilyjr]

The fish thing is a small issue for me and my bluestar leopard wrasse.

 

[wolffman1992]

That's a tough one. Might try a small containerr of some sort filled with sand in the tsnk and hope she finds it

 

[jselzler1]

I've been thinking to section off a corner of the tank by running silicon bead on bottom of tank to hold the sand.

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[mchartier]

I removed my sand in part of a Dino battle. I like that things do not settle on the bottom as easily as it does with sand, but yes not being able to have some wrasses is making me think of creating a "sandbox" in one section of the tank with rock so it looks somewhat natural

 

[jselzler1]

hhmmm, an acrylic wall 1" high hidden by rock rubble. Very interesting, time for a quick trip to Home Depot.

 

[this is me]

You either go bare and not keep any critter that requires sand or you keep sand.
Keeping sand in a container or section is easier said than done. The sand will most likely blow around and/or the critter will do it for you. I know my leopard make a cloud of sand storm when it dives into it.
For the headache down the road. Keep the sand or ditch it.

If you're having issue with algae in the tank, don't blame it on the sand. You either have to up the numbers of clean up crew that specifically clean the sand(conch, cucumber), decrease the bio load, and increase your nutrient export by more skimming of bigger fuge.

Going bare is more work than it's worth IME.

 

[cilyjr]

It's not algea issues though I've had them before. I want alot of flow. I mean the flow that seems ridiculous. So an area of sand is out of the question. Most sps coral isn't growing in 2 feet of water right next to the sand bed and they get pulsed by ocean waves. I want to get closer to that

I would do a faux bottom treatment as I don't like the look of just the glass bottom.

I'm guessing nobody has used the west system epoxy? I'm now sure i can use but would still like feedback.

 

[sfb911]

Maybe look into starboard. You could always epoxy a thin layer of sand to it for a more natural look.

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[cilyjr]

I may use starboard but I won't put sand on it. It will just cover with coraline algea eventually. What I'm thinking of is taking spray foam then immediately rolling it with a paint roller as the foam rises it will kind of get the rock look but not raise too tall like it would if I just sprayed it.
I need something heavier then egg crate to prevent it from floating though the 300 lbs of live rock and my larger coral colonies will prevent that I'm sure.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

hhmmm, an acrylic wall 1" high hidden by rock rubble. Very interesting, time for a quick trip to Home Depot.

From experience, if you do this remember to have the acrylic's lower corners rounded to account for the silicone. Otherwise it won't go flush to the corners and you'll have a gap which creates issues. A heat gun will bend the acrylic into a nice corner terrace, and gorilla glue bonds LR rubble onto the acrylic nicely. You'd want to have your rockwork right against the acrylic wall / rubble in order to keep it in place against the tank wall. Or silicone the whole shebang in place if you're okay with permanency.

I did this to have a deeper area of sand, but without the corners rounded off on the bottom it never went flush against the wall. That seemed to get worse over time with the weight of the sand behind it. Otherwise it looked nice and held up well. I ended up scrapping the whole thing in favor of using tonga branch rock as my terrace, which works much better for my use (as it doesn't matter that some sand comes through between the branch pieces).

 

[jselzler1]

CAPSLOCK,

thanks for tips. After thinking about it today, I didn't go get that acryllic. Still going BB but might add some rock decorated container later to hold some sand.

Jason

 

[this is me]

If you're going bare, I hope you know what you're in for.
Check out this check, it's BB and while the SPS are looking good, the appearance of the tank itself without the sand and the dirty coraline is eye sore IMO.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2459331&page=42
I'm going to see if I have any picture of my previous tank when I went bare. First it was the coraline on the bottom. Then I decided to "hey, let's grow GSP on the glass bottom". As the GSP spread into a pretty nice carpet, it traps detritus like you wouldn't believe.

 

[jselzler1]

Fill the bottom with Rics and Acans!!! http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/76-tank-of-the-month

 

[cilyjr]

If you're going bare, I hope you know what you're in for.
Check out this check, it's BB and while the SPS are looking good, the appearance of the tank itself without the sand and the dirty coraline is eye sore IMO.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2459331&page=42
I'm going to see if I have any picture of my previous tank when I went bare. First it was the coraline on the bottom. Then I decided to "hey, let's grow GSP on the glass bottom". As the GSP spread into a pretty nice carpet, it traps detritus like you wouldn't believe.

I worry about the crap for sure. But here is my issue. Due to an alk spike, many of my corals are sad. So if I want to do something then nows the time. I wanted to do a faux treatment but I think it would trap junk worse then crushed coral. I'm thinking I want to move more water but do I really need to? If I crank my pumps now then in 10 mins ya wouldn't be able to see in due to the sandstorm. Also I've been wanting to redo the support room And the faux "rock" overflow I did a few years ago.

Sometimes I think I want to just get a few giant LPS corals and call it done. Maybe that's the best route.

I'm open to any crazy ideas at this point

 

[reefkeeper2]

What's the reason you want to ditch the sand?

 

[this is me]

After about a year, the sand becomes really "heavy" due to the more populated bacteria on them. I used to get sand storm with 70% power from the powerheards. Now, 100% and the sand doesn't even twitch.