bare tanks

[esoxlucius]

Can anyone explain the benefits of a bare tank to me, as opposed to a more natural look tank with substrate, rocks, wood, plants etc. As far as i can work out for myself it's a maintainance thing which is a valid point from the hobbyists point of view, but what about the occupants. We all want what's best for our fish, NOT us, right? I'm asking the question because of some footage i've seen on joeys you tube channel. Now we all know joeys the king, the guys awesome but i just can't get my head around those beautiful leopoldi rays and that majestic arowana in bare tanks, especially the rays as i thought rays like to bury themselves in sand. Without a doubt i'm sure joey does it this way for a very good reason, i just don't know what it is!!!! If i understood more then maybe one day i'll have a bare tank myself, who knows. Anyone?

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

It's for maintenance purposes. If you have decor, plants and/or substrate you can end up with a lot of waste and uneaten food gathering in it and decaying. This, of course, creates more and more ammonia if it isn't cleaned out. Having a bare bottom allows you to easily spot the waste and vacuum it out before it ever starts to decay.

This is very useful for harder to keep species, such as discus. Really, any free-swimming fish will be fine in a bare tank, since they do not have the need to dig through it. It may not be a great option for some bottom dwellers, such as spiny eels, who use it to hide and dig through. Rays could also be considered for this but I think that their need for immaculate water quality outweighs their desire to dig through the sand.

I'm sure others will post up about some of the other benefits as well.

 

[jwh]

+1 Absolutely correct^^^^what Fish Tank says
I don't like the bareness either, but running a 500g with large fish, I have find myself reducing my decor for ease of cleaning, and appreciate the reasons and benefits of having a bare bottom tank more fully

 

[U1N5C]

I hate the look of bare bottom it bugs me so much. So i just add a little bit of sand just to have a thin layer.

 

[Hoplo]

As said for cleanliness, also avoiding putting things in that block the flow of water reduces the likely hood of dead spots forming, that can also help out for the health of fish a lot.

Personally when it comes to bare bottom tanks I prefer tiled bottoms, as they look nicer then just bare glass, with having all the same benefits of a bare bottom tank.

 

[Brent419]

Ok.. Dumb follow up question as I have been considering a bare tank (for the ease of maintenance) but haven't pulled the trigger (due to looks).. How do you pick up waste on the bottom? Do you guys still use a gravel vac (although lacking the gravel component) or do you blow it around with a powerhead and let the filtration pick it up? I had been wondering if strategically placed powerheads would help in this regard. Also pondered a powerhead mounted on a stick/handle which I could use to blow crap out of the corners.. How do ya'll do it? By the way,?although I'm nit crazy about how it looks, if done right, with the right lighting, a feature fish can appear to almost be gliding across a black background - that's pretty cool.

 

[Hoplo]

A combination of both usually, you set the flow up such that the waste piles up in one area, either in the filter, or a corner so that it can be vacuumed out with very little area.

 

[Slippery K]

I use a few large black flat fiver stones on my bare bottom to break the bare glass look. I also painted the bottom and back pannel black, looks really good i think.

 

[ECW]

Water changes hose. Waste accumulates in corners where the flow dictates. Easy to just siphon it out.

 

[jwh]

I don't have a bare bottom (yet) but i use wave makers in the tank to keep the water moving, I use a wave maker on a long handle and blow around logs, stones etc to move the detritus along. In my setup everything seems to pretty much settle in a small area, then use either the vacuum or the siphon hose to pick it up.

On the looks of a bare bottom, IMO painting the bottom black, adding a thin layer of sand and perhaps a large piece of driftwood, either bare or with anubias attached, and a river boulder or two makes it look so much better.