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Sand vs. Bare Bottom

I prefer sand because it looks better and natural...but it also depends on if you are going to have fish that constantly lift up sand in the water..that will damage your impeller....but i clean my tank twice a week and it is very easy to clean and all you have to do is turn the sand so toxic gases dont build up from waste.....but other than that I would say go with sand.
 
Ive never had to clean my sand and i have never had problems with it damaging my filters..

why?

1. my stingray turns it over

2. i have massive amount of flow in my tank and the sand shifts from side to side

3. i only have about .5'' of sand.

4. i keep the intakes at least 8'' away from the sand.

5. i use sand that has a bit of mass, it does not stay free floating for more then a second.
 
i used to have sand..but i would always find sand in my canisters when i cleaned them..
i now have..somewhat barebottom..
i sprayed painted the bottom of my tank a color..and added a few handfulls of gravel but you can still see bottom
 
Deaths Sting;3852138; said:
Ive never had to clean my sand and i have never had problems with it damaging my filters..

why?

1. my stingray turns it over

2. i have massive amount of flow in my tank and the sand shifts from side to side

3. i only have about .5'' of sand.

4. i keep the intakes at least 8'' away from the sand.

5. i use sand that has a bit of mass, it does not stay free floating for more then a second.
Click to expand...

Same here but I dont have rays. If you get the right kind of sand...to me its just as easy as a bare bottom tank. I use Estes ultra reef sand...its a little tricky to get it in the tank and not floating but ones its all sunk and the air bubbles are out its beautiful...heavy so it doesnt float around in current...and I NEVER have to vac it. I have some pics of it in my 240 build in my sig. If you use it I would put a sponge over the intake of any filters until its all settled. Its a little work to get it in and right in the tank but its worth it to me. Its similar to the 3M s grade stuff in shape and size but easy to get and requires NO cleaning before you put it in the tank.
 
I just put sand in my bare bottom tank.

My Frontosa, in particular, were very stressed when I moved them from a sand bottom to the BB tank. I knew they were "happy" with the change because as soon as I added the first bucket of sand to the left side of the tank, they immediately moved over to that side. Now my dominate male is back to digging and has made a 6" mountain under the driftwood.

No more bare bottom tanks for me.
 
hmmmm...judging from the responses i think im going with a sand layer. that raises another set of questions. what would be the heaviest sand, i dont want the sand in my filters. also how thick a layer should it be? does it matter?
 
bare bottom tanks are for the lazy fishkeeper :D

if you don't think its true look at everyones 1st comment its easy to clean i cant think of any other good points
 
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