SPS tank Sand or BB?

[Justin144]

not sure if I put this in the right forum but....

• Im wondering who has a thriving sps tank and has a sand bottom? if so how much sand? Pics would be nice as well.

I'm having a slight phosphate issue and am starting to blame it on my sand bed. Ive been doing a lot of research about the BB vs Sand bed debate and im curios on opinions of what you have BB or Sand and why.???

I siphon my sand bed every WC and have a strong flow for no dead spots. Im still starting to consider slowly siphoning out a majority of my sand if not all. I have 1" 1 1/2" of sand at MOST. I just cant think of having a tank without sand aesthetically wise. I also don't wanna lose a lot of my inverts have that thrive in my sand (nassarius snails etc). but then again I try to give my SPS the best water quality possible. I love the look of sand but im starting to regret adding sand to the thought of it being a detritus haven. Any Ideas?

Love to hear any and all opinions and comments from you Die hard SPS keepers on this subject.

 

[SkyDiv3r17]

What is the size of your tank?
Do you have anything to clean the sand bed?

There are plenty of SPS dominated tanks that have sand beds and are doing great.

 

[sethsolomon]

I have a 120g reef with lots of sps in it. I have a 2 inch sand bed.

unfortunately I don't have ant recent FTS as of the current moment.

the key is to have the export for the nutrients that you add in the tank. My #1 anti phosphate thing is no dried seaweed. That can add a ton of phosphate. If you feed seaweed sheets try ordering either gracilaria or Ulva and feed live for a while.

live-plants.com is a good place to order gracilaria you get a lot for $8.

 

[Justin144]

I have a 38-40 gal cube

have like 5 nassarius snails and one Giant sand snail My jawfish moves the sand along with a few margarita snails occasionally. And a bunch of hermits

 

[Justin144]

I have a 120g reef with lots of sps in it. I have a 2 inch sand bed.

unfortunately I don't have ant recent FTS as of the current moment.

the key is to have the export for the nutrients that you add in the tank. My #1 anti phosphate thing is no dried seaweed. That can add a ton of phosphate. If you feed seaweed sheets try ordering either gracilaria or Ulva and feed live for a while.

live-plants.com is a good place to order gracilaria you get a lot for $8.

So the macros eat the nutrients correct? Do they also eat phosphates? I have a bunch of chaetos and some dragons breath right now.
I do not feed seaweed to my tang. but I feed a bit of seaweed pellets for tangs. (???)

 

[Craigar]

Load the sandbed with nassarius snails In my opinion sand is a essential part of having a thriving reef

 

[MuralReef]

You've seen my tank and the sand bed. Due to the wave action I'd say it ranges from an inch to 6". I have numerous nassarius snails, 2 sand sifting stars and 3 cucumbers. It can be a source of problems without proper circulation or lack of maintenance but I wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[sethsolomon]

So the macros eat the nutrients correct? Do they also eat phosphates? I have a bunch of chaetos and some dragons breath right now.
I do not feed seaweed to my tang. but I feed a bit of seaweed pellets for tangs. (???)

So those do absorb phosphates but in a smaller portion than nitrates. its like 9 parts nitrate to 1 part phosphate. The seaweed pellets can add a lot of phosphate if they don't get eaten.

 

[jda123]

I use sand. I would not have a tank without it. I am about 2".

Phosphates come mostly from Fish urine, not feces. The phosphate in the feces was mostly gone within 24 hours. RHF had some pretty awesome research and posts on this a while back, which somewhat explains why BB tanks still have phosphate issues with all other things considered. The feces can clog up the works and make the sand be ineffective.

I use conchs, cukes and nassarius snails in my sand.

I have no idea if these apply to you, or not, but most phosphate issues come from using dry rock, overfeeding or feeding the wrong types of food, low quality skimmer and not growing enough stuff. The hard part is that nearly nobody thinks that they overfeed and lots of people think that they have a good skimmer - it is hard to convince them otherwise even if you suggest that you compare their regiment and equipment to the best nationwide SPSers.

If you are dead set that it is the sand, just replace it. You can do this in-tank. I would not do too much at a time.

Are you vacuuming the whole sand bed with each water change? If so, that is probably a bad idea and you might not be allowing the correct oxic/anoxic zones to establish. I vacuum mine too, but I try and get to all of the area every two years, or so.

 

[Justin144]

You've seen my tank and the sand bed. Due to the wave action I'd say it ranges from an inch to 6". I have numerous nassarius snails, 2 sand sifting stars and 3 cucumbers. It can be a source of problems without proper circulation or lack of maintenance but I wouldn't do it any other way.

Yeah that's true yours was looking good. Ill have to pick up a cucumber! you also have Mad flow haha

 

[Justin144]

Thanks guys im hoping my nassarius snails will breed. ive already seen one baby. I use to have them breed in my tank a lot. Im glad im not the only one that cant live without sand in my tank lol

Im starting to realize my issue of where the phosphates are coming from. My Ro needed new filters and I had used that bad water for a good month or so with top off and WC until I did change the filters in the RO. I heard when Ro filters get old they can leach phosphates into your water.

 

[MuralReef]

I just think BB looks weird and unnatural.

 

[powdermonkey]

I think WWCs BB tank looks above average. I would also say its fairly successful.

 

[jda123]

Test your incoming water. All that can get through is that which came in. If your tap water has no phosphates, then I might suggest that you look for a different source.

 

[sethsolomon]

Bare bottom does provide more growing space for zoas

 

[Justin144]

Bare bottom does provide more growing space for zoas

hahah I always thought of doing that. or having GSP cover the bottom like a grass yard. but would take a whole lot of time ! LOL

 

[Craigar]

If you go bare bottom place a 1/2" piece of acrylic on the bottom of your tank with a 1~1.5" gap all the way around the edges and silicone it down this give tge detritus and waste a place to settle and its easier to vacume out. My next frag tank will do this