sand or no sand, that is the question.

[TheApprentice]

Hello, I am going to start a reef only 14 gallon biocube.

I like how it looks when there isn't any sand. What do you guys think
??

sand or no sand?

are there any benefits to having no sand (lower nitrate)

I will have live rock, so there will be bio.

what do you think?

[gea0119]

I have seen some shallow reef tanks with no and in it and thought that was a way to go.You should hit them up with the same thread in the reply box and take a look at the pic posted because I know you can pull it off with no sand.They did.

[mille239]

http://www.mini2.com/galleries/data/521/thumbs/beatingadeadhorse.gif (http://www.mini2.com/galleries/data/521/beatingadeadhorse.gif)

[rivoth]

You can make it work well either way. Since you prefer the no sand look then go without sand. You might get better feedback from the nano tank forum on how to best manage the upkeep on a small bare bottom 14 gallon tank.

[seapug]

It's a matter of personal preference. Having a sandbed has many benefits but many people prefer bare-bottom tanks because they want to have extremely strong current that would blow the sand everywhere. As far as the cleanliness goes, that's debatable. Well maintained live sand beds can process quite a lot of waste, so if you don't have one, a refugium, settling filter or very powerful protein skimmer are highly recommended. It would require quite a bit of modification on a 14 gal. bio cube.

[DrBegalke]

I think it somes down to personal perferance and the amount of flow you are aiming for.

As far as the filtration/waste processing of a sand bed, the idea in a bare bottom is to have enough flow so waste is not allowed to settle and gets filtrated out in a filter sock/sponge/etc, which means it does not have enough time to break down before removal from the system.

[bubbly]

I agree with Seapug.

If you have no sand bed then you are really limited by the power of your skimmer as to how much you can feed.

I found that a DSB in my 6 gallon tank gives tremendous advantages in terms of ph, alk, calc stability and phosphate removal.

I have a 30g that is barebottom and have to be much more careful about nutrients and gha, and keeping my ph, calc, and alk at the correct levels.

(yes DSB's need to be maintained but so does everything else in this hobby -- as always, do your research carefully)

I know you didn't ask about a DSB but I am pointing out that there is a wide range of choices with diferent risks and benefits -- just decide what's most important to you, and go for that.

Sand has much more surface area for denitrifying bacteria than rock, so you will get more bio-filtration from it. But then if you have a low bio-load, then you wouldn't need that extra bio-filtration.

I suggest going for what you want -- go barebottom and see what that is like. If you don't like the results then you can try something else.

Just be sure that you focus on nutrient export in one way or another. Otherwise you will just be be battling pests endlessly as gha, aiptasia, flatworms, or other nuisance multiplies out of control, feeding on all the nutrients accumulating in your tank.

[bubbly]

I agree with Seapug.

If you have no sand bed then you are really limited by the power of your skimmer as to how much you can feed.

I found that a DSB in my 6 gallon tank gives tremendous advantages in terms of ph, alk, calc stability and phosphate removal.

I have a 30g that is barebottom and have to be much more careful about nutrients and gha, and keeping my ph, calc, and alk at the correct levels.

(yes DSB's need to be maintained but so does everything else in this hobby -- as always, do your research carefully)

I know you didn't ask about a DSB but I am pointing out that there is a wide range of choices with diferent risks and benefits -- just decide what's most important to you, and go for that.

Sand has much more surface area for denitrifying bacteria than rock, so you will get more bio-filtration from it. But then if you have a low bio-load, then you wouldn't need that extra bio-filtration.

I suggest going for what you want -- go barebottom and see what that is like. If you don't like the results then you can try something else.

Just be sure that you focus on nutrient export in one way or another. Otherwise you will just be be battling pests endlessly as gha, aiptasia, flatworms, or other nuisance multiplies out of control, feeding on all the nutrients accumulating in your tank.

[Nano Chris]

Depends, some look better than others with/without, i on the other hand like the sand in the tank, makes it look more natural.