Some people swear by it as being the best thing and others dont. Its all about proper husbandry, if you want to clean your sand and keep it properly maintained, then its doable with sand. If you dont keep up on it, it can cause a lot of issues with your tank and its params. BB tanks people love the clean look and it wont bother the fish as long as you dont have burrowers. For the beneficial bacteria, thats what the live rock is for. Bacteria grows in the rock and sand, but if you have enough rock to handle the bio load, their "need sand" point is moot.

There's even a BB forum here, you should check it out and read up on it. Substrate Free Tank Husbandry.

 

LOL, why wouldn't they try to get you to spend more money on sand!

The only part that made any sense is about SOME critters needing a sand bed. As long as you research the species of fish and inverts that don't need the sand, you will be fine.

 

LFS mainly its harder to sell you sand and more things to clean your tank maybe?

Locally I have one LFS that has thin substrate and some DSB's that look like a time bomb.
The other LFS is BB all the way minus 2 tiny tanks mostly for display.

Had a few LFS workers say "no sand it all dies in months" then you look at their nasty tanks and their black/red/brow/green substrate wondering if its been cleaned in months, let alone turned over. Then you find every few months one sections of tanks empty since they crashed, so they just wait a bit and change the water and rinse and repeat.

Actually never been in a LFS that has over 1" of sand and looked like it was cleaned and maintained right. Its really bizarre

 

LFS make more money if you buy sand and gravel from them...BB is much easier to take care of...I have been in this hobby for about 40 years, and once you go bare bottom you will never go back to a dirty detrius catching sand bed. Now, if you like the way a sand bed looks, add a very light cover of aragonite or somthing that is easy to vacuum...Some live rock is all the filtration you will need, togeher with a skimmer with good water movement, and you and your fish will be very happy indeed.

 

Oh forgot their 3rd option for LFS here. The one my wife refers to as the "Antiphsia farm"
Every tank has a ton of them, every 3 months the clear them all out with manual removal (which doesn't work) Then watches them grow back in. I once actually was asking about their RO system for the shop and manager took me to the back room to show me the system. The "Sump" for one of their displays was a 4' x6" tub that literally was Antisphia every square inch..... I pulled out my phone for a pic he got pissed and pushed me out the doorway saying all sorts of nice things He even got mad since I only buy basic stuff there no livestock why I would care to take a picture of that. My response was surely its a world record and I don't buy anything living or "wet" from the shop because I prefer my tank herpes free.

 

Well these comments are exactly how I feel so this makes me feel much better. Iv had my mind made up on bb for a few weeks but I just could t get over how admit they were about not have a bare bottom tank. There is no doubt in my mind now that I will be going with a bare bottom tank. Thank you everyone for your helpfull responses and keep them coming.

 

It all comes down to, each method can work. Based on how well you work with each method. Then factor in most people think their way is the right way and the only way. This is how I see a lot of those types of conversations.

I prefer the try it out and see way Started sand moving to BB, started with Macro Algae, got rid of it. Mileage may vary but I like to drive each road sometimes to get a feel for it. So far don't miss a refug or sand really.

I did start with a 30g tank, basically as a test drive and to dial myself and my routine in. Now planning to go "pro" and less mad scientist with a larger tank.

 

the LFS would really hurt if people ONLY picked up what was needed...

-Glass tank
-Little bit of Dry Rock
-Couple Powerheads
-Salt Mix
-Heater
-Light

I think some of these people have been told so much info they honestly don't know what way it up.

now the sand and live stock is a valid angle and is one to consider, but for me I don't have to keep a sand swelling animal, sure some are nice, but when you look at whats available out there sand dwelling critters are just a small part... and most of them you hardly ever see anyways..

 

Yeah I know my list of fish and inverts I want and I made this list knowing I won't have a sand bed so it won't be any problem IMO.

 

All I could do is laugh as I read your post. You're instincts are right on the money. If you want to go BB, and you design the system well, you will be just fine. By the same token, if you want sand, and you design the system well, you'll be just fine. IMHO the worse place you can go for advice is the typical LFS.

 

I can't agree more EC!! The typical LFS is one of the worst places to go for advice!

 

I agee. LFS can be so set in their way of doing things.. I had once mentioned to the lady about cooking my LV, and though she wad gonna freak out on me.. saying it would kill my bacteria.. I had to explain that it was no different than LFS has been doing for decades by curing their rock.. she thought I was gonna throw it in the oven.. only times I really go there is when I need something in a pinch and feel like spending double what its worth..

 

there was a time when it was against the religion of aquarists to not use sand. Looking back - it's hilarious.

 

if you go back a few years further than that, then it went against the religion of aquarists to use sand. in the early 90's, BB was the method of choice for reef tanks. then the "sand experts" came along and buggered the entire hobby up for the last 15+ years.

when BB's were the method of choice back then it was because of the nutrient export knowledge. somehow all of that went away when the "sand experts" came along.

G~

 

I love my bare bottom and probably will never do sand again.

 

man thats one thing that sneaks up on ya and gets ya

 

I have found over the years that shops tend to promote what has worked for them and products that have good margins on them. on occasion I encounter a shop where the staff are into the hobby them seles and look stuff up online so they know the various trends and what to have available to promote sales. We used to have a shop where the manager was in the local club, a member here and had local contacts for custom sumps and skimmers if someone was serious about their gear.
When i found a shop that was still doing UGF and old tech like that and ridiculed all that internet nonsense, I might snag a frag if a deal was to be had but hard to eastablish a rapport with someone like that. my shop knew what I had gear and stockwise, probably better than I. When the new girl you have not met greets you and says we have something you will love, and did, that is great customer service, then again I shopped there a lot, spent hours hanging out talking to staff and caught fish, pulled live rock and helped unpack on delivery day a lot. It was a great shop, not just wet pets but all the dog /cat and birds as well as reps and exotics. Sadly the owners divorced and the shop got sold

 

you aint kidding.