SSB vs BB

[tropicguy]

Ok - if one went with say a 1/2" SSB for appearance, does it defeat the advantages of the BB tank if you are diligent in siphoning / cleaning the SSB?

thanks

 

[wrightme43]

Its a personal call. One thing is you can always remove the sand bed. I am happier now that mine is bare.

 

[Krish]

I wouldn't think so once you siphon it before anything startsto really break down.

 

[tropicguy]

Does everyone doing BB tanks put something on the bottom? i.e. I have read some put star board to protect bottom glass from rocks. I assume this is siiconed?
Do some not put anything?
I guess from the millions of posts and articles I have read I am leaning to BB tank or perhaps 1/2" sand for appearance - not sure

thanks

 

[Krish]

I've seen starboard and just bare glass. I guess it's a personal preference. I've seen some people use starboard to give the illusion of sand. I would probably put something down though for fear that a tumbling rock would break the glass.

 

[spongebob lover]

hey i have a sand bed which is about 1 - 2 inches i believe and i really like the way it looks.
I went through so much before though because of my cyano problem but after reading everyone's opinions in here i went and bought some powereheads and i shiphon as much as i could and all i can say is that i love the way it looks.
i believe my sand looks cute

 

[tropicguy]

I agree - I like the look of sand - but I also agree with some of the advantages of the BB tanks. I guess I will end up compromising and using a 'wee bit' of sand.

thanks
John

 

[spongebob lover]

ya and anyways if you dont' wanna have it later you can just siphone it all

 

[clayswim]

I keep a small amount of sand for both looks and buffering capacity. As long as you keep it clean you shouldn't have a problem. Cleaning can happen by siphoning or using sand-sifting snails, conches and fish. I like using the latter plus occasionally stirring the sand with an acrylic rod.

It's best to use something on the bottom for protection of the glass; but not absolutely necessary. When setting up a shallow sand bed I place the rocks on the bare bottom first, and then fill the sand in around them. This creates better stability for the reef and minimizes the risk of falling rocks when the sand settles or is disturbed.

Clayton

 

[mojoreef]

Tropicguy you really have to loo at BB or sand systems as an over all concept rather then just if you have sand or not on the bottom of the tank. Folks that practice the use of DSB's, SSB's, Plenums and so on rely on bacterial processes for nutrient break down. Folks that practice BB's and simular remove the waste prior to breakdown.
So if you look at it from the concept, then you could run Bare or even have shallow sand, I even know folks that follow the BB concept but run up to 4 inches of substraight. Soooo if you like the concept of a BB but want to have some sand for looks then its no problem. Having the BB just makes achieving the waste removal easier, as in you can direct flow down to the bottom to automatically keep the detritus/waste in the water column. If you have some sand for looks then you are going to have to manually remove it via syphoning, no biggie just a little more work.
Steve's tank (oregon reef) is an example of a deeper bed with the BB mentality. He has about 3 to 4 inches of sand for looks in the open areas of his tank. He syphons the bed completely to keep it from going anaerobic and or collecting waste.


Mike

 

[tropicguy]

ok - that makes a lot of sense. I am almost 'there' as far as what I want to do. I hope to run it by all you guys for your input / suggestions before I go ahead.
(Mike - it appears you're the plumbing expert - maybe when I finalize I can run it by you for plumbing help - where to put ball valves, unions whatnot?)

thanks again for everyone's help

John

 

[Krish]

Good luck...Hope everything works out. Mike has been a big help for me as well as alot of others here. I'm sure you will get all the help you need.

 

[Skipper J]

What about this reason for going DSB?

 

[spongebob lover]

lol !! what in the world are those things and how did you get them there? lol

 

[NaH2O]

tropicguy - check out this thread if you haven't already: Let's Talk About ~Filtration Concepts~

 

[tropicguy]

Nikki - I did thanks (I read it several times!) One of the reasons I have decided to go BB or as I call it barely bottom (1/2" or so of sand). I figure I am willing to do some extra work of cleaning to have the sandy look. I did consider the closed loop concept also, but just don't have the room at the back of the tank for access.

thanks again everyone

 

[Krish]

Skipper...Who's tank are you showing? Is that yours? Talk about diversity...I like it!

 

[clayswim]

From the pictures those look like Garden Eels. Really cool fish if you have plenty of sand for them to burrow into.

Clayton

 

[spongebob lover]

Really cool fish

sorry Clay, but for me, that looks kind of scary

 

[Skipper J]

Skipper...Who's tank are you showing? Is that yours? Talk about diversity...I like it!

I wish I could say it's mine but I took the pics in Ocean Park. I wasn't able to get the details because the kids are in a hurry. I was taking it though with Mojo in mind They have huge fish tank there as large as your Monterey with a diversity of fish.

sorry Clay, but for me, that looks kind of scary

I'm sure my wife will agree with you! :lol:

Cheers everone!

Joey