Bare bottom tanks??

[fishtician]

Just wondering what the benefits or reasons are for not having any gravel or sand in your tank?

 

[peewee]

ease of maintenance.

 

[Larz]

Gravel holds fish poop, which can make it harder to control nitrate levels in the tank. This is particularly true for tanks with larger, messy fish like Oscars. If you keep gravel in the tank, regular vacuuming is a must.

 

[Bderick67]

IMO you would have to either like the look of poo or want to have to vacuum the tank on a daily basis, to keep a tank bare bottom. You could always set up a high flow, high current filtering to remove the poo. He only bare bottom tanks that I think look good are those that are sparkling clean.

 

[keonetfish]

When raising fry, it is better to have a bare bottom tank to make sure there is no left over food that will foul up the water and kill your fry.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

it makes it easier to clean, although to be honest, don't do it any of my tanks as my wife thinks it looks ugly

 

[Laticauda]

Sand is a good option, since it compacts, and poop stays on top of it, and is easily siphoned off.

I keep barebottom tanks with my goldfish, quarantine tanks, and generally anything that isn't a planted tank. I hate vacuuming gravel, but I hate nitrAtes more, so I just opt to not have gravel at all.

The poop is sucked up by the filter intakes. I have goldfish, so there is typically 10x the tank's volume (or more) running through the filter every hour. Everyone that sees it thinks it looks amazing, and artistic. I also use driftwood, rocks, and potted plants to keep it from looking bear.

 

[postshawn]

@ Laticauda

Do you have photos of your goldfish tank? I have a 55g with goldfish and just interested in other goldfish tanks.
Thanks.

 

[NCStateFisher]

not a huge fan of the barebottom look, i kinda like how it reflects but i'd rather have sand bottoms, just as easy to clean IMO

 

[importracer]

Just wondering what the benefits or reasons are for not having any gravel or sand in your tank?

Because debris/fish poo can fall between the niches of gravel/sand and settle, causing ammonia spikes, lots of people stick with bare bottom tanks....Also, bare bottom tanks look sleek and cleaner than substrate tanks......