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So who keeps sand in the tank?

Do you keep sand in your display?

  • Yes, no regrets

    Votes: 12 75.0%

  • Yes, but I wish I didn't

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, no regrets

    Votes: 3 18.8%

  • No, but I wish I did

    Votes: 1 6.3%
  • Total voters
    16
I do and I have about 2”. Although I love the look, I regret it more and more everyday. I’ve always used sand and view my tank as something the entire family should enjoy, which is why I lean towards sand (I think the family appreciates the look of the sand within the ecosystem). But even with 3 power heads in my tank, I find that dialing them in has been really hard and I have tons of dead spots and spots where I have more flow than I want.


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Sand... it's a huge hassle for sure - and I keep maroon(ish) clowns so it's even worse.
But the tank just wouldn't feel like a real reef to me without it, so I make it work.
 
Yeah, the answers that I'm seeing are kind of what I was thinking... I've had tanks without sand much longer than those with sand. and while the barebottom allowed me for some fantastic flows (5 MP40s on a 180g tank) I always felt like I had to put something on the bottom, now that something sometimes were corals of which they encrusted on the ground, but even though with that it felt like I was getting away from the concept of barebottom.

Now I'm going to have sand in my refugium section of my sump, that much is guaranteed, and when I get the 40 breeder up as an "anemone tank" that is getting sand as well because I find that BTAs while they will move across glass and what not they tend to stay put a little better if you restrict one panel for them to walk on (they don't like to walk on sand). I just don't want to order a ton of sand (figuratively) and then end up siphoning it out because I'm not happy.

Oh well, ordered enough sand to go in my refugium and a bit for the 40, not sure how thick I'll go in the refugium, probably not DSB levels though, so I can get a feel of what it looks like before committing to the whole tank. Still need to get my rockwork up and giving my back a bit of resting time before going to work there :D
 
I really wanted to do a sandless build, but just did not like the look at all. Ended up using the marco rocks base rocks that are sawn flat for a good 75% of the tank and filling in a little bit of sand around the edge for purely decorative purposes. It's less than an inch and I won't feel bad about siphoning a layer of it out if it becomes an issue.
 
You know the great thing about sand is i can always start up a system on a whim. I always have sand cooking...never known when I feel inspired... :D
 
I like sand, so I have it. The tank is for the enjoyment of myself, my family, and my guests. It’s a trade off, but unless you are a commercial operation you are doing this as a hobby and for the enjoyment value, not to optimize ease of maintenance at the cost of aesthetics. The least maintenance tank is an empty tank.

That said, I have a minimal sand bed, 0.5-1 inch. Gives the benefits while being easy to clean.

I also have my rocks arranged and cemented to have minimal footprint and therefore minimal areas that can’t be reached easily to clean.

I don’t understand your comment about definitely wanting sand in the refugium. I wouldn’t recommend that. I have a large refugium with rubble rocks for pods/etc and tons of chaeto, no sand.
 
I have sand, somewhere between 1-2”. I really like the look, so I’ll deal with the hassles that it brings. I do find that regular sand stirring as part of weekly maintenance helps.


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I have a shallow sand bed...0-2in. I like and have Leopard Wrasses which sleep in the sand. Years ago, I had a somewhat deeper sand bed...up to 3-4 in. I ended with anoxic places which I ended up being somewhat careful not to stir up. Far from ideal.
 
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