opinions on having no substrate

[nm reef]

Sure I have an opinion on having no substrate.
For some people it works extremely well...but I personally prefer a active/mature DSB.
There are numerous ways to maintain a healthy reef system...sometimes it all comes down to personal preference. Thats my opinion and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[slick]

What about running a very shallow sand bed lets say a 1/2 inch. But you have a dsb in your fuge? would your fuge have to be the same size as your display? I assume not. So is there a % say you have a 100g display with a bare bottom or very small amount of sand. Would your fuge have to be a 55g with a dsb to be effective? I'm looking for a guide line to sort of go by.

 

[thomas712]

Yea if more people would start out with a clean bottom,............... I better rephrase, No substrate and learn how to take care of it that way we would have less people changing from CC to Sand later on. Personally I have never had a bare bottom tank even in the freshwater days.
Thomas

 

[thomas712]

Ummm.. Am I missing something..where is the original post here?
Thomas

 

[dsa_mom]

don't you all think the fish are happier with an environment that more resembles their natural environment? Just a thought.

 

[pirate_bob]

good point...... My opinion only~~~> I prefer the look of at least an inch of sand..... no substrate doesn't look good to me... it looks like a false tank( i mean it doesn't look like a real habitat)... remember my opinion only do not want to make people mad....

 

[nerdy]

I've run no substrate for a while in my tank. About a year ago I dropped about a half inch of CC. When I had no substrate a couple a neat things happened. Coralline algae grew on the bottom and my green stars and some mushrooms grew on he bottom. The stars looked especially neat because it seemed like a patch of grass on the bottom of my tank!!