Tired of siphoning the bottom

[beachguy]

I have a 12 gallon nano with crushed coral. I've found the crushed coral very had to keep clean. I'm doing a water change (20%) almost weekly and siphoning the sand and I'm still amazed at how much garbage I vaccum out. I'm thinking about switching to a sand bottom. Any reason not to? Livestock consists of 1 damsel and a cleaning crew. I was going to take the damsel out and figured most of the live rock would have to come out anyway to catch him. I figured that would be as good of time as any to switch to sand.
Recommendations on volume (1lb/gallon?), depth (1"?) and type would be greatly appreciated. What about seeding the sand with 1 or 2 lbs of the crushed coral?
What about recycling the tank? I have about 10lbs of live rock that has been in the tank about six months. If I switch to sand do I need to recycle all over again?
Thanks in advance. This is a great board and I'm learning alot from everyone.

 

[mfp1016]

I'd go barebottom if it were me. I have sand in my for aesthetic appeal, but I think I'd prefer the ability to have insane flow.

 

[bjoe23]

Originally Posted by mfp1016
I'd go barebottom if it were me. I have sand in my for aesthetic appeal, but I think I'd prefer the ability to have insane flow.
What are you talking about? bare bottom! No way! dont do that
Originally Posted by beachguy
I have a 12 gallon nano with crushed coral. I've found the crushed coral very had to keep clean. I'm doing a water change (20%) almost weekly and siphoning the sand and I'm still amazed at how much garbage I vaccum out. I'm thinking about switching to a sand bottom. Any reason not to? Livestock consists of 1 damsel and a cleaning crew. I was going to take the damsel out and figured most of the live rock would have to come out anyway to catch him. I figured that would be as good of time as any to switch to sand.
Recommendations on volume (1lb/gallon?), depth (1"?) and type would be greatly appreciated. What about seeding the sand with 1 or 2 lbs of the crushed coral?
What about recycling the tank? I have about 10lbs of live rock that has been in the tank about six months. If I switch to sand do I need to recycle all over again?
Thanks in advance. This is a great board and I'm learning alot from everyone.
i would get 10lbs of live sand if i were u!

 

[mfp1016]

What are you talking about? Barebottom is awesome, especially in a nano where filtration is a minimum and even small powerheads can push a lot of sand in a small space. I use regular sand and cycle regularly.

 

[new2salt1]

I went barebottom with my turtle tank and it pretty much rules. There is no question what kind of waste has accumulated, and the funny thing is, waste rarely accumulates because there is nowhere for waste to settle, and there is nothing to hold it.
I personally dont think a reef tank would be a reef tank with a bare-bottom, but some people say the same about my turtle tank.
Are you thinking sand is packed more tightly and therefore wont hold as much gunk?

 

[beachguy]

Yes, I think the sand would do a better job of keeping the junk on top. I do water changes regularly and siphon the crushed shell every time. I'm amazed how much junk comes out every week. It seems the large granular level of the crushed shell allow a lot to sink below the surface while making it hard for the clean-up crew to turn over the top layer and doing some cleaning.

 

[mfp1016]

Use fine sand if you must have a sandbed, but unless youre going for a DSB or a plenum most all sand bottoms require a fair bit of maintence to look good.
CC traps detritus like no other. Also get some nassarius snails, hardy!
Like I said I advocate the barebottom, actually looks good once the corraline starts to grow.