Well, my fish passed away this morning for an unknown cause... Now I have a tank to strip down, clean, and start over again.

I have been wanting to go bare bottom, with just a few plants, and a few river pebbles... I never wanted to crash my cycle, but since I have to start over again anyhow, figured it was the perfect chance.

I know a lot of you have bare bottom tanks, and I think it is a great idea. I am sure it stays much cleaner, without the small stones to trap all the yuckys.

Now my question is... Will a bare bottom stress out my fish? My boyfriend seems to believe that because the bottom will reflect, this is going to freak them out. Now I plan on having just a few plastic plants, with a few larger stones just to hold them down. Very plain, very basic.

It's a 20 gallon, with only 1 fish (about 3") with a Penguin 330 filter. I think with this set up, the tank will be able to filter the water very well, and keep it much cleaner for my little Pearscale.

I'll be eyeballing the water quality closely, due to it having to start a new cycle, but only 1 fish in a 20gl will be helpfull.

Anything I should know about having a bare bottom tank, before I venture into it? Any tips? Ideas?

Thanks everyone.

Christine,
I just love bare bottom tanks! My fish weren't freaked out at all after I made the switch. I did put a small grouping of stones here & there for them to *play with*, but other than that they don't mind at all...and neither do I as it is WAY less work.
Kristin

The fish see their reflection in the sides of the tank all the time and it does not bother them. On the bottom does not seem to make a difference.

I took a piece of cardboard and cut it the size of the tank bottom and covered it with a piece of fabric that had pictures of stones one it (river rock!). I cannot see it, because I am looking at an angle into the tank and the reflection of the light does not allow it, but the fish can see it if they look straight down. I do not know if they notice or care, but I thought it was a good touch.

I also do not have to see into the stand or anything below the tank this way - it is blocked off.

You will still have to drag a cleaning swab over the bottom just as you do over the sides, for yuck will stick there some. But it is SO much easier.

The one having the most difficulty getting used to bare bottomed tanks is my husband, the traditionalist!

Good luck!

Thanks Kristin and Daryl!

I think I am going to go for it...

I am sure it will take some getting used to, looks wise, but I think in the end it will better for my fish.

I plan on having some plastic plants and larger river pebbles glued together (with aqu. silicone, just to hold them down) and a few larger pebbles just scattered around.

I actually have my bottom already covered Daryl, but with a plain black background, I too didn't want to see the bottom of the stand at all... even though it was covered in stone, haha.

It never dawned on me the fish see their reflection on the sides... duh... I just think with the bare bottom, you won't get thet buildup that may lead to problems later. And, I'll know better how much my fish eat, as I feed them sinking pellets.

All and all, I think it's a good idea...

I'll see how it works out.

Thanks for the ideas and feed back guys!

You could also try spray painting the bottom of the tank black. I have done this on my qt tank and it looks pretty nice.
I am also in the process of switching my big tank too a barebottom. I know that I have said many times before how I love a small layer of gravel but after being enlightened it looks like the barebottom is the way too go. The only thing I would suggest is make sure you have 2 filters since this is the main place the good bacteria are going too grow.

i was online one day and found these awesome backgrounds that go INTO the tank and were like rocks and stuff. i was just thinking about those, and if you had one of those AND rocks it would be too much but since your going barebottomed..... just something to think about! they looked like a rock wall and were 3-d. not sure how expensive tho. i think i just typed in aquarium backgrounds in the search thing and that was a choice. just thinking.

http://aquarium-background.com/

im pretty sure this is it. it would be a neat switch!

Well what I did was, I have these blue glass beads about the size of nickels on the bottom of my tank, and it is a very thin layer, and doesn't even cover everything, but from the angle looking into the tank it creates the illusion like they are covering everything, and it looks great.

Also since it is such a thing layer it stays very clean because nothing can get stuck in the rocks.

-Eric

I have seen those 3D backgrounds in some tanks, and they are real neat actually, if you get a good one, it really looks like a cave wall or something. I think however I am just going to have a very simple tank. A few rocks, a few plants and that is it.

Simple, Clean, Nice

Jetman: The bottoms of my tanks are black actually, I got a background plastic thing in black. Spraypainting would have been a good idea, but I never thought of it I have a Penguin BioWheel 330, do you think that is a good enough filter for a 20gallon? I know all the good bugs will need it, but would that be enough? It's a pretty stong filter. Maybe adding some floss or something would be a good idea, to give more room for bugs to *grow* ?? What do you think?

Those backgrouunds are awesome, Chelsea! Now I need to godo the conversions to Danish money. Anyone know offhand the exchange rate to US dollars (approx) to DKK is?

I think you will be fine with the 330. When you clean the filter just make sure the only type of water the biowheels see is tank water. If you use tap water too clean them you will kill off the bacteria.

oh my gosh daryl i found a money converter thing online and it says that in us dollars that the "rocky" is approx. $20,104.37!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy cow. that is almost as much as the car i want.

I think you got your math wrong Honey.

The 'Rocky' range starts from $147.00. Still pretty pricey though.....

Too steep for just something "fun". But it surely is neat!

Bullymont, B.B. is the way to go in my book. Less chance of nasties building up in the gravel. And yes, much less work. I recommend putting driftwood or something in there to house some good bacteria that otherwise would live on the gravel. I also recommend live plants. This combo along with regular water changes of say 50% weekly and a quick rinse of my filter material (in fish water of course) keeps my guys (and one girl) happy and healthy.
:-)