What's better: having gravel or having a bare bottom tank? I'm just wondering because I'm contemplating ditching all the gravel I have in my tank, but I know it's got a cycle going.

As long as you have enough media in your filter - it's really personal preference. Many members here have barebottomed & many have gravel.

The barebottomed folks say it's easier to keep your tank clean. The gravel folks like the way it looks! (& Depending upon your filter - it does also harbor good bacteria)


(I myself use medium sized river rocks so I don't have either really. I have a mix. I don't like the small gravel & have removed it in all of my tanks cause I hate when it gets caught in the vac) (Also I think it's harder to do a really good clean with the tiny gravel. My fish also can't get my rocks stuck in their throats - too big! )

Just my 2 cents! Have fun with your tank!

I love my bare bottom. VERY easy maintenance.
I just keep my filter nice n nasty

Yep, either way is just fine, really. You just have to pay special attention to your filtration in a barebottomed tank. The filterpads tend to get clogged quicker. But, that just means theres that much less wastes in the water.

6 of one, half a dozen of the other.........

That's good to know...I'm thinking about getting my gravel out and going for just a light bit of river rocks but mostly barebottomed myself. The easier to keep clean thing is a strong calling for me!

Ditto that! I just went barebottom and I love it! I have river rocks in there for looks, media growth, and so GN has SOMEthing to play with! But, I have nothing against gravel - I just like the way the tank looks without it, too. Easy clean!

Personally, I like both. Barebottom (why does that sound so funny? ) makes the tank look brighter and it IS easier to clean. I actually removed the gravel from my tank a couple weeks ago. The gravel looks nice, too, but it's a big hassle when you need to clean the tank.
Right now, I like barebottom.

One other thing I found out about with barebottoms is that the filters shouldnt be cleaned at the same time in a tank if you have to or the cycle gets alittle wacky

I never had a bare bottom tank before, except with my fry and it became a mess...had to baster out stuff everyday...lol Is it different for a regular tank with goldies?

I don't ever have to baster it.... I find my filter does an amazing job keeping it clean

when I do water changes I suck anything I see with the siphon tube, and I always wipe the walls down, otherwise.... its easy as can be.

Anic, did you remove all the gravel at once? I guess it would probably be easier to remove the fish when doing this? I usually leave them in for water changes, but I'm concerned about releasing gases while taking the gravel out? And do you notice the poop and yucky stuff alot of the barebottomed? I like the idea of a brighter and easier to clean tank, but I really don't want to see alot of waste at the bottom either. Just thinking here, so thanks for any help!

Nope dont remove all the gravel at once or the tanks cycle will get messed up. you should only change about a 1/4 of the gravel everytime you change your tanks water.

So how I did it was to with a bowl take out some gravel about a 1/4 of the tank then let the tank settle about 1/2 hour then do a 40% wate change on the tank to get rid of stuff in there....

One of my tanks is bare bottom. I never see any waste at the bottom. I have the intake filter tube 2" above the floor of the tank and that keeps the bottom swept nicely. It really stays nice looking and is so easy to clean. On the other hand, I like the gravel as well. I know the fish enjoy sifting through the gravel. But, the bare bottom is excellent for sight impaired fish.

No, I took the gravel out over a few days. I kept the fishies in the tank when I removed the gravel. They actually acted like they enjoyed my messing around in there. Silly fish. And I never notice the poopy in the tank. I don't ever see any.

i personally prefer gravel coz you cant see all the poop that way!!