Full Version: Bare Tank Vs Gravel/sand
I have an oranda and a black moor i have been having flitration problems i have a large canister filter and a penguin 330 and still get that rotten egg smell every once in a while i have been told that switching to a bare tank would help solve this. Right now i have 30 pounds of black sand and 15 pounds of blue gravel i am tring to decide if i should just move my fish to a rubbermaid tub and use my 55 for chiclids i like my fish but i dont like the smell and the fact that they crap non stop any sugestions i know that alot of people use sponge filters but it doesnt look all that great when you have a bare tank with a sponge filter sitting in your living room.
A well kept, balanced fish tank does not smell funky - it may smell a little "wet" and "fishy" at times, but the "rotten egg" smell is sulpher or a derivitive thereof. That is not what you want in a tank.
Sand is not a good substrate for goldfish. Goldfish are bottom feeders. They love rooting around looking for food. They spend hours at it everyday. With a sand base, the goldfish would constantly be stirring it up - by sucking in mouthfuls and spitting it back out. The tank would always be in a haze of sand, for sand has fine particulate that takes quite a while to settle back out. A hazy, dirty looking tank is no fun.
Sand, also, is an abrasive. As the goldfish suck in the sand, much of it will filter out through their gills. This is like rubbing sandpaper over the fish's gills. That is NOT a good thing - having the potential to cause loads of problems.
Gravel is a very nice looking tank bottom. But, unless you are seeking a heavily planted tank with only a few goldies, you should limit the amount of gravel in the tank's bottom to an inch or less of depth. Most people like to only cover the bottom of the tank. A little gravel still gives a natural look to the tank, but makes it possible to vacumn the gravel completely to remove all waste. The garvel can be larger stones, also that are sparcely spaced over the tank's bottom. River stone is a common choice. This stone is large enough that no goldie can get it stuck in their mouth!
Many people - like me - like the fish soooo much that we are loathe to give up any water volume to anything but fish. Barebottomed tanks are the way we go. A barebottomed tank does not mean there is NOTHING in the tank but fish. It can, but rarely is so. I keep handpicked rocks - of interesting color and shape, plastic/silk plants that have rocks glued to them in an attractive fashion with aquarium sealant, a "log", and various other decorative items in my tanks. It is attractive and functional. The plants/deco can be used to block currents and such, gives an aesthetic appeal to the tank, yet leaves it extraordinarily easy to clean - and clean 100%.
In a bare bottomed tank, when you vacumn, you know you have removed ALL the waste. If you have ever dealt with ich or some other parasite that has a life cycle that includes a dormant cyst, with gravel you never know if you have removed all the parasites. Most are impervious to treatment when dormant - and they can sit and wait in the gravel for the right moment to strike. Without gravel, there is little place for the parasites to hide. A bare bottomed tank can be far easier to treat and keep clean and parasite clear.
Sand is not a good substrate for goldfish. Goldfish are bottom feeders. They love rooting around looking for food. They spend hours at it everyday. With a sand base, the goldfish would constantly be stirring it up - by sucking in mouthfuls and spitting it back out. The tank would always be in a haze of sand, for sand has fine particulate that takes quite a while to settle back out. A hazy, dirty looking tank is no fun.
Sand, also, is an abrasive. As the goldfish suck in the sand, much of it will filter out through their gills. This is like rubbing sandpaper over the fish's gills. That is NOT a good thing - having the potential to cause loads of problems.
Gravel is a very nice looking tank bottom. But, unless you are seeking a heavily planted tank with only a few goldies, you should limit the amount of gravel in the tank's bottom to an inch or less of depth. Most people like to only cover the bottom of the tank. A little gravel still gives a natural look to the tank, but makes it possible to vacumn the gravel completely to remove all waste. The garvel can be larger stones, also that are sparcely spaced over the tank's bottom. River stone is a common choice. This stone is large enough that no goldie can get it stuck in their mouth!
Many people - like me - like the fish soooo much that we are loathe to give up any water volume to anything but fish. Barebottomed tanks are the way we go. A barebottomed tank does not mean there is NOTHING in the tank but fish. It can, but rarely is so. I keep handpicked rocks - of interesting color and shape, plastic/silk plants that have rocks glued to them in an attractive fashion with aquarium sealant, a "log", and various other decorative items in my tanks. It is attractive and functional. The plants/deco can be used to block currents and such, gives an aesthetic appeal to the tank, yet leaves it extraordinarily easy to clean - and clean 100%.
In a bare bottomed tank, when you vacumn, you know you have removed ALL the waste. If you have ever dealt with ich or some other parasite that has a life cycle that includes a dormant cyst, with gravel you never know if you have removed all the parasites. Most are impervious to treatment when dormant - and they can sit and wait in the gravel for the right moment to strike. Without gravel, there is little place for the parasites to hide. A bare bottomed tank can be far easier to treat and keep clean and parasite clear.
I agree and say go for barebottom. I have had gravel, I have a sand bottomed, and now I have three barebottom tanks. The maintenance is so much easier! I am working on getting some stuff together to sorta post a how-to for going barebottm the way I did it. I just gotta get some free time... The few times I log in now I do it from work on breaks. 
I actually went from barebottom to gravel because I thought my tank looked too "boring". But a lot of people are creative and can make barebottom tanks look beautiful!
All my goldfish tanks are barebottom and I would not do it any other way! I love the ease of cleaning and I mean it is so much easier and knowing that nothing is going on in the gravel! Plus I was always worried about my fish choking on the gravel. 
My tank is as good as barebottom, but with gravel. I have about 0.5cm of gravel, just enough to cover the bottom, I don't need to clean it as nothing ever gets stuck in it. I like gravel
QUOTE(vmlola @ Sep 27 2006, 10:40 AM) [snapback]580308[/snapback]
All my goldfish tanks are barebottom and I would not do it any other way! I love the ease of cleaning and I mean it is so much easier and knowing that nothing is going on in the gravel! Plus I was always worried about my fish choking on the gravel. 
I had gravel for a while. I saw my fish chocking for several time and I decided to go with bare bottom.
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