I've had aquariums with gravel/rocks most of my life and decided this morning that my 180 gallon tank needed to be bare bottomed for the health of my fish. My particular aquarium has supportive glass stripping along the outside edges of the bottom. Not really "perty". But I reminded myself that the purpose of my aquarium is to provide a healthy environment for Goldfish, specifically. "Looks" come afterwards. I have a Magnum 350 cannister filter that is converted for use as a vacuum and I got out an amazing amount of GUNK today after only three days since last vaccuming. So I am convinced this was a healthy choice for my fish. I suppose it is ornamental enough. The stand and canopy are made out of solid oak and I stained them [painstakingly!], glossy mahogany. The background is black. The fish are living jewels. Will have to get creative and think of a way to jazz up the bare bottom [a little], while maintaining ease of cleaning.

Adding in a smattering of larger, decorative stones along with some plants (glue some stones to their bases with aquarium sealant to make the look good and stay down) and your tank can be beautiful.

well you could then drill some holes in some rocks and take the base off the plant and put the pland through the rock and then glue it on. it looks great

If you want to go "flashy" you can get some glass stones or marbles.

You'll have to be careful of the size, most glass stones are fairly small and if your fish are big enough and willing enough, they'll swallow them whole! Some LFS's have the large glass stones and marbles, but I don't see them too frequently. I can't wait to see pictures of your setup, sounds cool so far!

You could use river rocks(like the ones in bamboo plants)that you can get a dollar stores,I found myself that
those are easier to clean than gravel,just make sure they are the big ones.The big river rocks leave little gaps and I think that helps the cleaning.All my fish have been happier with these types of rocks.

All great ideas. Thanks. On my daughter's 32 cube, we do have a semi-layer of clear glass marbles on an otherwise bare bottom. They are beautiful - look like bubbbles and since they do not completely cover the bottom and there is a strong current from the filters, they constantly move around. Neat effect. But her fish are considerably smaller than mine and less likely to attain enough size any time soon, to swallow marbles. My fish, Commons, have grown rapidly in the 180 gallon and I am afraid I would be taking glass marbles out within a few more months. I could Google for some of the large ones that are difficult to find... I like the idea of plants with some stones glued to them to keep them in place, too.

When I had Rift Valley Cichlids, it was amusing to watch the fish constantly moving gravel and making caves beneath the rock displays... 4-6" of gravel was not unusual in one of my tanks. So a bare bottomed aquarium is far removed from what I have always had. Definitely requires more creativity! But Goldfish are worth the extra effort. No Malawian Cichlid matches the beauty and longevity of a red, Common Goldfish. Nothing like them. And with their special needs, they present enough of a challenge to keep them interesting.

I am already happy with the decision. When I fed the fish their Pro-Gold, I didn't sit by and watch it sink below the river stones and out of their reach. They are also keeping "stuff" stirred up, making it more accessible to the filter inlets.

I am gradually moving in that direction as well. At the moment I have a small amount of largish gravel on the bottom towards the back. But most is bare bottomed. Some days I think I would like to remove the rest of the gravel. Other days I think the remaining gravel is useful in hiding the waste until cleaning time.

What I did with some of my tanks is paint the bottom - from the outside. I got some cheap paint from the craftstore in colors of green and blue, put big blobs of different colors on the bottom while the tank was upside down, and then just mixed them together with a brush. Looks like ocean waves going through the bottom....

Id love to go bare bottom but im affraid of seeing all the mess i sometimes get upset when my tank looks messy i feel bad for the fish. I have been contemplating using large round rocks on the base though because some of my goldies have been sucking them up and getting them stuck lol and also i think it would hide the mess but also allow me to get in and clean it thourghly.

Actually, I have to report NO mess visible on the bottom of my tank! I'm loving this. Since the intake tubes of my Rena Filstar XP4's did not quite reach the floor of the tank, I attached sections of flexible hosing to the intakes so the ends are resting on the floor. With the way the return flow is positioned from the Rena's and the Wet/Dry Filter, all waste accumulates in the middle third of the back of the tank floor... where the intakes sweep evertyhing up! Not a speck is left. I don't think I'll ever need to vaccum again. Way cool.

J

Can you take a photo of your tank? I'd love to see both the tank and the fish. Glad to know about the Rena, I've been looking into them and wondering about their performance.

Katalyst,

I am a terrible digital photographer but intend to read up on "how to" photograph fish in aquariums and give it a try.

The Rena XP4's are terrific. It amazes me how they literally sweep the bottom of the tank. However I have been using mine without the carbon inserts and think I might get those as my water is a little cloudy for the first time, ever since I took out the river rock.

Otherwise, I am very happy with the results of going bare-bottomed. My wife and kids are not too sure about it yet! But they'll come around since it is in the best interest of the fish.

I understand completely about people adjusting, I really want to take all the gravel out but Markus (boyfriend) really likes the gravel and since he puts up with sometimes up to 6 water changes daily I have to give in a bit....

Awww c'mon just throw us a bone and point and shoot! I'm the worst photographer in the universe and it doesn't stop me from plastering Spike and Speck all over the place!

Ahh, what the heck. I'll charge my batteries and see what I can come up with. Gotta get those charcoal inserts and clear the water some, though.

As for Markus and the water changes.... I understand. My wife puts up with two, green-grey, 32 gallon Rubbermaid Ruffy trash cans [on wheels] in her bathroom, every weekend. haha. I fill em up with a hose from the shower, dechlorinate and then let the water sit over night to adjust to room temp. prior to the water change the next morning.... or afternoon. Whenever I happen to get to it. At least they stack for storage in my wardrobe closet <g>... keeps me from schlepping them from the garage on the other end of the house.

Thank God for good sports. Good man, Markus.