For a tropical tank with a target pH around 6.0-7.0, maybe not so much. For a saltwater tank with a target pH around 8.0-8.4, this is a good things. Some substrates like crushed coral can buffer the pH and hardness of the water. This one is an even draw both having substrate or having a bare-bottom can negatively and positively affect the water chemistry in an aquarium. Having a substrate also provides many more options in changing the look of the aquarium, whether its a natural substrate or a decorative one. Most live aquarium plants won’t survive without a substrate to root into. Timid animals need it to hide or camoflauge themselves and in some specialized ecosystems, the substrate plays a vital role in the water chemistry. Some fish and snails bury themselves in it or find their food in it. Besides just plain looking more natural, some animals also need this substrate to live normal lives. Natural environments have sand, or mud, or pebbles or some other natural material. Surprisingly, flat panes of glass or acrylics just aren’t found at the bottom of most environments in the wild. While not as vital in, say, a freshwater community tank, nitrate and algae can spell Doom (and Headaches) in a reef tank. For tanks like reef aquariums with lots of rockwork, debris and detritus can get stuck under the rocks or in the back where your vacuum cant reach as well, causing the nitrate levels and algae blooms to increase. It can be a lot easier to scrub algae off of the glass bottom and sides without having to worry about missing some at the gravel line or getting bits of sand stuck in your scrubber as well. Ever wrestle with starting the siphon on a gravel vacuum, then have it clog up repeatedly with gravel when you are cleaning? With a bare-bottom tank, a gravel vacuum isn’t needed you can just use tubing to vacuum up any waste sitting on the bottom of the tank and water pumps or powerheads can be used to circulate the water underneath and behind the rockwork more efficiently. Bare-bottom tanks win this category easily. We’ll go over a head-to-head comparison in the major factors to consider to help you make your decision.Īn aquarium that is easy to clean and easy to care for is the dream of most aquarists. Weigh your options carefully before you choose which one is right for you. Bare-bottom tanks are becoming more common and have their benefits of substrated tank and vice versa substrate is still a better choice than going bare for some other types of tanks. That said, how do you make the choice? Like so many other parts of our hobby, it comes down to personal preference and your goals. Alternatives and advancements have made the old undergravel systems nearly obsolete and the aquarium gravel that went on top of them is become more of an Option instead of a Requirement. We’ve come a long way with filtration technology since then, and we’ve also come a long way with understanding how the water chemistry in our aquariums functions. Even as recently as five or ten years ago, undergravel filters were thought as indispensable for all types of aquariums and as such, gravel was thought vital to their function. So why has substrate become such an integral part of the aquarium culture, and why are some aquarists now looking past it in favor of the bare glass or acrylic bottom of their aquariums? Much of it has to do with our understanding of the aquarium ecosystem now over what we knew years or even decades ago. But….why? Do you really need it? Are there alternatives? Much like the eternal home decorating debate of hardwood-versus-carpets, the battle brews among aquarists over what covers the bottom of their aquariums, a layer of substrate or nothing at all. It could be sand, crushed coral, Fluorite, neon pink pebbles, glass marbles or countless other materials but it all tends to be the very first thing to go into an empty aquariums. One of the first purchases most aquarists will make for a new aquarium, be it freshwater, saltwater, reef, discus, goldfish, cichlid or any other – is the gravel and substrate.
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