Thoughts on Bare Bottom Tanks!!!

[Shawnts106]

What do each of you think about the bare bottom method.. no I dont mean because its easier to clean but how it looks?...

IMO: sorry to the people who have BB tanks.. but I think they ae the uglyest tanks you can have... you go from Planted beautiful tank to a GLASS BOX with fish in it... just ugly!.... I mean we ae supposed to create beautiful environments for our fish to live in.. not stick them in glass boxes! errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... just my opinion !

[Shawnts106]

.. ok BB tanks are ok for breeding... BUT THATS IT!

[kalebjarrod]

BB tanks are especally clean and hygenic

planted tanks are dirty

Discus love soft water, warm water and CLEAN water

nothing is cleaner then a BB

as for the ugly factor

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=210

just needs some imagination :wink:

[DR.V]

yeah ... From one point of view BB tank are UGLY !!!

But from others, it creates clean water which is much more important than beautiful house for our fish.

I got my display tank fully planted tho.

And as Shawn said BB tank for breeding ^^

[chris]

Im a gravel bottom planted tank owner, recently set up a BB tank,
I reckon they look awesome.
They look so clean and basic. Quite interesting aswell.

[DR.V]

You can put the plants in a small pot for BB tank tho

Looks great too

[weird]

Bare Bottom

There is actually 18 fish in this tank ... loaches, bristlenose and 2 golden rams ... lol ... this is one of my favourite tanks but your probably best appraciate this tank with night vision goggles at 3 am in the morning to appreciate the fish =) lol

[DR.V]

thats what im talking about .... Great BB tank !

[Ben]

Here is a picture of one of my BB tanks.
But if there was a competition for bare bottom tanks i think Dave
would be the winner!

well done Dave! your BB tank looks awesome!


cheers,

Ben

[Shawnts106]

yes there are ups and downs to bb tanks... they are exceptionally clean, but not very attracktive IMO.... they look more like a holding tank at walmart than anything else! LOL... but some peope like this, these are all different opinions... thats what makes us ... us :)

[Del]

... planted for me...

May be harder to keep clean, but imagining I'm looking at my very own version of the Amazon, everyday... PRICELESS

[Shawnts106]

Completely agreed!!!... I just did a WC and Vac on my planted and there was no to VERYYYY little "dirt" in the substrate... I have a flourite/poolsand mix... the small granuals stop the debris from getting in the substrate!.... this is a HUGE key to keeping a planted tank clean.. that and a good bit of cleaners like, algae eaters, cory cats... and other bottom eatters and scavangers... I also have 10 or so Ghost shrimp in the tank... these little buggers help keep excess fish food to a minimum.. what the corys dont eat they do! :).. plus they can get into all the little corners so if there is a tiny flake in between a plant they can get to it!

I think with good substrates, fast growing plants and good cleaners you can have a 100% beautifully clean planted tank with no problems!

I vote for planted tanks over BB tanks 99 to 100!

[goldenpigeon]

i used to h8 bare bottoms. i have a planted display tank in the house. but i also breed discus and it is just not possible to keep youngins and breeding pairs in tanks with gravel, plants etc. also the discus grow faster in a bb. i prefer planted over bb. but when it comes to work and growning out the discus bb is the go. i also find that bb tanks are SO much brighter than planted tanks.

bb tanks can be very nice... you just need imagination :D

[chris]

I like the look of those tanks thanks for sharing them, Ben with your tank, ive got a few questions how big is your tank,
I notice your running a sponge filter :!:
Are change water daily :?:
Whats that white foam thing on the stand :?:
And I see your using Geo liquid are you a fan :?:
Sorry if Im nosey mate, I cant help it sorry :oops:

[Shawnts106]

bb tanks can be very nice... you just need imagination

huh... some people just dont have that imagination thing...

I have an imagination... but guests that view your tanks arent looking through the imagination glasses... they are looking at face value... looking at what they see is what they are going to get...

you see what I mean?

[kalebjarrod]

i understand but don't agree

[Mattzilla]

ditto

[jwight]

There is no doubt that a well planted tank will always look better. But I have seen some shocking planted tanks that are awkward and the person who aquascaped has no idea on plants.

[axl]

Hi,
i though i would have my opinion on the issue and this my opinion only. i think they look terrible and if you have to a bare bottom tank you should swap over to planted and have other tropical fish instead
axl

[Mattzilla]

hahahahahaaaaa

[Shawnts106]

AXL your suggesting that discus lovers just forget discus to have a prettier planted tank???... have you no idea what your asking?

hahahahahahahahahaha

[goldenpigeon]

hahahahaha

hmmmm its a hard topic. but value is in the eye of the beholder ;) and sometimes it is not practicle to have several planted tanks. 1 planted tank of a decent size (say a 4x2x2) is atleast 2 hours of work a week. (w/c, prune plants, filters, testing water etc). when you want to keep several strains of discus of you want to grow a few strains out but keep them in seperate tanks. planted tanks become the bane of your life because they involve alot of work.

a bb tank can still have plants in it, can look very attractive and with a few nice plants on driftwood and a good lighting set up it looks pretty spiffy! then u dont need to gravel vac, just run over the floor and there is a w/c done in 15 minutes (if u have a monster hose ;) ) hhehehehehehe

[kalebjarrod]

unfortunatley its a personl opinion

and personal opinions can't be wrong because they only have to be justified to one person

yourself :wink: