Why bottom beds should not be included

Many people have wondered whether they should add bottom stones (bottom sand), including gravel, when they start keeping goldfish. It is not necessarily a bad idea to add bottom stones (bottom sand) when keeping goldfish. However, it is very important to know the advantages and disadvantages and make a decision. For this reason, I will explain the reasons why you should not include it, which is generally not often touched upon.

There are three reasons why you should not bother to add bottom stones (bottom sand) when keeping goldfish.

As for "more water changes."The process of water change changes whether or not bottom stones (bottom sand) are added. If you follow our recommended water change method (see link below), it takes only 10 to 20 minutes for a fast person. Moreover, since there is no need to move the aquarium from the place where it is kept, this method is especially recommended for those who keep aquariums in large tanks.However, in order to do a water change using this method, there should be no bottom stone (bottom sand) in the water. If there are bottom stones (bottom sand) in the tank, it is difficult to remove food and feces that have gotten under the bottom stones (bottom sand). Therefore, if there are bottom stones (bottom sand) in the tank, first transfer two thirds of the tank water to a bucket with a hose, and put goldfish, aquatic plants, and other living creatures in the bucket. Then, move the tank with the remaining one-third of the water and bottom stone (bottom sand) to the water area, wash the bottom stone (bottom sand) clean, and discard any food or feces that has settled to the bottom at that time. Then, the water change is completed by filling the tank one-third full with chalk-free water and returning the tank to its original location and the creatures and two-thirds of the water that was transferred to the bucket. If you have a large aquarium, it is difficult to do this process once a week, and if you are not good at it, you may hurt your back and shoulders. If you have a large aquarium, it is difficult to do this process once a week, and if you are not good at it, it may cause you to hurt your back and shoulders.

As for "difficulty in noticing the growth of bacteria," the bacteria I am referring to here are pathogenic bacteria and other bacteria that cause bad effects.It is often explained that one of the benefits of adding bottom stone (bottom sand) is that it promotes the growth of bacteria and stabilizes water quality. However, does this necessarily mean that only good bacteria can reproduce? If good bacteria multiply, it is not surprising that bad bacteria also multiply at the same time.And since goldfish are classified as a particularly fast deteriorating type of ornamental fish, they may be at higher risk of disease due to the outbreak and growth of pathogens and other organisms. To prevent this from happening, water changes should be performed to determine how dirty the water in the aquarium is and when it should be changed. One way to determine this is to look at the amount of food and feces that have accumulated, but the presence of bottom stones (bottom sand) hides the food and feces, making it difficult to determine how dirty the water is, which can lead to overlooking when the water should be changed. However, since the food and feces can be hidden, the appearance of the water is very good, so it is a good idea to add bottom stones (bottom sand) in places where appearance is necessary.

As for "not required."Many people purchase a set that includes an aquarium tank and filter when they first start keeping goldfish. The items included in these sets are the minimum necessary to keep goldfish, but most of them do not include bottom stones (bottom sand). In other words, the minimum necessary items do not include bottom stones (bottom sand).The bottom stone (bottom sand) will be something like an option that you can consider if you need it or not after you start keeping the animals.

If bottom stones (bottom sand) are not added, the water quality may deteriorate at a faster rate, thereby compromising the stability of the water quality.It is also advisable to use a larger filter with higher filtration capacity, an upper filter with higher filtration capacity, or an external filter. Also, when adding bottom stone (bottom sand), be careful about the amount of feed and make sure that feed left under the bottom stone (bottom sand) does not get into the bottom of the bottom stone (bottom sand).In addition, if you do not put in bottom stone (bottom sand), you can try to make the bottom stone (bottom sand) thin so that the weights are not visible, for example, if you do not like the appearance of the weights exposed when aquatic plants with weights such as lead are placed in the tank.

In this article, I have explained why bottom stones (bottom sand) should not be added.The reason why I have explained the reasons why you should not add bottom stone (bottom sand) instead of the reasons why you should is that many technical books and websites only explain the benefits of adding bottom stone (bottom sand) and often make it sound as if it is natural to add bottom stone (bottom sand). I wonder why it is so good to add bottom stone (bottom sand). It is true that there are some merits to adding bottom stone (bottom sand), and you can feel them when you keep aquariums. However, I often think that it is different in terms of the time and effort required for water changes and in terms of hedging against the risk of disease.Among the producer's acquaintances, those who have kept goldfish for decades and those who have kept hundreds of goldfish have almost no bottom stones (bottom sand) in their tanks. Most of them keep their goldfish in bare tanks (tanks without bottom stones). If you keep other ornamental fish such as killifish or tropical fish, it is effective to add bottom stone (bottom sand), but the water quality of goldfish deteriorates faster than that of other ornamental fish, so it is more beneficial not to add bottom stone (bottom sand). This site does not intend to deny the use of bottom stone (bottom sand) at all, but rather to explain the reasons why it should not be used so that those who are not sure can make the right choice.