Here in the next few weeks (hopefully sooner) I plan to upgrade from my 10 gallon to a 20 long, and in doing so, I'd like the leave the sand behind. While I do feel that there are many benefits to having the sand, I personally enjoy the clean look of a BB tank and I want to know if anyone here has sucessfully made the switch. I believe my skimmer should be more than enough to compensate for some of the sand's filtration (it's rated for 150 gallons) and my vortech should be able to move detritus both into my filter sock and into a place for me to siphon it out manually. I also do not plan to use any star board or particle board. I do like the look of it, but it's quite expensive and to be honest I like the way the glass looks painted white instead.