25g Mid-Week Detritus Export Video

[MarkoD]

Why not just use a clean up crew?

[RuGlu6]

I use the same technique but let my two skimmers do the dirty work.
That leads to more frequent skimmer cup cleaning but hey i need to do it anyway.
To make this work a lot of internal water flow is a must to keep particles suspended.
i doubt that any clean up crew will go for the dirt that has no nutritional value.
Filter feeders and cucumbers will, to a degree but they also generate waste so it a vicious circle the more life we put inside the more waste it will generate even is we call it "Clean up crew"

[Acipenser]

Or have the powerheads aimed to suspend the detrius in the water column and get a hob skimmer or your hob filter to remove them ?

You beat me too it !

[RuGlu6]

Originally Posted by Acipenser

Or have the powerheads aimed to suspend the detrius in the water column and get a hob skimmer or your hob filter to remove them ?

You beat me too it !

Beverly is using HOB

[Beverly]

LOL, Rich!

Marko, besides a few corals that don't get fed, are stomatella snails (lots now, after the spawning event a few months ago), pods and a few small brittle stars - which would all qualify as a clean up crew, wouldn't you say? Man, they leave a mess! I get about this much crud when I do weekly maintanance, too.

Don't you all wonder what's accumulating in your sandbeds?!

[Seriak]

Hey Bev,

Do you rinse in the bucket because you want to use only tank or RO water. I never really went that far when rinsing sponges, but maybe I should have. Would you do the same for socks?

And second thought, maybe you just did it for our benefit to see how dirty they are. Sorry blonde moment

[Beverly]

I use tank water in the bucket to rinse the foams to preserve the nitrfying bacteria in the foams. RO or tapwater would kill the bacteria. I don't use socks, but would probably use the same method for rinsing. I've read that some people have a bunch of socks that they rotate daily and wash, which might be better than simply rinsing them.

[MarkoD]

I have over 200 hermit crabs. Sand and rocks are nice and clean looking.

[Beverly]

To Marko and anyone else who'd like to do an experiment :

Could you please take a cup or so of sand from your sandbed (or sump), preferably near or under your rock, put it in a jar with some tankwater and shake it? Post photos of what the jar and your sandbed looks like during this process. I'm guessing the jar water will turn a shade of brown, but that's only a guess.

Looking forward to seeing a whole whack of photos!

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by Beverly

To Marko and anyone else who'd like to do an experiment :

Could you please take a cup or so of sand from your sandbed (or sump), preferably near or under your rock, put it in a jar with some tankwater and shake it? Post photos of what the jar and your sandbed looks like during this process. I'm guessing the jar water will turn a shade of brown, but that's only a guess.

Looking forward to seeing a whole whack of photos!

I only have an inch of sand bed. But why does it even matter? There's so many successful reef tanks with sand.

My only concern is that it looks clean