Sand bed maintenance in a nano?

mrhasan · #1 11-07-2013, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

What's the concern about "shaking the sand bed". I vacuumed my sand bed a lot when I was cleaning up my nutrient problem in my upstairs tank. The water would turn pretty cloudy, but would clear up completely in about an hour or so. I also dosed MB7, so that probably helped too. In any case, my fish didn't seem to mind, and some of them would be right there by the vacuum end trying to catch any pods that would be disturbed.

There were times when even putting a frag plug in the sandbed cause spikes. So I leave them in peace

And the sandbed won't get overloaded with detritus since nothing settles in my tank (somethings the frags too), thanks to wp40. Infact, the only thing I do in my DT is just clean the glass; no vacuuming, no turkey baster; and no filter socks too.

Koleswrath · #2 11-07-2013, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhasan

There were times when even putting a frag plug in the sandbed cause spikes. So I leave them in peace

And the sandbed won't get overloaded with detritus since nothing settles in my tank (somethings the frags too), thanks to wp40. Infact, the only thing I do in my DT is just clean the glass; no vacuuming, no turkey baster; and no filter socks too.

With enough flow some people have reported successful sandbed tanks for 10+ years. BUT........if nothing ever settles in your sandbed you wouldn't have a spike if you put a frag plug in it.

Greg

mrhasan · #3 11-07-2013, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koleswrath

With enough flow some people have reported successful sandbed tanks for 10+ years. BUT........if nothing ever settles in your sandbed you wouldn't have a spike if you put a frag plug in it.

Greg

By settling, I mean detritus resting on the sand bed and making it look ugly. The sand bed itself has lots of nutrients trapped which will not get released unless you disturb it. And over time, the fauna in the sand bed takes care of it. The fauna is more important to me (pods, bristle worms). Why don't people take out all the LR or give a shake and take out the detritus? I am pretty sure those crevice and crannies can undergo some maintenance too

Koleswrath · #4 11-07-2013, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Why don't people take out all the LR or give a shake and take out the detritus? I am pretty sure those crevice and crannies can undergo some maintenance too

Definately, this is what people do whey they use a turkey baster to blow the bacterial flock off the rocks. High enough and proper flow can keep the flock from clogging up the rocks as well.

Reef Pilot · #5 11-07-2013, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhasan

There were times when even putting a frag plug in the sandbed cause spikes. So I leave them in peace

And the sandbed won't get overloaded with detritus since nothing settles in my tank (somethings the frags too), thanks to wp40. Infact, the only thing I do in my DT is just clean the glass; no vacuuming, no turkey baster; and no filter socks too.

Spikes of what??

These days my sand is actually pretty clean, with all the circulation, and I have a goby that keeps sifting it. But even he can sometimes create a little "storm" when he pulls sand out from under the rocks. But I don't get any "spikes". Before, when I had the nutrient problem, you wouldn't believe all the detritus crap that I would pull out with the vacuum. After all, it had been "accumulating" there for 10+ years...

mrhasan · #6 11-07-2013, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Spikes of what??

These days my sand is actually pretty clean, with all the circulation, and I have a goby that keeps sifting it. But even he can sometimes create a little "storm" when he pulls sand out from under the rocks. But I don't get any "spikes". Before, when I had the nutrient problem, you wouldn't believe all the detritus crap that I would pull out with the vacuum. After all, it had been "accumulating" there for 10+ years...

My last bad experience was with nitrate. Sand bed surface remains clean, I just don't wanna peek-a-boo with whats inside, bristle worms are there to keep things in check.

I guess it just comes down to how pristine you want your DT to be. I just like my glass (both inside and outside; I hate when people put finger prints on the glasses), my rocks and sand bed which is visible to the eye to be clean. And crystal clear water. Atleats I know, if I were to care about what's inside those sand bed, I would be thinking hard about the dead spots between and behind the rocks.

Reef Pilot · #7 11-07-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhasan

I guess it just comes down to how pristine you want your DT to be. I just like my glass (both inside and outside; I hate when people put finger prints on the glasses), my rocks and sand bed which is visible to the eye to be clean. And crystal clear water. Atleats I know, if I were to care about what's inside those sand bed, I would be thinking hard about the dead spots between and behind the rocks.

Don't we all want crystal clear water, and clean rocks and sand? That's what getting all the nutrients out of your tank is all about. And with zero nitrates and phosphates.

At this time, I no longer vacuum my sand. That's because it is now divided up between 2 tanks, and is not very deep anywhere. Some parts of the bottom are actually bare, because of the water currents. And the gobies do a good job to ensure detritus doesn't build up anywhere.

mrhasan · #8 11-07-2013, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Don't we all want crystal clear water, and clean rocks and sand? That's what getting all the nutrients out of your tank is all about. And with zero nitrates and phosphates.

At this time, I no longer vacuum my sand. That's because it is now divided up between 2 tanks, and is not very deep anywhere. Some parts of the bottom are actually bare, because of the water currents. And the gobies do a good job to ensure detritus doesn't build up anywhere.

True that!

My sand bed is also shallow. I am a big anti-DSB (let's not start anything on that

). I let bristles take care of ugly things