Cleaning substrate in a reef aquarium?

[RossMerrigan]

Hi guy's!

I wanted to see what everyone's opinion is on cleaning substrate in a reef aquarium?

I've always siphoned the front portion of the aquarium when I do water changes but have read that you remove a lot of the beneficial anaerobic bacteria... In the past when I haven't cleaned the substrate this way, it seems to hold a lot of sediment over time...

Please let me know what works best for you or if you have any advice on the subject..

Thanks in advance!

 

[Oceansize]

One Diamond Goby works wonders in my 92 gal corner bowfront. My very own living sand sifter, he turns over the substrate in the entire tank about every three days. Snails that burrow also help since they will go deeper under the sand, but the Goby is way more efficient on the top layer where all the detritus settles.

Much easier, lower maintenance, and less disruptive than a gravel/sand vacuum.

P.S. All goby's are sand sifters, but not all of them are burrowers. I chose the Diamond because he is a burrower and I wanted a goby that will dig deeper under the sand. I'm very happy with him. But watch out, they are jumpers!

 

[Webslinger]

+1

 

[brandon429]

the natural nitrate reduction process is so grossly vastly overstated it can be ignored in design factors if you are considering contributions from sand or live rock arrangements. Not that it cant be attained, but in those two prime substrates we dont benefit much from it or nobody would be on the carbon boosting hubbub

so, killing them or not killing them doesnt alter nitrates in your tank, nnr isn't helping appreciably anyway, so not factoring it is the same as totally factoring it into a care method.

the stirring of a bed can release nutrients even though you intend to cycle some out, so thats a double edged sword imo. i think you doing some removal is better than none however imo

in my own tank what i do is good weekly cleaning like what you mentioned, but every decade or so i guess ill just do a 100% instant replacement of the bed which i just did last month. the reason you can switch 100% of a sandbed out of a 9 yr old nano reef and not crash it is because none of that bacteria was the swing vote for running the system, they were only extras, so whether or not the new bed is ready or dry sand doesnt matter based on the bioload I was running.

Im all for sand cleaning and not letting it accumulate.

 

[brandon429]

the partial disturbance of a sandbed is more dangerous than a total 100% bioengineered change out, because we factor the destiny of pent up waste organics in the full commitment run. The partial cleaning hopes to not liberate all of the bad stuff while accessing only pocket areas for removal, its tippy toe

the full rip seems like it would be more of an insult, but thats only the appearance, its not hard to do. we have people put in full new beds commonly when they are transferring tanks for example. other times they dont do a new bed, but they take their live sand and 100% rinse every waste grain out of it, and even if you use tap water, you still retain filtration bacteria on those grains (misnomer bacteria #2, they are weak) so reusing blast cleaned sand is just as viable if not more ready for filtration than all new sand which may or may not contribute to filtration depending on its maturity when used. the live rocks have so much vast filtration capacity along with other surfaces in the tank, the sand isnt the swing vote. its extra real estate.

 

[Cleo642]

I'll gravel vac too. It'll remove the excess poop at bottom from building up in certain spots. That can't be too remove excess dirt.

 

[Oceansize]

I agree the OP's interest in finding an alternative to a siphon vacuum should not be so much to avoid the loss of anaerobic bacteria in the sand bed. For me it is more about finding a more convenient method of cleaning the sand. In other words, the reason he shouldn't use a vacuum is not because it will cause the loss of anaerobic bacteria, but because it's simply a royal PITA and there are much easier ways. The fact that a goby is an easy and efficient solution is the real reason for having one, the fact that a goby is also a _natural_ solution is merely a bonus.

 

[Cleo642]

I agree the OP's interest in finding an alternative to a siphon vacuum should not be so much to avoid the loss of anaerobic bacteria in the sand bed. For me it is more about finding a more convenient method of cleaning the sand. In other words, the reason he shouldn't use a vacuum is not because it will cause the loss of anaerobic bacteria, but because it's simply a royal PITA and there are much easier ways. The fact that a goby is an easy and efficient solution is the real reason for having one, the fact that a goby is also a _natural_ solution is merely a bonus.

Idk if goby eats poo. It might but maybe it just swirls it around too.lol

 

[Oceansize]

Yeah I seriously doubt he eats poo. But he does help keep the poo suspended in the water column where it can be processed by the tank's various filtration systems rather than decomposing in the sand.

 

[Cleo642]

Yeah I seriously doubt he eats poo. But he does help keep the poo suspended in the water column where it can be processed by the tank's various filtration systems rather than decomposing in the sand.

I will still siphon mine a little bit. I will Carib sea reef floor special grade, it's a bigger grain and can be siphoned and didn't blow around. I had freshwater tanks for a long time and it definitely helped and made a cleaner appearance.

 

[RossMerrigan]

Thank you for the comments guys! This is all very useful information. I'm thinking a bit of both is going to be the best route for me.. Sand sifting fish and cleaner crew, plus a light siphon from time to time!

 

[Oceansize]

Sounds like a perfect plan.

 

[AdamNC]

Diamond Goby or a Tiger Tail Cucumber. I've got a Tiger Tail in my tank and he keeps the sand nice and clean.

 

[Oceansize]

How are Cucumbers to keep? Easy? What kind of params?

 

[AlexG]

I have used sand star and cucumbers and they do a great job keeping the sand cleaned. As long as you have reef safe fish and good water quality the cucumber should be fine. When threatened they will release a sticky substance to drive predators away. I have only seen this once in the aquarium when one was being pulled out of a tank to go home. I kept tiger tail cucumbers in my tank and they did a great job.

 

[watchguy123]

I have used conches.

I have been told that gobies eat sand critters (whatever they may be) and therfore reduce the fauna/flora within the sand bed that are munching on detritus (and fish poo).

It is confusing separating fact from fiction regarding sand beds and keeping them clean and hopefully healthy.

 

[Oceansize]

I have used sand star and cucumbers and they do a great job keeping the sand cleaned. As long as you have reef safe fish and good water quality the cucumber should be fine. When threatened they will release a sticky substance to drive predators away. I have only seen this once in the aquarium when one was being pulled out of a tank to go home. I kept tiger tail cucumbers in my tank and they did a great job.

Thanks for the info! I may pick one up.

 

[AdamNC]

How are Cucumbers to keep? Easy? What kind of params?

I keep it no differently than anything else in the tank. Normal parameters.