Dead Spots???

[Aaron Davis]

Hey all,

So I'm not exactly sure how to confirm this, but I was performing maintenance on my tank last night and was moving a little sand around because my powerhead's current was creating a dune. I have one LARGE piece of liverock where a pistol shrimp lives. At the entrance to his tunnel, I moved some sand and there was some brownish debris that came up and dispersed through the water. It looked at though there wasn't much current there and am wondering if there's a deadspot there. My return nozzle and powerhead face each other so that the current from each meet then go downward. Should I move them in such a way that the current turns into a circulation of sorts? Worried about detritis build up as I plan on adding some livestock soon, including a dwarf moray. Want to make sure my guys stay healthy and I don't want to subject them to anything harmful because I didn't catch that something was there. Thanks!

Aaron

 

[Big G]

Sand needs to be cleaned a bit either by a goby, etc. or mechanically. I use one of these "squirt" devices. It works great. Just work your way around the tank blasting the sand to turn it over. Hope this helps.
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B0009YF4BC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Aaron Davis]

Sand needs to be cleaned a bit either by a goby, etc. or mechanically. I use one of these "squirt" devices. It works great. Just work your way around the tank blasting the sand to turn it over. Hope this helps.
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B0009YF4BC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anything potentially harmful that could come of that?

 

[Big G]

Anything potentially harmful that could come of that?

Well, if you don't aerate the sand in some way, the detritus can create harmful gasses releasing slowly into the water column. And it can contribute to various forms of algae growth in your sandbed. You want the debris to be pulled into your filter. Getting it up into the water where it can be filtered is a very good thing. I do mine about once a week. Check your filter socks after blasting the sandbed. Rinse in clean aquarium water and return. Or: I wash mine with bleach, rinse, and dry them and rotate another set into their place. Cheers!

 

[Aaron Davis]

Well, if you don't aerate the sand in some way, the detritus can create harmful gasses releasing slowly into the water column. And it can contribute to various forms of algae growth in your sandbed. You want the debris to be pulled into your filter. Getting it up into the water where it can be filtered is a very good thing. I do mine about once a week. Check your filter socks after blasting the sandbed. Rinse in clean aquarium water and return. Or: I wash mine with bleach, rinse, and dry them and rotate another set into their place. Cheers!

Great! thanks