Decreased alkalinity usage after vacuuming sand bed?

[csb123]

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been a good boy, and started increasing my sand bed maintenance. This has been motivated by the recent BRS videos regarding bare bottom vs sand.

Two weeks ago I vacuumed the 1.5 in sand bed in my 60 gallon remote refugium, which hasn’t been touched in 4 years. I got a good amount of muck out (13 filter socks got plugged up in the process.) This last weekend, I vacuumed about 15% of my 300 gallon display. Out of that, I got suprisingly little muck (1 filter sock.) I feel this is thanks to my high flow and the tireless work of my diamond goby.

Absolutely, nothing else has been changed in 4 months. But between these two actions, my alkalinity usage has declined. All of the livestock seems otherwise healthy. My PE and color of my SPS has been stable and good.

I understand the sand bed vacuuming will disrupt my ecosystem, but I’m really nervous, with 1.5 weeks of suppressed alk usage. I’ve finally had success over the last 8 months, with great growth and color, and I don’t want a big set back.

Does anyone have suggestions for what to watch for, or preemptive action?

I’m not touching anything else for at least a month.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Personally I wouldn’t really worry if everything else looks stable.
Coral love stability and if you hadn’t touched the sand bed for a good four years that could be kind of disruptive when you finally did it.
If I were you I would just monitor and let things settle.

 

[brandon429]

it wont disrupt your ecosystem it will enhance it, to be free of extra organic wastes.

we are up to 36 pages rinsing out or totally removing sandbeds now in our sand rinse thread, to vacuum one out certainly won't harm we're usually much harsher, with great results. Im not sure of an alk impact mechanism, but am sure of what pages of good results looks like, reefs are happy with clean or no sandbeds. they're happy with old aged sandbeds too, just not at moving time, or invasion time, or rock slide time or power outage time.

 

[Miller535]

My theory would be that nitrate and phosphate levels can affect alk consumption. And you cleaned some gunk out of your sandbed probably lowering them some. I remember a thread a while back where Randy was talking about how NO3 and PO4 affect alk

With that said, I wouldn't worry.

 

[csb123]

My theory would be that nitrate and phosphate levels can affect alk consumption. And you cleaned some gunk out of your sandbed probably lowering them some. I remember a thread a while back where Randy was talking about how NO3 and PO4 affect alk

With that said, I wouldn't worry.

I’ll keep a close eye on the nutrients, especially since I dose LaCl and need to avoid an OD, like the plague.