Do you guys siphon the sand bed?

[fr3n0z]

Hi guys, tanks looks good, nano 13g net, parameters are spot on, sand bed look nice and clean, some algae growing on walls (no coralline yet) but the cuc take care of them. Tank quite new (since june and populated in end of august). Do you guys siphon Sand (i've got around 2cm of sandbed)? if yes, only when needed or before any WC?

 

[Dburr1014]

Hi guys, tanks looks good, nano 13g net, parameters are spot on, sand bed look nice and clean, some algae growing on walls (no coralline yet) but the cuc take care of them. Tank quite new (since june and populated in end of august). Do you guys siphon Sand (i've got around 2cm of sandbed)? if yes, only when needed or before any WC?

I used to siphon it during my water changes. Now that I have an auto water changer, what I do now is just blow any detritus that's in the sand bed with a turkey baster. I hope it gets picked up by my skimmer. Corals get a good snack too.
If you're going to do it, it's best to make it a regular habit and not one of those once in awhile things.

 

[fr3n0z]

I used to siphon it during my water changes. Now that I have an auto water changer, what I do now is just blow any detritus that's in the sand bed with a turkey baster. I hope it gets picked up by my skimmer. Corals get a good snack too.
If you're going to do it, it's best to make it a regular habit and not one of those once in awhile things.

i would really low if you guys tell me is not needed because i don't like to do that. Even on my fresh water i try to do it as little as possible

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

i would really low if you guys tell me is not needed because i don't like to do that. Even on my fresh water i try to do it as little as possible

If you already know the answer you want, why ask the question?

 

[ying yang]

What I got taught was always siphon your sandbed regulary or don't touch it,so my tank been up about 19 months maybe and not siphoned once and still looks quite clean but I got pistol shrimp who turns over half off my 80 gallon regulary and about 16 nassarius snails who always up and and down in it,have had 3 conches but everytime go on holiday I come back to a dead conch or tuxedo urchin ( guessing because I feed tank 3 times a day and tell tank sitter to feed only once and they get picked off by the fish or critters idk) actually one off them conches I seen my skunk cleaner shrimp attack and kill it ,and conch just minding his own business vacuuming up the sand lol

 

[fr3n0z]

If you already know the answer you want, why ask the question?

the answer i want is maybe not the right answer. If you guys tell me is needed or you will have problem, i will get myself to do it even if i don't like it. Or is the good moment to teach my 6yo to do a WC without transforming the thing in a pool party.

 

[fr3n0z]

What I got taught was always siphon your sandbed regulary or don't touch it,so my tank been up about 19 months maybe and not siphoned once and still looks quite clean but I got pistol shrimp who turns over half off my 80 gallon regulary and about 16 nassarius snails who always up and and down in it,have had 3 conches but everytime go on holiday I come back to a dead conch or tuxedo urchin ( guessing because I feed tank 3 times a day and tell tank sitter to feed only once and they get picked off by the fish or critters idk) actually one off them conches I seen my skunk cleaner shrimp attack and kill it ,and conch just minding his own business vacuuming up the sand lol

i do have 3 nassarius, 2 turbo and a skunk. tank is only 10g display... dunno if can add more nassarius to do the job for me.

 

[shakacuz]

i don’t siphon the sandbed. i just have my sand sifting star fish, conches, cerith snails, hermit crabs and nassarius snails work the sandbed

 

[KK's Reef]

It's not needed, but if you want to keep the sand as pristine as possible, you'll need to stir it up/turn it over. I used a long feeder, but turkey baster will do the same. I do it before a water change to suspend all of the detritus.

 

[xCry0x]

I have a 65g and siphon the bed with weekly water change. Really, the water change is primarily for cleaning the sand.

It is a way to keep the sand bed stirred and white.

I've also had issues with sand bed calcification - so the stirring helps there also.

 

[DB402020]

I dont siphon my sand bed and have had no issues. I have a pack of nassarius snails, two conches, and a diamond goby that keep it mixed up. When I'm adding water back to the tank after WC's I let the water pouring stir up the sand bed a little bit to get the detritus into the water column.

 

[Danny G]

I did with new tank start ups... once the tank became more established I started adding clean up crews and it became unnecessary. Torchus snails really changed the game for me removing the algae off the walls and rocks.. I honestly cannot remember their names but I have at least 5 various types of snails. Each of them work a bit differently.

 

[kevgib67]

I don’t siphon, as mentioned before my diamond watchman gobie, nassarius snails and conch do it for me. Always white clean sand bed.