DO YOU GUYS VACUUM YOUR SANDBED??

[N.Sreefer]

How big is your tank? I want a conch but my tanks only a 20g long

150 someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think a strawberry conch would be okay in a 20 (only gets 3 inch max) might have to feed it eventually.

 

[PeterB113]

150 someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think a strawberry conch would be okay in a 20 (only gets 3 inch max) might have to feed it eventually.

I'll definitley look into that

 

[kados]

I vacuum with every water change (3 weeks) 187g FOWLR and 103g Softie. I like clean looking sand and keeps gunk out. I use Caribsea special grade.

 

[BiggestE222]

I got a pistol shrimp last week and he’s done a fantastic job of moving all my sand. The loose stuff gets kicked around and filtered. Sand bed looks great.

Yes. It’s the cost of having it. Otherwise it’s a nutrient sink. Doubt the chronology cleans your entire sand bed.

 

[BiggestE222]

Maybe because bacteria in sand bed eating detritus and after this detritus is not more problem?

They were wrong. Mayb Ed if you have a dep sand bed. But that just means it holds more trash.

 

[PeterB113]

They were wrong. Mayb Ed if you have a dep sand bed. But that just means it holds more trash.

Yea I know people refer to sandbeds as "nutrient sponges"

 

[Spieg]

Yea I know people refer to sandbeds as "nutrient sponges"

I think a lot of that is people echoing what they heard from BRS... it may be worth noting that BRS has changed their tune recently.

 

[kingjames_dc5]

150 someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think a strawberry conch would be okay in a 20 (only gets 3 inch max) might have to feed it eventually.

I have one in my evo 13.5 and it’s great no issues. Go and get you one you won’t regret it.

 

[kingjames_dc5]

I have had my tank up and running for about 6 months and I have never vacuumed sand bed I stir it up and let my cuc do most of the cleaning for me nassarius snails are also a great addition to helping keep your sand bed agitated.

 

[jake royston]

Ive also been wondering this. Currently have a sump-less 75gal "learning tank" before i dive into something larger. Curious how it would affect the pod population, amongst other things...

 

[PeterB113]

Ive also been wondering this. Currently have a sump-less 75gal "learning tank" before i dive into something larger. Curious how it would affect the pod population, amongst other things...

When I siphon the pods swim down back into the sand the flows not strong enough to suck them up. That's for amphipods at least

 

[olonmv]

Yes. It’s the cost of having it. Otherwise it’s a nutrient sink. Doubt the chronology cleans your entire sand bed.

The cost of having it isn’t that big a cost for me. I don’t mind blowing the rocks of sand daily. my tank is a nano 13.5 and I haven’t seen my sand this white since I started my tank so I think it’s safe to assume that the pistol played a big role as he’s constantly pushing and pulling sand.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Hi Peter, I’m a firm believer in vacuuming every time you do a water change. The very fact that many hobbyists go barebottom tank is proof that the less dirt in the tank the better. My corals are doing great with it. I have a spawning pair of Mandarins that get their fill of micro fauna, pods etc. Vacuuming is a great habit to get into. Good luck bud.

 

[mermaid_life]

I keep a 1-2inch sand bed and I vacuum it every other week. On the in between weeks, I will turkey baste the edges of the sand bed and around the base of rocks to get the detritus into the water column to get filtered out. When siphoning, I siphon the water through a filter sock back into the sump. If you're a clean freak like me, you'll start doing the same after you see what's left in the sock the first time you try. ;Yuck

I think someone already mentioned too.... sand bed depth plays a role in "crashing tanks." It's not as simple as 'never touch your sand bed' or 'stir it all the time'.

I'm totally going to look into this conch idea though!

 

[REEFCRAFT]

Sleeper goby.

 

[Adamantium]

Sleeper goby.

I’m jelly. What a gorgeous tank.

No problems with the goby dropping sand on corals?

 

[sohal tang]

Also do you think me vacuuming it every week will cause a problem in the tank?

Toxins build up in the sandbed and are released when you vacuum thats why you only do small sections at a time over days or weeks or in that guy's case a year... You do not want those toxins being released into your water column....remember STABILITY is the key to a reef and when you vacuum the sandbed it THREATENS STABILITY so you do it very slowly and over days or weeks ...dont be a rockstar and see how fast you can clean your sandbed or you could be very, very sorry....there is more that could go wrong then the right.....just my two cents and opinions may vary thasok.

 

[Adamantium]

Toxins build up in the sandbed and are released when you vacuum thats why you only do small sections at a time over days or weeks or in that guy's case a year... You do not want those toxins being released into your water column....remember STABILITY is the key to a reef and when you vacuum the sandbed it THREATENS STABILITY so you do it very slowly and over days or weeks ...dont be a rockstar and see how fast you can clean your sandbed or you could be very, very sorry....there is more that could go wrong then the right.....just my two cents and opinions may vary thasok.

I sincerely don't mean to be antagonistic, but I have heard this explanation countless times over the years. Literally hundreds of times. And yet, still, I have not seen one example of this anoxic bacteria actually crashing a tank. I'm definitely not saying it can't happen, just that I've seen a ton of people saying they vacuumed their sandbed after long periods without doing so with no issue, and not one example of someone doing so with disastrous results. I would love to see an example of it crashing a tank, just for my own edification (though, I'd be sad for the reef).

 

[ReefGeezer]

I have a shallow sand bed of fine aragonite sand. It started out about 2" deep over the whole bottom. It has been blown toward the back corners of the tank and is 4-5" deep in areas, and bare bottom in others. This seems to work fine for the Wrasses & that's the only reason I have sand anyway. I don't vacuum. The Wrasses, a big Goby, some sand sifting Stars, and a bunch on snails keep the sand pretty stirred up and clean.

 

[REEFCRAFT]

I’m jelly. What a gorgeous tank.

No problems with the goby dropping sand on corals?

Nope