JAMMED PACKED TANKS, DETRITUS ANYONE?

[Flippers4pups]

Photo credit: @pongpit

Okay, those of you that have your tanks “jammed packed” with rock and corals, so much it’s filling every square inch of space especially with a sand bed, how do you manage the “D” word? Or Nitrate and or Phosphate........?

WE ALL WANT TO KNOW YOUR SECRETS!

 

[Uncle99]

Mature sand bed and rock, with Nassarius snails, skimmer, chaeto, marine pure block, regular sock change, sponge and UV.

Pumps keep it mostly suspended for removal.

 

[stanlalee]

When my tank was jammed packed with rock didn't even know it was there. Not until I started to update my aquascape with modern day knowledge and take about half my rock out and off the walls for flow did I find it and there was TONS! like handfuls and it was already bare bottom. Now I'm aquascaped so it doesn't really settle and what little does in one back area easily siphoned out with water changes. I'm also using filter socks.

 

[stanlalee]

Oops post era

 

[Doctorgori]

I got a 3 BB tanks and simply point a couple powerheads directly at the bottom

 

[Flippers4pups]

Thank you all so far for the input! I think this is a great way to give members a insight for their tanks down the road as they mature and fill full of corals!

Keep it coming folks, what do you do?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’ll add that I recently add more power heads to my system. I truly believe I needed it badly. More chaotic flow was needed.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I just take a short length of airline tubing and suck out the detritus. Like a little tiny water change never more than about a gallon and I can vacuum around Zoa colonies without disturbing them

 

[Scorpius]

Bare bottom here. Once a week I blow the rocks off and turn the flow up till it's a hurricane.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Bare bottom here. Once a week I blow the rocks off and turn the flow up till it's a hurricane.

Yeah baby! Does any of it have a adverse effect on your corals or no effect?

 

[andrewkw]

1) bare bottom
2) carbon dosing which forces you to frequently change filter socks as they clog fast
3) blast the rocks and under the rocks to remove some detritus frequently. Not going to get it all, not trying to get it all but trying to prevent it from being a problem. This is also why I still use 5 gallon buckets for water changes, I want to be able to see the detritus coming out.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’ve not touched my sand bed in months since I beat dinoflagellates. It’s probably full of detritus!

 

[fish farmer]

I’ll add that I recently add more power heads to my system. I truly believe I needed it badly. More chaotic flow was needed.

It would be interesting to know with jam packed coral tanks....what type of coral, SPS, LPS, softies. I know in my 29 gallon with return flow and two nano circulating pumps, I still get detritus settling, some due to aquascape design. I have mostly LPS, zoas and other softies which don't like direct flow. I also have a little bit of fine sand on the bottom as well.

I blast the rocks with a turkey baster from time to time.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

FLOW.

I added a second mp40 In the 180 after 10 years of resistance. It moves my entire sand bed in a few days. I got lucky With placement so it doesn’t kick up sand, but by the end of the week the bed has a whole different landscape, I alfter ther flow and it changes again. Kinda cool and no more cleaning the bed.

 

[Flippers4pups]

It would be interesting to know with jam packed coral tanks....what type of coral, SPS, LPS, softies. I know in my 29 gallon with return flow and two nano circulating pumps, I still get detritus settling, some due to aquascape design. I have mostly LPS, zoas and other softies which don't like direct flow. I also have a little bit of fine sand on the bottom as well.

I blast the rocks with a turkey baster from time to time.

FLOW.

I added a second mp40 In the 180 after 10 years of resistance. It moves my entire sand bed in a few days. I got lucky With placement so it doesn’t kick up sand, but by the end of the week the bed has a whole different landscape, I alfter ther flow and it changes again. Kinda cool and no more cleaning the bed.

I’ve seen tanks so packed with rock and corals it’s mind bending! There is no way you could ever have flow around the rocks to suspend the detritus!

This affirms that detritus can’t be a bad thing at all. Me personally, like I said, I haven’t touched my sand bed in six months and it’s bone white. I haven’t touched my sump in over a year. My frag tank has tons of detritus on its bottom. With all of this, my corals are booming with growth. I don’t think all of this has any impact on the coral growth at all, but it sure hasn’t had any negative impacts either.

 

[Doctorgori]

the amount and type of detritus depends on what’s on/ in the rock. I know urchins create a ton, its almost annoying. Anyway detritus becomes inert and a habitat itself of sorts.

 

[ScottR]

To everyone saying FLOW, I say flow all the way!!! BB and get good movement. Detritus never has a chance to settle and gets kicked up. However, there are still dead spots to attend to and detritus can also get trapped in the sump. I keep a powerhead in my main chamber of the sump because detritus collects there

 

[Paul B]

Diatom filter with a long tube a couple of times a year.