Really stupid question about tank maintenance

[BroccoliFarmer]

Ok. Honestly, I feel REALLY stupid for asking this question, but I really don't know the answer. When I vacuum the sand, I pull out this cloudy nasty stuff which I am assuming is this magical thing called detritus. But is that really what it is? I always thought that detritus was broken down organic waste...but this seems to be deep inside of the sand where I dont see how the broken down organics can make it to (with the counter argument being that this cloud of nasty is generally in my power head dead spots and I am assuming the nasty is accumulating).

So here are my questions:

1. Is it detritus or is it something else (like my sandbed grinding against each other so this is just fine sand).
2. If it is detritus, what should i be putting in here to naturally deal with this so that I can limit the amount of disturbance of my ecosystem and sandbed to deal with this accumulated nastiness? I have heard nassarius snails and sand sifters, but concerned about the stories of starvation.

Thank you and regards

 

[Pntbll687]

Combination of detritus breaking down, and sand grinding together over time is a very good guess.

It settles where the dead spots are because otherwise it gets blown around the tank. You may not see it being blown around the tank but it's happening.

Siphoning it out is fine, or get some clean up crew that go through the sand. Nesarius snails, sand dollar, cucumbers. Those critters will keep the sand turned up and stop the junk from settling.

Add the least amount of critters possible to deal with it, that way they won't starve. Depending on the size of the tank, a single cucumber or sand dollar is likely all you need.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I also like Florida Fighting Conch— but one can bulldoze over small unattached Corals in the sand bed.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

not a stupid question at all, or else you and I are alike and can be friends, cause I dont know the answer either.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Detritus is any organic or inorganic material that has been reduced either by biological or mechanical means. This can take the form of fine sand grains (bacterial mineralization of organic material, physical forces grinding sand grains, etc.), algae fragments, sponge cell shedding, partial digested food stuffs, fully reduced organics (aka 'mulm'), etc., etc.

Over time, detritus will collect deep within a substrate mainly due to the process of advection. The stronger the flow and the more rockwork on/in the substrate, the quicker the substrate will fill up. Finer sand will typically take longer to fill up vs. coarse sand/rubble, but it will happen none-the-less.

Within the hobby, there are various schools of thought regarding whether this material is actually harmful to our systems. I take a moderate view that a little can be helpful as it provides sustenance and habitat for small creatures and microorganisms, but too much can be harmful in that it can cause the sand bed to become 'fouled' (disruption of the nitrogen cycle, putrefaction leading to noxious gases such as hydrogen sulfide, etc.).

 

[Freddy0144]

I agree with the causes stated above, sand grinding and the breakdown of organic materials.

so I did not do many water changes in my last tank, but I did clean the sand bed by creating the siphon and then run the discharge into a filet sock which was clamped to a 5 gallon bucket, my wife would then pump the clean water back in to the display as the bucket filled.

I also used nassarious snails and other sand bed cleaners as part of the clean up crew. The sand bed was about two inches

if you are running a deep sand bed 3-5 inches you likely don’t want to disturb this too much as you can release stuff that can be toxic to the tank

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Detritus is any organic or inorganic material that has been reduced either by biological or mechanical means. This can take the form of fine sand grains (bacterial mineralization of organic material, physical forces grinding sand grains, etc.), algae fragments, sponge cell shedding, partial digested food stuffs, fully reduced organics (aka 'mulm'), etc., etc.

Over time, detritus will collect deep within a substrate mainly due to the process of advection. The stronger the flow and the more rockwork on/in the substrate, the quicker the substrate will fill up. Finer sand will typically take longer to fill up vs. coarse sand/rubble, but it will happen none-the-less.

Within the hobby, there are various schools of thought regarding whether this material is actually harmful to our systems. I take a moderate view that a little can be helpful as it provides sustenance and habitat for small creatures and microorganisms, but too much can be harmful in that it can cause the sand bed to become 'fouled' (disruption of the nitrogen cycle, putrefaction leading to noxious gases such as hydrogen sulfide, etc.).

Thank you for the insightful and helpful response. This gives me a good understanding of the issue as well as what I should be doing to / not address it. Thank you!!!

 

[MnFish1]

1. Is it detritus or is it something else (like my sandbed grinding against each other so this is just fine sand).

It could be both It is probably bits of small 'stuff' thats gotten into your sand.

2. If it is detritus, what should i be putting in here to naturally deal with this so that I can limit the amount of disturbance of my ecosystem and sandbed to deal with this accumulated nastiness? I have heard nassarius snails and sand sifters, but concerned about the stories of starvation.

Since many people use a bare-bottom aquarium with no issues - and have a thriving tank - I think the benefits are outweighed by the potential problems. What I tend to do - is once a month or so - I use a python - and clean about 1/2 of the sand (and I have a very very shallow sand bed perhaps 1/4 inch) - the next month I do the next half. It keeps the tank clean, parameters are stable - in general there are no bad effects.

I do not necessarily believe in the products claiming to be 'bacterial detritus removers'.

Note - As others have said - many people believe having an area full of mud or detritus is 'good' for the 'diversity' in the tank. I to not believe this is necessarily true - but no offense or debate to those who do

 

[tbrown]

Ok. Honestly, I feel REALLY stupid for asking this question, but I really don't know the answer. When I vacuum the sand, I pull out this cloudy nasty stuff which I am assuming is this magical thing called detritus. But is that really what it is? I always thought that detritus was broken down organic waste...but this seems to be deep inside of the sand where I dont see how the broken down organics can make it to (with the counter argument being that this cloud of nasty is generally in my power head dead spots and I am assuming the nasty is accumulating).

So here are my questions:

1. Is it detritus or is it something else (like my sandbed grinding against each other so this is just fine sand).
2. If it is detritus, what should i be putting in here to naturally deal with this so that I can limit the amount of disturbance of my ecosystem and sandbed to deal with this accumulated nastiness? I have heard nassarius snails and sand sifters, but concerned about the stories of starvation.

Thank you and regards

I have two nassarius snails in my 5 gallon - they were my first addition to the tank which has been running for about 2 years now I believe. I also have two in my 75 which has been up for about a year at this point. All 4 are present and accounted for. They do a good job of turning over the sand and they'll eat detritus and leftover food. Another good one is cerith snails but they don't tend to go into the middle of the sand, just stay on the fringes. They eat algae along with detritus and they're great for providing shells for your hermit crabs! Your tank is large enough that a fighting conch could work but I've had two starve on me in my 75. I'd say nassarius and cerith snails. Get a conch if you want though! They look cool and my first one survived for about 7 months. It disappeared and I added a second one, then he came back out.

 

[MnFish1]

PS - your question was not stupid - its a hotly debated topic on the site - and there is no real right or wrong answer

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I have two nassarius snails in my 5 gallon - they were my first addition to the tank which has been running for about 2 years now I believe. I also have two in my 75 which has been up for about a year at this point. All 4 are present and accounted for. They do a good job of turning over the sand and they'll eat detritus and leftover food. Another good one is cerith snails but they don't tend to go into the middle of the sand, just stay on the fringes. They eat algae along with detritus and they're great for providing shells for your hermit crabs! Your tank is large enough that a fighting conch could work but I've had two starve on me in my 75. I'd say nassarius and cerith snails. Get a conch if you want though! They look cool and my first one survived for about 7 months. It disappeared and I added a second one, then he came back out.

I have a few nassarius snails in my low boy but I still get the cloudy smudge coming up. Just gonna keep adding them until the cloud is not as thick.

Thanks for the great back and forths.

 

[Duncan62]

Ok. Honestly, I feel REALLY stupid for asking this question, but I really don't know the answer. When I vacuum the sand, I pull out this cloudy nasty stuff which I am assuming is this magical thing called detritus. But is that really what it is? I always thought that detritus was broken down organic waste...but this seems to be deep inside of the sand where I dont see how the broken down organics can make it to (with the counter argument being that this cloud of nasty is generally in my power head dead spots and I am assuming the nasty is accumulating).

So here are my questions:

1. Is it detritus or is it something else (like my sandbed grinding against each other so this is just fine sand).
2. If it is detritus, what should i be putting in here to naturally deal with this so that I can limit the amount of disturbance of my ecosystem and sandbed to deal with this accumulated nastiness? I have heard nassarius snails and sand sifters, but concerned about the stories of starvation.

Thank you and regards

I have some damsels that constantly dig and turn over the sand better than all my cuc members. Lol. It's great till you find a coral buried under an inch of sand. But that end of the tank is always clean. Lol.