Siphon Sand Bed in Reef?

[CaliforniaCrisp]

In the 13+ years I have been reefing I have never siphoned my sand bed. I am now in a much larger tank (120g) and have been up and running 7 months. It is now becoming a heavy sps tank. Though I have a ton of z's & p's and chalices. Never had an issue with phosphates till now. But the only thing that is struggling in my tank are a few zoas.

Who all siphons a reef sand bed? I was always taught not to disturb it.

 

[DFWreefjunky]

I gravel vac every time and have no issues.

 

[CaliforniaCrisp]

I guess I will slowly start siphoning...

 

[mrcoffee2]

A thick sand bed should not be disturbed imho unless you are ready to battle algae.

A thin sand bed should be siphoned, or you can put some natural critters in there to turn and clean the sand. Like a fighting conch for example.

 

[SantaMonica]

If your CUC and general functioning of the bed is good, and you don't feed too much, then the bed will dissolve everything as fast as it is fed. The key is to have CUC that can break apart large pieces. So in this case you won't need to siphon.

What you end up with after several years is a coating of inorganic silt hidden in crevices, just like the ocean. The silt makes for great hiding places for animals.

Of course if your general functioning is not good and/or not developed yet, you'll need some kind of export and/or siphon.