Stirring Sand, Feeding Corals....

[7237689918]

Hi.

Once a week or so, to help keep the tank clean and nutrients under control, I stir the sand up really well and blow the rocks off with a Powerhead.

There is a lot of "stuff" in the water following.

Only curious. Is that in any way feeding my SPS's?

 

[WV Reefer]

Hi.

Once a week or so, to help keep the tank clean and nutrients under control, I stir the sand up really well and blow the rocks off with a Powerhead.

There is a lot of "stuff" in the water following.

Only curious. Is that in any way feeding my SPS's?

that is the only way I “feed” my corals.

 

[C. Eymann]

Hi.

Once a week or so, to help keep the tank clean and nutrients under control, I stir the sand up really well and blow the rocks off with a Powerhead.

There is a lot of "stuff" in the water following.

Only curious. Is that in any way feeding my SPS's?

Absolutely!
In fact back in the 80s before coral food suspensions/ food supplements were available substrate "stirring" was recommended by Peter Wilkens who at the time was the godfather of modern reefkeeping techniques! he also was the first to reccomend the use of Kalkwasser in reefs.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Absolutely!
In fact back in the 80s before coral food suspensions/ food supplements were available substrate "stirring" was recommended by Peter Wilkens who at the time was the godfather of modern reefkeeping techniques! he also was the first to reccomend the use of Kalkwasser in reefs.

In planning stages to add a separate DSB but connected to DT. Seems to help feed all corals.

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[7237689918]

Good to know guys! Thank you! I'm pretty diligent about it and don't supplement any amino's, rhoids, etc. So hopefully this is getting them enough, along with my water changes.

 

[C. Eymann]

In planning stages to add a separate DSB but connected to DT. Seems to help feed all corals.

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Sweet, have you ever considered trying Dr. Jean Jauberts plenum method in your planned remote DSB?

 

[7237689918]

Pleading ignorance. What's a DSB?

 

[C. Eymann]

Pleading ignorance. What's a DSB?

Deep Sand bed, usually anything more than 2-3" is considered a DSB

 

[7237689918]

Deep Sand bed, usually anything more than 2-3" is considered a DSB

Ahh. I'm following now.

 

[SeaDweller]

Sweet, have you ever considered trying Dr. Jean Jauberts plenum method in your planned remote DSB?

plenum, eh? Now I KNOW you're an old school reefer. I haven't used one of those things since like the 90s.

 

[C. Eymann]

plenum, eh? Now I KNOW you're an old school reefer. I haven't used one of those things since like the 90s.

Well I got my first tank in 1998, I'm a second generation reefer, my father started me off early lol.

There were a lot of mixed reviews and results people had with the plenum method back in the day, while I'm a proponent of BB tanks myself, the plenum method, esp in a remote DSB always intrigued me, after all Jaubert is a professor of coral reef research in France, so it's a hard concept to just dismiss.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Sweet, have you ever considered trying Dr. Jean Jauberts plenum method in your planned remote DSB?

Yes, that's what I'm shooting for, with small tweek, going to feed on a timer dosing pump to move water ever so slow. Very slow. And of course an ORP controller. Should be interesting.

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[Dr. Dendrostein]

Pleading ignorance. What's a DSB?

Wise man once told me, everybody is ignorant, some more than others.

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[C. Eymann]

Yes, that's what I'm shooting for, with small tweek, going to feed on a timer dosing pump to move water ever so slow. Very slow. And of course an ORP controller. Should be interesting.

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Interesting idea, almost like a coil denitrification setup would be run then?

OP- sorry if I derailed the thread a bit lol

 

[7237689918]

Haha. I enjoy you guys nerding up.

 

[jda]

Even if the SPS could catch the particles that you stirred up, what is in them that makes you think that the catch was worth the energy produced to catch and process them?

The sand is full of microfauna and bacteria that can make very quick work of anything of value that gets in there. Most of the gunk that is in the sand is benign,

I do not think that you are doing anything.

 

[7237689918]

As I said above, I do it for other reasons and was asking if it happened to be helpful for feeding corals.

 

[Dugless]

If all material was quickly consumed and completely processed by its residents the population would die off, no? I think there could definitely be foodstuffs in the resulting debris from sand stirring.

 

[jda]

I think that is mostly true. I would worry about all of that stuff dying if fresh fish poop and other organics were not constantly entering the sand beds. Just because they leaving nothing to waste does not mean that they do not have a food source.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

As I said above, I do it for other reasons and was asking if it happened to be helpful for feeding corals.

I would think some of the stuff you're stirring up is edible for the corals and some not. I think it's useful.