Too Stir or Not Stir Up Sand Bed?

[baseballfanatic2]

Should sandbeds be stirred up or not?

 

[melypr1985]

Not by you. There are animals that will stir up the sand some and keep it clean and others that just help clean it up. You can vacuum the very top layer of it if you want/need to. But dont just sick your hands in there and stir it up on purpose especially if it's a deep sand bed - 4+ inches deep

 

[baseballfanatic2]

Not by you. There are animals that will stir up the sand some and keep it clean and others that just help clean it up. You can vacuum the very top layer of it if you want/need to. But dont just sick your hands in there and stir it up on purpose especially if it's a deep sand bed - 4+ inches deep

Thanks. I only have a 1 to 1 1/2 inch sand bed

 

[redfishbluefish]

You can lightly siphon during a water change, but I would never stir up the sand bed.

 

[baseballfanatic2]

You can lightly siphon during a water change, but I would never stir up the sand bed.

When I say stir, I mean like take a toothbrush and gently just stir it as I go all along the sand bed. I was told to do this by my LFS to avoid any toxins being built up in the sand bed.

 

[Wiz]

With an inch ot less I personally would aggressively vacuum the bed at least once every two weeks. 3" or more I try very hard not to disturb it at all. Between 1" and 3" I would take out 2"s. ;-)

 

[baseballfanatic2]

With an inch ot less I personally would aggressively vacuum the bed at least once every two weeks. 3" or more I try very hard not to disturb it at all. Between 1" and 3" I would take out 2"s. ;-)

Thanks

 

[cameronh]

I stirred up the sand bed on my native tank one time.............1 and a half inch deep. Cloudy water and trying very hard to breathe fish.....no good. Emergency water change.

 

[Reab]

IMHO I would never disturb my sand bed. However i would agitate the surface with a turkey baster to kick up any detritus that has built up

 

[reef_grrrl]

I have a 1/2 inch sand bed in my 20 gallon nano, I vacuum it with every water change, and every few months I remove my rock (they're all ziptied and glued together so it's just two structures) and vacuum under them. I can't imagine the nasty stuff that would accumulate if I left it be. I know it's time to heavy duty vacuum when I get a slow hair algae bloom! Haha

 

[3dees]

I have about one inch and I stir it all the time. no problems. I have always thought it was bad to stir a deep sand bed.

 

[evolved]

It depends on how deep the sand is, and it depends if you can be consistent.

I have about 1" of sand in my tank, and I stir it up every two weeks. But I've done this every two weeks since the tank has been setup.

Don't do it if you've never done it, and don't do it unless you're going to do it on a persistent basis. And regardless, if you have over 2" of sand, I wouldn't do it at all.

 

[jazonPartij]

I have a DSB but I stir the very top layer. I vacuum my sand bed every other week and stir the top layer every other week. I haven't had my tank very long so I'm not sure of the long term effects but it seems fine. What are the reasons for not stirring the sand bed? I have black sand so I want to keep it as clean as possible.

 

[jazonPartij]

I have a DSB but I stir the very top layer. I vacuum my sand bed every other week and stir the top layer every other week. I haven't had my tank very long so I'm not sure of the long term effects but it seems fine. What are the reasons for not stirring the sand bed? I have black sand so I want to keep it as clean as possible.

Bump

 

[Pinky88]

totally agree with getting a good size CUC to stir ur sand up. U will get tired of doing it gradually lol

 

[melypr1985]

Deep sand beds produce and contain gases that you dont want to disturb and release into the water proper. I'm sure somebody can explain that better than I though.

 

[Wiz]

With a deep sand bed the layers of sand catch and hold Nutrients. The deeper layers are anaerobic That is where your nitrate filtration comes from. In order for the water to get into the deeper layers it requires the micro fauna. These worms and bugs create pathways through this and that allow the water to slowly sink to the bottom layers And be cleaned. Stirring will Ruin these pathways and also kill the microfauna in the sand bed. This will cause Organic matter to get trapped
and change into a gas which the name
escapes me at the moment. If this gas is allowed to build up and at any point escapes quickly it could nuke your entire tank. The purpose of a deep sand bed is to naturally clean the water There for cleaning the sand bed is kind of Against the points

 

[melypr1985]

With a deep sand bed the layers of sand catch and hold Nutrients. The deeper layers are anaerobic That is where your nitrate filtration comes from. In order for the water to get into the deeper layers it requires the micro fauna. These worms and bugs create pathways through this and that allow the water to slowly sink to the bottom layers And be cleaned. Stirring will Ruin these pathways and also kill the microfauna in the sand bed. This will cause Organic matter to get trapped
and change into a gas which the name
escapes me at the moment. If this gas is allowed to build up and at any point escapes quickly it could nuke your entire tank. The purpose of a deep sand bed is to naturally clean the water There for cleaning the sand bed is kind of Against the points

Yeah.. That! I knew somebody could explain it better than me

 

[bobman]

Deep sand beds can build up hydrogen sulfide gas over time and if released at once into the water column it can and will wipe out a tank. However if a sand bed is properly maintained and stirred regularly by sand sifters and such then it will release the gas in small amounts that will escape through normal gas exchange. That said I would not stir it yourself as others said its can be a pain and you will stir up to much or to little to allow anerobic bacteria do it thing. Plus by stirring the sand to much you can cloud up the tank and who wants that. if depending on the size of the tank get a sand sifter like a goby and they will do it for you.

 

[Wiz]

A shallow sandbed cannot accomplish what a deep sand bed can therefore keeping it clean is a better way to go In my opinion