Vacuum substrate or not?? Help

77pm77 · Jul 3, 2012

I getting two different points of view from my local reef tank stores. One says you dont really need to vac your crushed coral and the other says you need to do it on every water change to lower the nitrates. Last time I did a water change I did vac the crushed coral but it did not really lower my nitrates. They always seem to be there at a low level.. I have read allot of info on the internet but and its not real clear! Can anyone here help?? Thank you!

Tinola · Jul 3, 2012

I would vac, especially since it's crushed coral. Crushed coral accumulates a lot of nitrates over time.

Quinn123 · Jul 3, 2012

I do it every week when I do water change, IMO I think it help the water quality and my corals and fish seem to do better.

WillKatt · Jul 3, 2012

Im no expert so take what I say at face value. I would assume it depends on the coarseness of the substrate. If you have a very course substrate with lots of rubble and lower flow at the bottom I would think yes you could probably benefit from vacuuming the substrate as there could be more places for detritus to accumulate. If you have a fine sand bed with both aerobic and anaerobic layers I would think disrupting the sand bed could actually release more dangerous toxins. This is assuming of course you are not just sucking the sand and everything out which I guess might be ok but eventually you would probably have to start adding it back creating a different set of issues for yourself.

It would seem to me that as long as you have sufficient flow and an adequate nutrient transport method there would be little need to do this if at all. Again this is just my meager 2cents worth or exerience so take it for what its worth.

wysiwyg · Jul 3, 2012

i vacuum my aragonite substrate once a month

Trex · Jul 3, 2012

How deep is your sandbed?

My sandbeds are around 2-3 inches deep and have been "vacuuming" them for the last 20 years or so, and couldn't imagine not doing it.

wysiwyg · Jul 3, 2012

my aragonite bed is around 4" to 5"

Pappy · Jul 3, 2012

I was told never to vacuume sand bed.

Mike D "like the beastie boys" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Trex · Jul 3, 2012

Pappy said:
I was told never to vacuume sand bed.

Mike D "like the beastie boys" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That can hold true for a deep sandbed, but shallow sandbeds are fine to vacuum -- haven't had a tank trash in 20+ years of doing them.

77pm77 · Jul 3, 2012

Thx! My substrate is pretty coarse. I do have good flow with a power head that seems to keep the water moving pretty good down there. I really never see much food stop at the bottom. and the crabs are always down there with the snails. Does vacuum it once a month sound ok? Well thank you again for the info I hope for some more!