Best way to remove sand to clean.??

saltfisher

saltfisher

Member
I would like to remove my crushed coral and clean it. First is it safe to do this? How bad will it throw my balance off? I didn't realize how must dust I left in my sand until I bought two sand sifting gobies. Now that they are moving the sand around, my tank is dusty most of the time.
Ideas??
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
OK...IDK WTH you have.....LOL...IF it is sand....YOU DO NOT remove it......you buy CUC to help clean it...nassarius snails, conch, etc
IF It is not sand and CC....then you need to get rid of the sand sifting star....LOL
 
saltfisher

saltfisher

Member
The starfish buries himself in what I have. It's the stuff I see on most LFS tanks. Regardless of what it is, can you remove and clean it? Also, what is CUC?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
cuc= clean up crew.....I guess you could do whatever you want, but most do not.....they buy critters to do the job
probably aragonite ...so nassarius and conch will be ok
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
You never want to remove the sand or CC unless you want to replace it with something else .you can look into an aquarium vacuum
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaltFisher http:///t/387467/best-way-to-remove-sand-to-clean#post_3409821
I would replace it. In fact, with the same stuff just after I clean it a bit more.
The joy and beauty of a SW tank is never having to clean the sand. In freshwater tanks the cleaners are not very good, and eventually I always landed up cleaning it, taking everything apart. However in a SW tank the CUC critters do an awesome job. I have had my 90g for over 6 years with aragonite sand and I have yet to clean it, vacuum it or anything at all to it. Never remove it to clean it...that is only for freshwater fish tanks.
There are living critters deep in the sand like bristle worms that came on the live rock and set up house in the sand...you don't want to kill them (it is now live sand) and if you crab a handful of sand with one in it you will regret it...they sting.
You may need some more power heads (or adjust what you already have) to move the water over the sand enough to remove the built up sediment, but not disturb the sand and make piles.
The sandsifting starfish eats the fauna out of the sandbed and make it usless for it's true purpose of breaking down nitrates into gas to evaporate out of the tank. Nassaurius snails dig in and mix the sandbed, they eat any wasted food from it as well, they are a much better choice for cleaning the sand.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
it's true purpose of breaking down nitrates into gas to evaporate out of the tank.
Flower dear heart this is just not true
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I agree with FLJoe on this one too. lol. :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///t/387467/best-way-to-remove-sand-to-clean#post_3409854
Flower dear heart this is just not true
And, by the way, you don't actually have to have any substrate at all... people do have barebottom tanks, but it isn't recommended for novices.
If you are going to replace what you got right there with oolite sand, you might need to gravel vac it thoroughly first before scooping it out. You could get that substrate out of the tank one half at a time over a two day period and then completely replacing it with live sand. That's how I would do it, if I were to do it at all. Crushed coral isn't as bad as what it's made out to be, it just requires a lot more frequent cleaning with a gravel vac. I have seen some really pretty tanks with crushed coral as a substrate, but none recently.
 
saltfisher

saltfisher

Member
Reason for this thread is I don't think I took enough time cleaning the stuff before I put it in. I rinsed it quite a bit, but when a fish stirs it up or my sand sifting goby grabs some, it creates a dust cloud in the tank. I wanted to remove it all...rinse it out again and then put it all back in. I have a rather decent CUC that handles excess food and such. I considered getting one of those siphon hoses and running it through it all just before I do a water change, which is due by end of week.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Fauna as we use the term refers to animal life living in our substratum not the anaerobic bacteria responsible for converting nitrates to gas
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member

I agree with FLJoe on this one too. lol. :D
 
 
And, by the way, you don't actually have to have any substrate at all... people do have barebottom tanks, but it isn't recommended for novices. 
 
If you are going to replace what you got right there with oolite sand, you might need to gravel vac it thoroughly first before scooping it out. You could get that substrate out of the tank one half at a time over a two day period and then completely replacing it with live sand. That's how I would do it, if I were to do it at all. Crushed coral isn't as bad as what it's made out to be, it just requires a lot more frequent cleaning with a gravel vac. I have seen some really pretty tanks with crushed coral as a substrate, but none recently.
 
 
 
Snake please explain why BB isn't for novices???
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member

Reason for this thread is I don't think I took enough time cleaning the stuff before I put it in. I rinsed it quite a bit, but when a fish stirs it up or my sand sifting goby grabs some, it creates a dust cloud in the tank. I wanted to remove it all...rinse it out again and then put it all back in. I have a rather decent CUC that handles excess food and such. I considered getting one of those siphon hoses and running it through it all just before I do a water change, which is due by end of week.
If the tank was just set up then all you need to do is get a siphon and remove the dust.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Beginner saltwater aquarists do not yet know the ebb and flow of a reef tank to know how to handle a BB tank. It requires additional filtration and a high increase in internal water flow. Most new aquarists have a hard enough time deciding how big their tank is and what protein skimmer to buy instead of what really matters: deciding what type of aquarium to keep. As long as you do the research on what kind of tank you want to keep, then I think anything is possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/387467/best-way-to-remove-sand-to-clean#post_3409899
Snake please explain why BB isn't for novices???
 
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