Cleaning A Sand Bed?
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4
40 galons
Guest
id buy one of those syphon tubes they sell at wall-mart. the smallest one they have. gently syphon the top layer 1/5th of the way down . be carful and dont go deep at all in the sand. as for the behind the rock blowing a power head gently back there to push it all towords the front is what i do to suck it up . until i organized my rock to where i could place a maxijet back there to blow across the back . also so i can get it out once ever 6mos maybe, to clean it. just my 2 coins.
payton 350
Member
don't try to get the stuff all the way in the bottom....if there is a buildup on the sand just get enough water flow to suspend it and either do some water changes, or take a fine mesh net and try to catch what's suspended or if you can get it all corned or gathered in one spot then gently syphon it out
poniegirl
Active Member
Originally Posted by Payton 350
don't try to get the stuff all the way in the bottom....if there is a buildup on the sand just get enough water flow to suspend it and either do some water changes, or take a fine mesh net and try to catch what's suspended or if you can get it all corned or gathered in one spot then gently syphon it out
I have been advised in this manner:
A 1 to 2 inch sandbed is an SSB (shallow sandbed) a 4 to 6 is a DSB (deep sand bed). Being in the middle is somewhat awkward (as with everything).
I have a 3 to 4 inch, that I have to groom because I have sand burrowers. I groom (with a syphon hose) the top and hit a few spots that seem to be favorite sleeping areas. I will be adding sand soon to be a real DSB, but for now this is my method.
IMO, you can groom the facia (uppermost) sand, as long as you do it consistently. Otherwise, either remove some sand to make it a true SSB or add to make a true DSB. Do not disturb the sand unneccessarily.
don't try to get the stuff all the way in the bottom....if there is a buildup on the sand just get enough water flow to suspend it and either do some water changes, or take a fine mesh net and try to catch what's suspended or if you can get it all corned or gathered in one spot then gently syphon it out
I have been advised in this manner:
A 1 to 2 inch sandbed is an SSB (shallow sandbed) a 4 to 6 is a DSB (deep sand bed). Being in the middle is somewhat awkward (as with everything).
I have a 3 to 4 inch, that I have to groom because I have sand burrowers. I groom (with a syphon hose) the top and hit a few spots that seem to be favorite sleeping areas. I will be adding sand soon to be a real DSB, but for now this is my method.
IMO, you can groom the facia (uppermost) sand, as long as you do it consistently. Otherwise, either remove some sand to make it a true SSB or add to make a true DSB. Do not disturb the sand unneccessarily.
4
40 galons
Guest
i have pretty much the same layout as he describes 2-3 in sandbed and when i have a build-up of detruis at the bottom of my tank blowing a power head at the bottom does the same thing that the vaccume hose will do only the vaccume hose does it better and i dont have it all over the tank from blowing it everwhere.
i will say , yes if you go digging in the middle/bottom of the sand youre gonna have problems, but if you get just enough to get the detrius youre going to be ok .
i will say , yes if you go digging in the middle/bottom of the sand youre gonna have problems, but if you get just enough to get the detrius youre going to be ok .
row
Member
Thanks for the info. I really need to siphon the top layer of sand. I have quite a bit of debris on the bottom, just from my snails. I already have a maxijet 900 and a fluval 305 that keep the current in the tank pretty strong. Does any one else have any info or comments. Especially about cleaning it, I don't want my levels to spike or cause any damage to my corals.
Thanks
Thanks
7
75bownut
Guest
Originally Posted by psusocr1
IMo DONT TOUCH IT..
if you stir up that sandbed your going to have all kinds of levels in your tank from the sand at the bottom that doesnt get light or oxygen.. it will spiek your levels and you will have some problems
JMHO
IMo DONT TOUCH IT..
if you stir up that sandbed your going to have all kinds of levels in your tank from the sand at the bottom that doesnt get light or oxygen.. it will spiek your levels and you will have some problems
JMHO
miaheatlvr
Active Member
I had the same problem, i bought a diamond goby,, he is always cleaning ALL of my sand, and now mine is the cleanest it has ever been,, what an amazing fish..
sepulatian
Moderator
It is safe to lightly vacume the very top of the sand. Get some detrivores (swf sells a nice package deal) If you have a good amount of detrivores then you do not need to worry about cleaning your sand bed at all. A 2-3" sand bed should not be disturbed either. A proper ballance is aways needed in the SW hobby. Figuring out that ballance without going overboard for each individual tank is the tricky part. No one can tell you exactly how many of what you will need. IME I find it best to start small then add as the need arises.
row
Member
o.k. , I currently have 5 turbos, 10 hermits, 2 emeralds, and 1 brittle star. I have also noticed I have had a couple of hitchiker snails and a starfish. I was going to get a few more snails and hermits. Should I buy another powerhead? I currently have a maxijet 900 plus a fluval 305, do I need a stronger current?
