detrius attack....

[ny reef]

What is the best animal to have to remove the detrius from the bottom and is it necassary to remove old snail and crab shells from the bottom of your tank after they get sucked into my powerhead and die???

 

[kris walker]

Detritus takes a long time to break down, but it does break down eventually in sand or CC beds. Critter eat some types of detritus, then just turn around and poop the rest out. Worms are pretty good at consuming a lot of it, but they poop too.
Most say that CC traps detritus, and it does. But I think in the long run, it breaks down, especially if you have a protein skimmer and something to complete the nitrogen cycle (e.g. LR).
Most vaccuum their CC beds though, and this helps keep nitrates down, and makes the CC look more attractive. However, it also sucks up lots of tiny critters that are benefitial to your cleanup crew IMO.
kris