need detritus advice

[dcathey]

I have an 80 gallon tank that has been set up for a couple of years. Lately I have had a detritus buildup with no changes in feeding fish or equipment. I think it slowly built up but now I want to get it under control. I added a powerhead to keep things stirred up and have been blowing it off of the rocks to try and get it to overflow and eventually the filters on the overflow and in the baffles of sump. ANyone have any other advice. Im geting sick of squirting turkey baster every few hours. any livestock to help or is it just going to be stirring up tank and siphoning floating detritus out. I feel lke this is going to take forever as it still blows behind rocks.

 

[sigmachris]

What is your clean up crew made up of? If it isn't an aggressive tank, adding snails that feed on deitrus should do wonders.

 

[dcathey]

which snails and crabs do u recommend thateat detritus.....currently i have a couple of turbos and astreas and maybe like 10 crabs....and a cuke. What else would help

 

[earlybird]

Nassarius snails are detrivors, hermits keep the sand stirred up along with strombus (both conchs and smaller strombus), cerith snails, and bristle worms.
I recommend you turn off all of your pumps and blast the rocks with a powerhead before your next water change. Let the tank settle and siphon out the detritus that settles on the bottom.

 

[miaheatlvr]

2 things, blow of with the turkey baster RIGHT BEFORE you do your water change and try to syphon the crap out,, and I have a HOB,, filter that I turn on periodically with some activated carbon..the filter floss after a while get full of detrius and left over food for me to throw out.