question about sand syphoning

[blackbarracuda]

Do you guys syphon your sand to clean it ever? cause i remember reading somewhere a long time ago that it is a bad idea to do because of the bacteria in the sand. but I syphoned mine a little bit the other day and it seemed real dirty. any responses would be great. thanks

 

[waterlogged]

Originally Posted by BlackBarracuda
http:///forum/post/2627313
Do you guys syphon your sand to clean it ever? cause i remember reading somewhere a long time ago that it is a bad idea to do because of the bacteria in the sand. but I syphoned mine a little bit the other day and it seemed real dirty. any responses would be great. thanks
Some people say to do it and some will say don't. If you have a DSB that will also matter. I do occasionally siphon mine.

 

[metweezer]

The general rule of thumb is to not syphon your LS. When doing water changes you could use a turkey baster (walmart) to blow your LR & LS and then syphon. If you syphon your LS you will be removing some of the beneficial bacteria and critters in the LS. My .02.

 

[bang guy]

I'm not convinced that siphoning removes much bacteria. It can quickly turn a live sand bed into nothing but wet sand with bacteria though. Most of the beneficial animals live in the top 1/2" of a sand bed.