stirring up the sand bed

[steve2121]

Everywhere i read on this board, people are saying dont touch the sand bed, dont disturb the sand bed, but ive had several people "professionals" say as part of their water change and cleaning they stir up the sand bed to release whatever crap and gas is trapped in it. Is this the correct thing to do?

 

[premilove]

this is interesting. i will follow this thread!

 

[bigarn]

the critters in the sandbed should handle it ..... stirring it up prevents them from doing this and can lead to other problems. bottom line is, no i wouldn't stir it up.

 

[king kole]

somewhere on this site i read that the sandbed ,if left untouched creates a crust? that can lead to an anoric[sp] condition one that without o2 can be harmful. i'm not clear on this ,just bringing it up. does it pertain to the question i need help on this too.

 

[steve2121]

about half an inch to an inch down, if i leave mine untouched for a 3-4 weeks i get a layer of s piling up and getting bigger and bigger. When my guy comes in to stir it he cleans all that up and an ton of bubbles and other gases get released

 

[bigarn]

if you have a ton of crap building up in that amount of time you have a problem. siphoning it out is a quick fix, but you need to get to the root of what's causeing it ...

 

[-tara33-]

Originally Posted by bigarn
http:///forum/post/2844061
if you have a ton of crap building up in that amount of time you have a problem. siphoning it out is a quick fix, but you need to get to the root of what's causeing it ...
may need more circulation if the detritus settles on the sand

 

[nitschke65]

I just try to get any loose stuff off the top and leave the rest to my nassarius snails. https://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...ot_parent_id=4

 

[morval]

i aslo agree with the dont stir the sand bed theroy. ive got snails and a goby that keep the top clean and mixed up anything deeper i dont want mixed up and siphoning will remove a lot of sand over time. if you have the right CUC and flow you should not have to clean your sand

 

[markeo99]

also matters how deep the sand bed is DSB no leave it alone
shallow say under 1" sure stir away

 

[mie]

If you have a good cleaner crew and maybe a fighting conch or two they will do a good job of cleaning your sand, and yes you should avoid stiring up your sand bed.
"AS PREVIOUSLY STATED"
DSB has a huge surface area where anerobic bacteria can form and it is anerobic bacteria that perform the final step in the nitrogen cycle, converting nitrate into nitrogen gas. Since anerobic bacteria are exporting most of the nitrate it allows you to rely less on water changes for nitrate export and use them mainly for mineral export and replentishment.
So lets not disturb these little guys.

 

[stanlalee]

shallow sandbed stirring up is no problem. I stir mine with every water change (once a week). Like stated you dont want to disturb the anerobic area of any sand bed thats deep enough to have one. manipulating the surface sand isn't a problem but a deep sand bed is suppose to have critters (real live sand) to keep it clean.