Ryno February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 So I went digging around in my refugium today to see what kind of critters I had and to inventory chaeto and noticed that my sand bed has compacted to the point of concrete. I lightly chipped at it with a screw driver and it is really hard. What do I do? Help Please!!!
Sharkey18 February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 How long has the fuge been running? How deep is the sand bed?
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 It has been running a little over a year, and is about 2 inches thick. Awesome response time btw...
TheyCallMeMr.703 February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 How long has the fuge been running? How deep is the sand bed? +1, Great place to start... Are you using any kind of MiracleMud??
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 +1, Great place to start... Are you using any kind of MiracleMud?? Is ok to add Miracle Mud on top of the compacted sand bed? I just figured the sand was useless if it is compacted and thought I should remove it, but not sure the best way to go about it.
TheyCallMeMr.703 February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 Is ok to add Miracle Mud on top of the compacted sand bed? I just figured the sand was useless if it is compacted and thought I should remove it, but not sure the best way to go about it. Lol... no.. Are you using any, Already at the moment???? Lol.
Sharkey18 February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 A few more questions: how big is the refugium and how big is your tank? What is growing in the refugium? Any rooted plants? One option is to just leave it alone. If your macro is growing well and your tank looks good you could just leave it, but know it's a large nutrient sink that should NOT be disturbed. If you want to break it up, just do it carefully. Since it probably has a lot of nutrients and other nasty's in it you don't want to let that flow back to your display. You could shut off the flow, clean the entire thing out in one shot, do a 100% water change in the fuge and start it over. Or you could shut off the flow, chip and siphon out small sections, do a smaller water change and repeat many times until it is all changed. Depending on the size, I would want to do it all in one shot, making sure that i removed all the sand and water so none of that went to the main tank and then add new water. Then decide if you need sand in your refugium, and if you do, make sure you have enough critters to keep it properly stirred up so it doesn't harden.
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 Lol... no.. Are you using any, Already at the moment???? Lol. no, only sand and a bit of rubble rock
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 A few more questions: how big is the refugium and how big is your tank? What is growing in the refugium? Any rooted plants? One option is to just leave it alone. If your macro is growing well and your tank looks good you could just leave it, but know it's a large nutrient sink that should NOT be disturbed. If you want to break it up, just do it carefully. Since it probably has a lot of nutrients and other nasty's in it you don't want to let that flow back to your display. You could shut off the flow, clean the entire thing out in one shot, do a 100% water change in the fuge and start it over. Or you could shut off the flow, chip and siphon out small sections, do a smaller water change and repeat many times until it is all changed. Depending on the size, I would want to do it all in one shot, making sure that i removed all the sand and water so none of that went to the main tank and then add new water. Then decide if you need sand in your refugium, and if you do, make sure you have enough critters to keep it properly stirred up so it doesn't harden. I have a 90 gallon display and a 20 gal aqueon pro flex 3 sump (not sure how big the actual fuge is but guessing around 5 gals? , I have been having problems keeping macro going ever since I started it so starting over doesn't sound like a bad idea to me...
Origami February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 Shut the sump down and empty it. Chip the top carefully and lift out the fused portions. If you don't have sand sifters in the bed to turn the sand over, then concretion happens because the aragonite dissolves and redeposits in place. Often it happens more on the surface and less below. At least, this is what I've experienced. This causes just what you're seeing. It's not an emergency, just an annoyance.
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 Sounds like the plan is to empty it and start over. Thanks for all the help everyone. Now just one more question, should I use live sand or mineral mud?
Origami February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 I've never used miracle mud. It was in use a number of years ago, but seems to have fallen off the map. Or at least it's not being discussed much any more. Do some research beforehand. Here's a link at RC to start you out. Personally, I'd just toss a few rocks in there if you're going to do anything. It makes it a lot easier to pull the rocks and vacuum the detritus later on which, inevitably, accumulates.
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 I've never used miracle mud. It was in use a number of years ago, but seems to have fallen off the map. Or at least it's not being discussed much any more. Do some research beforehand. Here's a link at RC to start you out. Personally, I'd just toss a few rocks in there if you're going to do anything. It makes it a lot easier to pull the rocks and vacuum the detritus later on which, inevitably, accumulates. Sweet, Ill check it out! Thanks again!
Sharkey18 February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 Yup, with a max volume of 20g I'd just pull it all out. Agree with Tom, just add rock.
Ryno February 9, 2014 Author February 9, 2014 so no sand just rubble? Would that make it difficult to vac?
Origami February 9, 2014 February 9, 2014 so no sand just rubble? Would that make it difficult to vac? Depends on what you mean, "difficult." Would you have to pull the rock out? Yes, you would in order to vacuum detritus from the bottom. But it wouldn't clump and you might find it less of a detritus trap that way than sand if you're not going to use sand sifters and scavengers to maintain the sand bed..
Ryno February 10, 2014 Author February 10, 2014 Well crisis averted, I was able to chip away at the "concrete" and remove it in two large pieces. I cleaned everything out and loaded it back up with a few pieces of dry rock I had laying around. I have some pics on my phone of my "formation" that i pulled from the base of the sump, ill try to post in a few. Thanks again for all the help everyone!
YHSublime February 11, 2014 February 11, 2014 Well crisis averted, I was able to chip away at the "concrete" and remove it in two large pieces. I cleaned everything out and loaded it back up with a few pieces of dry rock I had laying around. I have some pics on my phone of my "formation" that i pulled from the base of the sump, ill try to post in a few. Thanks again for all the help everyone! So what is your plan for keeping everything stirred up in the future?
TheyCallMeMr.703 February 11, 2014 February 11, 2014 Yep, no more sand! Good to hear. Lol. Live rock and algae's are the best. Glad to hear all is well.
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