water changes

[edress714]

Hello again all

 

I do weekly 10% water changes. My sandbed is starting to get dirty. I tried cleaning with the vac. Got some but there's places hard to get due to rock set up (towards the back and sides) what's a good way to clean those tight spots? And how much of the sand should I be cleaning and how often? Thanks!

[Tracy G]

Not sure how good this advice is but I don't clean my sand. In time (and a good clean up crew) my sand stays white. Probably just still maturing.

 

 

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[dmatt56]

Same - haven't cleaned my sand in 4 years.

[sen5241b]

If you haven't cleaned your sand in years they be sure you don't stir it  up. People right here on Wamas have seen their large tanks crash due to sand beds getting stirred up and causing a deadly ammonia spike.

[Tracy G]

If you haven't cleaned your sand in years they be sure you don't stir it up. People right here on Wamas have seen their large tanks crash due to sand beds getting stirred up and causing a deadly ammonia spike.

Good advice. The other thing is I have lots of critters that get in and move the sand for me. My Blue spotted Jawfish has seen to it every grain of sand has been moved on top of my corals. :(. Lol

 

 

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[YHSublime]

Snails, starfish, and wrasse keep my sandbed stirred. I also do t have a dsb. Fwiw.

[TrueTricia]

Hello again all

 

I do weekly 10% water changes. My sandbed is starting to get dirty. I tried cleaning with the vac. Got some but there's places hard to get due to rock set up (towards the back and sides) what's a good way to clean those tight spots? And how much of the sand should I be cleaning and how often? Thanks!

 

So I do clean my DSB, but not every time I do a water change.  For one thing, that would be a constant pain.  But I do clean it about once a month.  For those hard to reach places, I use a turkey baster (dedicated only to my fish tank and not food) to try to get some of the detritus moving in the water flow.  I do the same with my rock work.  I also have some conchs that do a great job of eating stuff, but I could probably use a few more starfish and things. 

 

There are a couple of tricks to cleaning that may help too.  Put a filter sock on the end of your tubing and place it in a water container.  As you clean the sand bed, the detritus will collect in the sock, but you'll save your water.  This allows you to clean as much as needed without worrying about how much water you're taking out.  Then if you have a sump with a skimmer, turn off the return pump for a good hour or so.  Return the water that you just took out to the sump (may require pumping water into your dt from the sump), and let you skimmer work on just that water for an hour or so.  This will help clean that water up of any dissolved organics that the filter sock didn't catch before the water is returned to the display tank.  Finally, I run my skimmer a little higher than normal for the day after a good cleaning to help get even more out.

 

I also try to feed a good meal an hour before this.  My fish are usually freaked out for the rest of the day.  Plus I'm pulling a bunch of water out anyways so getting it a little more dirty than usualy is fine. 

 

Hope this helps.

[edress714]

Snails, starfish, and wrasse keep my sandbed stirred. I also do t have a dsb. Fwiw.

starfish :(

[smallreef]

also, in my deeper sandbed parts...i dont stir to the bottom...i kind of just rake the top where my snails and starfish and wrasses dont seem to clean...

[mling]

My sand shifter ->

Edited September 8, 2014 by mling

[zygote2k]

If you haven't cleaned your sand in years they be sure you don't stir it  up. People right here on Wamas have seen their large tanks crash due to sand beds getting stirred up and causing a deadly ammonia spike.

myth

[lutz123]

One bit of advice that I am surprised I haven't seen mentioned is to increase flow. You shouldn't have dead spots where detritus accumulates - low flow is fine but if detritus is sinking there is either no flow in those areas or you are adding alot of food that goes uneaten. Pay attention to your feeding regimen. I, like some of the others don't clean my sandbed. I also don't skim (small tanks) and in one tank don't use anything mechanical. The sandbed is clear. I wouldn't recommend a huge sand cleanup crew, but a good number of nassarius snails are great. A general cleanup crew to forage on dropped bits of food from your fish is valuable too.

[sen5241b]

myth

 

 

No myth about it. I visited a wamas member whose 250 (or was it a 300?) that crashed and died from a sand bed that got stirred up. Its easy to find stories on the web about people who had the same thing happen. Dr Shimek (hobbyist and coral expert) has said that the threat of hydrogen sulfide build-up in sand beds is a myth but its the ammonia that does it.

Edited September 9, 2014 by sen5241b

[sen5241b]

One bit of advice that I am surprised I haven't seen mentioned is to increase flow. You shouldn't have dead spots where detritus accumulates - low flow is fine but if detritus is sinking there is either no flow in those areas or you are adding alot of food that goes uneaten. Pay attention to your feeding regimen. I, like some of the others don't clean my sandbed. I also don't skim (small tanks) and in one tank don't use anything mechanical. The sandbed is clear. I wouldn't recommend a huge sand cleanup crew, but a good number of nassarius snails are great. A general cleanup crew to forage on dropped bits of food from your fish is valuable too.

 

1+ Good flow will sweep up crud into the filtration system instead of letting it land in the sand.

[londonloco]

myth

Why?

[zygote2k]

it's anecdotal evidence at best. I'm sure hydrogen sulfide in large amounts could 'nuke' a tank but stirring up a deep sandbed in a healthy tank will cause little to no issues. I remove old sand beds a few times a year and the only thing that usually happens is that the water gets cloudy while doing it. If your tank is already on the brink of disaster, then an event like this might push it over the edge. If sand bed is healthy, then why would you get an ammonia spike?