Dumb question?

[vvjosh06]

This may be a dumb wuestion but how do you vaccuum sand? Its pretty self explanatory with gravel cuz nothing gets sucked up into it. But sand is a little different.

 

[CoeurSauvage]

To vacuum sand gently swirl the vacuum about one inch above the surface of the sand. That way the debris will get sucked up but it won't disturb your substate.


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[Bectan01]

It's not so common to regularly vacuum the sand bed in a saltwater tank. Just leave it be I say


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[BigRedsReefs10]

It's not so common to regularly vacuum the sand bed in a saltwater tank. Just leave it be I say


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+1 to this

 

[treemanone2003]

I'm under the impression that stirring up the sand in a large SW tank could be dangerous to the occupants. I believe I read that doing so will stir up________ and cause ________ to spread throughout the water column, thus making the water/parameters/both unsafe.

If anyone can fill in my _______'s, and confirm or deny, I'd appreciate it as much as the next person.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

Are you referring to hydrogen sulfate poisoning a tank? If so that's more of a DSB problem. I honestly don't do it because it's not necessary assuming you have proper flow.

 

[treemanone2003]

Are you referring to hydrogen sulfate poisoning a tank? If so that's more of a DSB problem. I honestly don't do it because it's not necessary assuming you have proper flow.

Thanks for the reply Big. I'm not exactly sure (work, school, home, and my other volunteer activities gives me about 4 hours of sleep each night) and that's my problem. I'll need a few days to research exactly what and where I saw it. Honestly want to say it was here that I got the info but from who exactly, I don't recall. I can say I don't recall DSB being mentioned so can you elaborate on that abbreviation too ? FW I can tell you what's going on in my tank just by the smell, SW I have a nice big notebook and will need another soon lol.


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[Fresh2o]

DSB = Deep Sand Bed
A type of filtration that consists of a deep layer of sand and substrate dwelling organisms. The idea is that the upper layer is inhabited with creatures that scavenge and breakdown waste (bacteria, invertebrates). Nitrate is broken down into nitrogen gas in the deeper, anaerobic layers of the substrate. More commonly seen in SW than FW applications. Similar to live rock in SW systems.

 

[vvjosh06]

Another question for yall. I have a pistol shrimp and heard they do better with a goby. Is this true? Is so what kind? And could I put one in my current 10gal nano? I have a juvenile clown about an inch and a small damsel also an inch.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Hi there,
Yes it is better if you have a goby in there with the pistol shrimp. The pistol shrimp and goby form a symbiotic relationship. The pistol shrimp is blind and the goby will alert the pistol shrimp of danger and in return the pistol shrimp will dig a hole in the sand for himself and the goby to hide in. Not all gobies form a relationship with a pistol shrimp so do your research. Most places will tell you which one do and which one don't form a relationship with pistol shrimps. Hope Titus helps.


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[Bdonaldson]

I have a pistol shrimp and goby pair in a 8 gallon nano at work.


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[Bdonaldson]

On the subject of vacuuming the sand bed. I say no. I stir my sand bed and clean my glass once a month when I do my water Changes The filter will pick up most of the detritus and then you can rinse your filter sponges. You will be surprised at how clear the water will be after your finished. It may be different with deep sand beds. Although I have a 2 1/2 inch sand bed in my 20 gallon long and I stir that as well. You will also need high flow during this process, this will help suspend the detritus so it can enter into the filtration system.


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[Jmunroe]

Low suction on my vac for the sand in my 125 gallon with my oscar. Need to vacuum it, don't want all that large debris going in the filter. It's a fairly deep bed around 1.5 inches and I can push the vac right into it. I don't like debris being left to the filter on any tank. The filters job is to process the chems in the water not break down large debris. Your tank will be much healthier if you get that out and not let it in the filter. In fact put a sponge over the intake to help keep it out. So if you don't want to restrict the flow on your vac by reducing hose size or pinching hose off slightly, just hover the vac above the sand and it will suck up debris but not sand.