Stirring sand
- Thread starter Blakskall
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Mattyfelts
Aquarium Advice Addict
heard it could cause massive die off and ammonia spike if its deep enough
dingusplease
Aquarium Advice Addict
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In general, if the sand bed is not regularly stirred (either by you or sand sifting creatures), it would not be a good idea to stir it.
The reason is, there are anaerobic bacteria deep in your sandbed, that will die if exposed to oxygenated water. Basically, if you stir the sand, you expose them to oxygen (in the tank water), they will die and produce a ton of ammonia.
The reason is, there are anaerobic bacteria deep in your sandbed, that will die if exposed to oxygenated water. Basically, if you stir the sand, you expose them to oxygen (in the tank water), they will die and produce a ton of ammonia.
PB_Smith
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah but before that it can release hydrogen sulfide gas and kill everything within about 30 minutes, seen it happen.
so yes, if your substrate has sat undisturbed for a length of time, I wouldn't risk it.
Leetch
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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- May 30, 2014
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Don't do it...for the reasons stated above.
If you want the top layer of sand to be stirred up just get some sand sifting stars. Let them do the work for you. They only sift the top layer with no danger if releasing toxic gases.
If you want the top layer of sand to be stirred up just get some sand sifting stars. Let them do the work for you. They only sift the top layer with no danger if releasing toxic gases.
I keep 10 of these sand sifting crabs
they do the best job of keeping sand bed clean in my 90g
they are very entertaining too if you look from the bottom of your tank
Sand Sifting Crab - Group of 5
there a little over priced but still worth it IMO
they do the best job of keeping sand bed clean in my 90g
they are very entertaining too if you look from the bottom of your tank
Sand Sifting Crab - Group of 5
there a little over priced but still worth it IMO
Sillyfishies
Aquarium Advice Addict
And not disturbing your sand bed LOWERS nitrates. The anaerobic bacteria eat nitrates
Mattyfelts
Aquarium Advice Addict
those things look awesome..
Leetch
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Your clean up crew will take care of the fish waste. Crabs, snails, starfish, etc are what you need. Stirring the sand is a big giant no-no.
Snails are arguably or maybe not so arguably the most important part of your CUC (clean up crew). Make sure sure you have enough of them. Crabs are nice but can be a pain at times. There are some crabs, snails, starfish, etc that will take care of stirring the top layer of sand which is all you need. You don't necessarily need ones that stir up the sand, it just fun to watch.
If you stir up the sand, you may end up stirring the DSB (deep sea bed). If you do that, you risk releasing toxic gases into your tank.
You can go to liveaquaria.com and look at their recommended CUC for your tank size to give you an idea of what to do.
What size tank and CUC do you have now?
Snails are arguably or maybe not so arguably the most important part of your CUC (clean up crew). Make sure sure you have enough of them. Crabs are nice but can be a pain at times. There are some crabs, snails, starfish, etc that will take care of stirring the top layer of sand which is all you need. You don't necessarily need ones that stir up the sand, it just fun to watch.
If you stir up the sand, you may end up stirring the DSB (deep sea bed). If you do that, you risk releasing toxic gases into your tank.
You can go to liveaquaria.com and look at their recommended CUC for your tank size to give you an idea of what to do.
What size tank and CUC do you have now?
BigRedsReefs10
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Cuc don't eat fish waste, they eat algae or left over food
ants86
Aquarium Advice Regular
It depends on how deep your sand bed is. My understanding is that if your sand bed is not deep enough (at least 4-6 inches), there is insufficient anaerobic activity to outweigh the accumulation of detritus in your sand bed if you don't clean it. In that case, you should stir or siphon your sand regularly to prevent buildup of waste and nitrates. If you haven't done so in a while, don't do it all at once. Clean small sections of your sand over time so you don't release too much toxic waste at once.
That's also why some people (especially over at TheReefTank) advocate having bare-bottom tanks to make cleaning easier. I personally don't like the look of bare bottom tanks, but whenever I do my water changes I always clean my sand (while trying not to siphon too much of it out). You won't believe the amount of waste that can accumulate in a matter of 1-2 weeks.
That's also why some people (especially over at TheReefTank) advocate having bare-bottom tanks to make cleaning easier. I personally don't like the look of bare bottom tanks, but whenever I do my water changes I always clean my sand (while trying not to siphon too much of it out). You won't believe the amount of waste that can accumulate in a matter of 1-2 weeks.
BigRedsReefs10
Aquarium Advice Addict
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If you have sufficient flow you shouldn't have detritus settling on the sand bed. Op I would stop stirring the sand but in the end it's your tank so if you feel it's helping then continue.
Leetch
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Ack you are correct. My brain is overworked today. CUC will take care of most everything except poop.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
I disagree completely with the "clean up crew" advice. You don't need a single snail, shrimp, crab or starfish in a system for it to be healthy. If you have detritus building up on the sand bed, you don't have enough flow. If food is left over, then you are feeding too much.
Whatever you put into a tank must have food to sustain it. Adding a multitude of snails and crabs will force you to add more food for them. It's either that or you will need to "recharge" your cleanup crew on a regular basis, which is just a nice way to say "buy more livestock to replace the ones that starved".
Whatever you put into a tank must have food to sustain it. Adding a multitude of snails and crabs will force you to add more food for them. It's either that or you will need to "recharge" your cleanup crew on a regular basis, which is just a nice way to say "buy more livestock to replace the ones that starved".
