Tank cleanup/Bad technique?

[alarmguy66]

Does anyone ever just take a power head and blow the detrius and residue up into the water so the overflow will suck it up? Is this bad or acceptable? I dont know what harm Im doing to the fish but it seems to work pretty well.

 

[cmor1701d]

I usually use a plastic turkey baster but have occasionally used a powerhead. It works quite well.

 

[Bearfan]

I use a turkey baster so I can be a little more selective on direct current.

 

[fishfreek]

I take a small 1/2" diamater hose and syphon it out of the live rock crevices. The small diamater hose gets a fairly good suction going.

 

[cmor1701d]

I take a small 1/2" diamater hose and syphon it out of the live rock crevices.

I like that idea. It seems that all I do is create a cloud that settles back on the rock. Because so much is suspended in the water column very little is actually removed during a water change.

 

[Bearfan]

That sounds like a good idea to me too. WTG FF!

 

[reefrunner69]

I use the turkey baster...before I do a waterchange. Whatever detritus is left in the water column is either removed by the skimmer, eaten by the corals or sucked into the fuge or settles back on the rock. There really is very little when I use the baster, if you will increase the flow and increase the complexity of the flow, it will keep most of it in suspension until the skimmer can remove it or your inverts can eat it.

 

[cmor1701d]

Increase the flow, eh?
I had 2 Hagen 802's to supplement the Mag7 (return pump) and just finished adding 3 MaxiJets 1200's on a wavemaker.
I'll see how much of a difference that makes. It's pretty unsettled in there right now

 

[reefrunner69]

The wavemaker will help, it will increase the randomness of the flow and create turbulance.

 

[cmor1701d]

Yea, it already knocked a Ricordea rock from it's perch. I moved it a an area with slightly less flow