to vacuume or not to vacuume....whatdoyathink?

[supafreak]

I'v come to the conclusion that there is much debate on weather to vacuume the bottom of a marine tank. Some of my ifs owners are pro, some are anti, and i just don't know (i do some of the time) The debate is that it dusturbes the biological filter in the substrate. Some of the owners do it, some don't. What do you think?

 

[jaiden]

newbie answer

I'm getting in the habit of saying this: "I'm a newbie, so I don't know for sure, but..."

I've read that if you're going with a DSB, you should NEVER vac or disturb the bed in any way (including sand sifting fish)

If your bed is 2" or less, I don't think there would be a problem, but I also don't see why it would be necessary. if your bio filter is working, anything down there should break down. if there's too much, you're probably overfeeding.

 

[seaham358]

Do you have a clean up crew? If so then there is no need to vac. Do you have sand or crushed coral. If sand how deep...

 

[phases99]

CC substrate will definitely need some vacuuming if its large enough for debris to get trapped. If you have sand you may want to stir it manually or get some critters to do it for you.

 

[prisoner1572]

you don't want to do it yourself and you don't want anaerobic spots either. the best thing to do is get some inverts or blennies that would shift the sand for you. I know that the cleaner shrimp does this.

 

[Hara]

If you vacuum lightly (I use an airline tubing with a rigid endpiece) you can get the detritus without disturbing the sand anymore than a fish or a crab would. Obviously, this is more time consuming, but it is very effective.