to vacuum or not to vacuum?

[lilismom1]

i have 4 chromis that hide behind the lr when the lights are off. consequently there is alot of poop collecting back there. i've been researching past threads and they seem to say do not vacuum the sand bed. i have 60 blue-legged hermits, 30 turbos?, 1 tiger tail, 2 sand sifting starfish, and 1 brittle(red). besides needing about 30-40 more snails what else do i need to take care of this. or can i "spot vacuum" the problem area?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

i usally vacume at every water change because i have a small sand bed. but i know bumble bee snai and conchs, and horse shoe crabs are good sand sifters. you can always adjust power heads to get more flow behind the rocks to kick out some of the poop. hope this helps. jc

 

[Hara]

you can safely vacuum the surface of any part of the sand bed. it is not recommended to disturb the deeper areas of the bed.

hth

 

[EMS503]

If you have an accumulation of debrie collecting in one area, That area is not getting enough current, This could become a problem in the long run. A PH should be directed to that area of the tank. What size PH and how many are you using, What type of filtration are you using? What size tank do you have.

xxmoorishmanxx I had a bunch of Bumble Bee snails in my tank. I called them my Grim Reapers, When they showed up in one place in numbers I knew something was wrong. They do a great job cleaning up the tank.

John

 

[lilismom1]

thank you for all your replies. the lfs told me the same thing about the circulation so i repositioned my powerhead and voila no more poop! i have a maxi-jet 600 and the return blowing right now, but i plan to get another 600 tomorrow. i have a 72 gallon and i just purchased my first corals today. i got some mushrooms and a cats eye bubble coral. i'm so excited. so far everyone is looking happy! wish me luck.

 

[EMS503]

Good luck, Hope all goes well. Any more ? just ask.

 

[toddwess]

you can safely vacuum the surface of any part of the sand bed. it is not recommended to disturb the deeper areas of the bed.

hth

The guy at the LFS told me that I need to "mix up" my sand from time to time, and I've been going in there with a plastic spoon and turning the sand over on to itself a bit every few weeks.

Is this wrong??

Thx,
Todd

 

[steve-s]

Depends on how deep the SB is really but for the most part as long as it's only the top ½" or so you definately won't be causing any damage. The main concern with doing this is it buries the propblem rather than removing it. If you feel your sand has a good and abundant fauna population, you should be fine.

Cheers
Steve