Vacuum sand?

[dwculp]

I just converted from using crushed coral to using sand in my 29 gallon FO tank. The sand is VERY fine sugar sized particles and I REALLY like the looks of it over crushed coral. I would vacuum my crushed coral once a week during the water change. Should I vacuum the sand???? It is a true FO aquarium with a Percula Clown and a Coral Banded Shrimp. I have no "clean-up crew" etc....

David

 

[Cafe Jeff]

Be careful vacuuming the stuff--too much of it may end in the bucket and you can clog a sink or drain with the stuff. What I sort of do is hold the hose slightly above the sand and pick up any mulm or uneaten food I have and leave the sand unvacuumed. I am not, however, sure this is the right thing to do, but of you do muck around with the sound too much it may take some time to settle down. Jeff

 

[Anemoneman]

Should I vacuum the sand????

Only if you want to remove it.
Maybe a few more shrimp to clean up uneaten food. Peppermint shrimp are pretty cheap and will do a good job.
Sand may not be the best choice for a FO. Not having the benefit of LR and the micro-invertebrates that go with it might lead to the sand trapping detritus.

 

[dwculp]

Thanks for the advice guys, in about one month the tank will be converted to a full reef and moved to an AGA 40 gallon breeder. I just have to figure out what to do with the 29 gallon tank, I was thinking of making it an octopus tank or a sump.

 

[malkore]

29 gallons isn't large enough for any octopi I've seen specs on. They are all 'difficult' and need 50gallons for the smallest ones...100gallons on average, and many said 200gallons.

I'd keep it as a quarantine tank, or a sump

 

[dwculp]

Octopets

I was researching and came across cultrured Octopi from Octopets. com and according to their site their octopi can be kept in as little as 25 gallons. http://www.octopets.com/Merchant2/m...ts&Product_Code=OctoPet&Category_Code=Octopet

I am still not quite sure what I am going to do. I keep my tanks in my classroom (6th grade science) and the kids love them, I also use them when I teach Ecosystems, Nitrogen/Oxygen cycle etc.... I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank, an 80 gallon rivertank, a 29 gallon FO salt, numerous snakes and various other creepy crawlies I keep in the room. I thought an Octopus would be a great addition. I will research a bit, buying a bigger tank is no problem, I was also planning an 80 gallon FO tank to keep latger or non reef-safe animals in.