Detritus

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FishFrik

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
May 1, 2006
Messages
801
Location
Houston, TX, USA
I have alot of detritus on my sandbed in my 75G right now. I've tried to blow it with a turkey blaster but it keep settling on the rock and sandbed again after a few hours. Anyone have better idea of getting rid of this stuff? Mayb some kind of snails, cucumbers, or critters that would consume this?

TIA
 
Good idea devilish, i'll do a WC today so i could vaccum the sandbed

There is alot on my LR also. I tried blowing it off but it keeps settling back somewhere else
 
When I do a wc I take my turkey baster and blow everything off of the rocks and then I vacuum. That has worked best for me.
 
I have like 25 astrea snails and 15 hermit crabs

I can't really vac the rock. The rock is full of holes.

swjunkie, are ur pumps on when u blow the rock?
 
Yes, I dont turn anything off. When I blow it off it gets all stirred up and then as soon as I am done vacuuming I lift the vacuum up slightly and suck up all the stuff floating in the water.
 
Yes, I dont turn anything off. When I blow it off it gets all stirred up and then as soon as I am done vacuuming I lift the vacuum up slightly and suck up all the stuff floating in the water.

Then i did the same thing u did. I blew the rock while the pumps were on, then i vaccum the sandbed. Detrius just keeps flying around then resettle in the caves. Well, this tank has been moved recently, that's y there is ALOT of detrius.

Thanks for the suggestion austin, i think i'll get some nass.

You guys think i could get a couple of yellow cucumbers to get rid of this stuff once my tank is stable?
 
I have a couple turbo snails, hermit crabs, nassarius snails, serpent star. and I dont see very much detritus in my tank. every once in a while I will see a little on the sand bed but it dont stay there long. When I was having that prob. someone told me about the nassarius snails so I bought a couple. I dont have that problem any longer. I am not sure if they are the reason or if it is just that everything I have works together.
Thank You Austinsdad for reminding me about that.
 
Asking the wrong person about cukes. I've always been afraid of'm after I found out that some can kill off a whole tank if bothered or if they die. Now, I belive there are out there w/out that concern, but I haven't checked'm out. I believe a very stable tank (not on the new side) seems to be a prime requirement.

Have you checked out the gravel vac mentioned? They ar great in that you can actully stick'm down in the gravel bed and stir up the stuff in a chamber that drops the sand back down while sucking up all the loose stuff - water, detritus, empty small shells, etc.
 
austin, i havn't checked out the real "vaccum" yet. Im just using a regular siphon tube to siphon the detrius off the rock and sand bed. Does a vaccum suck the water out of the tank or does it just circulate the water into the chamber to trap the detrius out?

About cukes, i've read that they are reefsafe as long as the size is small, correct? I was thinking of getting a couple of yellow cukes for my tank once my tank is stable. I've heard they are great detrius cleaner.

Thanks for your replies
 
I blow it off with a baster, then let the filters pick it up.

Problem is my HOB filter holds onto this stuff, in the bottom, and it gets stirred up really bad every time I change/clean the media, or turn the filter on or off.

So I cut and put a filter pad over the intake, which has helped, and now I vacuum the filter any time I do a PWC. I'm getting close to eliminating that filter entirely - another 20 to 40 pounds of LR and I'll give it a shot.
 
I use my vacuum to do my water change. I use a small bucket and by the time I empty it a couple times very little has settle back down. I do a water change once a week so it dont have much time to collect. I think if you use a vacuum you would be able to suck more junk up than with a tube. As for the cukes everything that I have read also scares me so I wont get one.
 
Does a vaccum suck the water out of the tank or does it just circulate the water into the chamber to trap the detrius out?

Yes. just a hose attached to a plastic chamber that sucks water and loose stuff without sucking uup the gravel. The chamber has a deflector in it that helps that.

Look at this. This is what I use. Gotta use the mouth to get it started though. nothing fancy. Sorry for the long URL.

http://www.saltwatersolution.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16938&category_id=292
 
I have the exact same thing XD. You don't need to use your mouth to get it started. Just get some water in the hose, lift the intake end high so the water gets close to the output end, close the output end with your finger, then stick the intake back in the water, release your output end to your container/bucket and the siphoning should start.

I thought you guys were talking about some kind of electrical vaccum XD
 
Thats the same thing that I use but I dont use my mouth to get it started. I take the end of the hose put it in the bucket which is lower than the tank, put the vacuum in the tank let it fill with water hold it horizontally. Gradually lift the open end up almost vertically until the water starts to flow through the tube and then before the water is all out put the vacuum back in at an angle the open part up and then tilt the tube down and you should seethe buubles sucked up into the vacuum. Sometimes I get it right the first time but most of the time I have to do it twice to get it working. but that works for me.
 
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