Pros And Cons Of Leaving Sand Bed Vs Vaccuming Sand Bed

[nathan]

So here is my question. It's two fold... who vaccums sand bed and who leaves it alone. .. what's the pros and cons of each.... I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on this one

 

[MeridiaRose]

I tend to vacuum my sand bed. I came from the freshwater world where I always vacuumed the substrate so it was a habit for me when I moved into the saltwater world. I also had lots of problems with cyano in my first saltwater tank and was constantly vacuuming to remove as much as I could manually. I've read lots of posts of people debating back and forth whether to vacuum or not, it seems those that have been in this hobby for a very long time are against it but the newer generations are for it.

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[TORX]

I as well came from years of fresh water tanks. I personally love the fact that you do not need to vacuum the sand beds. If you have a proper cuc and flow, then it will clean itself. I mean, why do more work if you do not have to. One thing to remember is my second rule of saltwater (first rule being take things slow) is that if you come from fresh water, forget everything and start over learning for saltwater. There is even a huge difference in maintenance depending on what type of saltwater tank you have, reef, mixed reef, species specific, fowlr, etc.

 

[Dingets]

I'm vacuuming. I'm also sampling with no CUC, in an attempt to get a certain look to my tank. I watched some videos lately that BRS put out from this years Macna. The pros emphasized removal of detritus, so for me that will mean vacuuming for now.


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[nathan]

I'm vacuuming. I'm also sampling with no CUC, in an attempt to get a certain look to my tank. I watched some videos lately that BRS put out from this years Macna. The pros emphasized removal of detritus, so for me that will mean vacuuming for now.


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So im curious what look you are trying to achieve .

 

[Dingets]

I'll know it when I see it haha... I'm thinking just clean white sand with nothing moving in it. Just eyes on my reef and fish. I believe in CUC, but with my last tank I'd have some snails then they would die, then I would buy some more and they would die. A never ending cycle of death. So this time I'm going to try without their help.


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[AdInfinitum]

No vacuuming and also no CUC here (although I do keep a few interesting snails etc.), both decimate the myriad species of micro fauna that easily and automatically feed a thriving reef.

The controlled sterile environment can work......but it requires that you constantly feed and supplement and maintain the balance manually....

 

[Dingets]

No vacuuming and also no CUC here (although I do keep a few interesting snails etc.), both decimate the myriad species of micro fauna that easily and automatically feed a thriving reef.

The controlled sterile environment can work......but it requires that you constantly feed and supplement and maintain the balance manually....

So do you stir then? Do you get algae formations on your sand?


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[AdInfinitum]

So do you stir then? Do you get algae formations on your sand?


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No and no....except when an occasional bloom comes along and things may grow everywhere. Of course everything looks alive and natural not pristine and sterile. Way back in the day when we just kept SW fish tanks the look people were after was that gleaming clean one. Tanks were decorated with coral skeletons that people took out and bleached regularly to keep them gleaming white (see tanks in movies in the seventies and early eighties). Tank crashes were regular occurrences. I kept tanks like that for a time but compared to the research biotopes that I also had contact with, the tanks seemed dull despite being filled with spectacular tropical species. When the move to filling tanks with live rock from the ocean arrived they became fascinating and much more stable. Little slices of the ocean rather than staged aquariums. Now the option exists to keep corals alive with all of the nutritional products and additives that are available but that becomes an expensive and high maintenance endeavour. My hats off to those that are willing to put that much effort in and the results can be brilliant but in the long run I think that a more natural, lower maintenance approach is more sustainable.

 

[pulpfiction1]

dsb....never.........a shallow sand bed? and i mean less than an inch...... sure

 

[Dingets]

No and no....except when an occasional bloom comes along and things may grow everywhere. Of course everything looks alive and natural not pristine and sterile. Way back in the day when we just kept SW fish tanks the look people were after was that gleaming clean one. Tanks were decorated with coral skeletons that people took out and bleached regularly to keep them gleaming white (see tanks in movies in the seventies and early eighties). Tank crashes were regular occurrences. I kept tanks like that for a time but compared to the research biotopes that I also had contact with, the tanks seemed dull despite being filled with spectacular tropical species. When the move to filling tanks with live rock from the ocean arrived they became fascinating and much more stable. Little slices of the ocean rather than staged aquariums. Now the option exists to keep corals alive with all of the nutritional products and additives that are available but that becomes an expensive and high maintenance endeavour. My hats off to those that are willing to put that much effort in and the results can be brilliant but in the long run I think that a more natural, lower maintenance approach is more sustainable.

Yet another reason to hate the eighties haha. Thanks for the right up.


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[ALowe]

I am pro sand bed as well as sand bed siphoning. Purely for detritus removal. stuff builds up fast. everyone is going to have dead spots in their tanks where things settle and for peace of mind, I prefer to manually get rid of them. Can't see a con in siphoning unless you are lazy but definitely can see pros. But I know a lot of people will be against me.

 

[Hong]

I don't vacuum. I have a small CUC, a few crabs, few snails (star astraea, nassarius) and a sea cucumber. Once you get the right mix, they don't die very often.

 

[Kman]

I regularly take a turkey baster every few days and blow on my substrate on the top layer. Especially where rock meets substrate. It does a few things. You act the part of maintenance crew that would sift and stir your beds in the wild and it kicks detritus up into the water column. Feeding your corals a nutrient rich food and allows for manual removal. I get the growth rates I do because detritus is really nutrient rich and almost everything eats it. I myself only vacuum it if I am having a nutrient issue or my once a month preventative maintenance. Where I will do a vacuum of the substrate to remove any possible build up.

 

[AdInfinitum]

I regularly take a turkey baster every few days and blow on my substrate on the top layer. Especially where rock meets substrate. It does a few things. You act the part of maintenance crew that would sift and stir your beds in the wild and it kicks detritus up into the water column. Feeding your corals a nutrient rich food and allows for manual removal. I get the growth rates I do because detritus is really nutrient rich and almost everything eats it. I myself only vacuum it if I am having a nutrient issue or my once a month preventative maintenance. Where I will do a vacuum of the substrate to remove any possible build up.

Absolutely!!! A regular visit from the turkey baster is a must for all live rock and to stir up anything that may have had a chance to settle on the substrate but as Kman says only at the top layer not blasting through to the floor of the tank. However you can go at the crevices in your rocks as hard as you'd like.

 

[Canadianeh]

I don't vacuum. I have a small CUC, a few crabs, few snails (star astraea, nassarius) and a sea cucumber. Once you get the right mix, they don't die very often.

What kind of crabs do you have that don't eat your snails?

 

[Hong]

The small hermit crabs (red legged). The star astraea mostly stay on the glass, and the Tongan nassarius are usually in the sand.
I do have a hermit crab wearing a Nassarius shell, but the remaining ones seem to be fine. They are fairly big compared to the hermits.

 

[zoomster]

The small hermit crabs (red legged). The star astraea mostly stay on the glass, and the Tongan nassarius are usually in the sand.
I do have a hermit crab wearing a Nassarius shell, but the remaining ones seem to be fine. They are fairly big compared to the hermits.

Nassarious snails and sand sifting starfish are great for gently stirring up the sand bed and won't eat your snails.
I also almost never vac the sand as I don't want to upset the natural balance. if I see any "dead spots" I gently stir or blow it off.

 

[scubasteve]

2 years no wc and only thing that touches my sandbed is a conch.

 

[Canadianeh]

2 years no wc and only thing that touches my sandbed is a conch.

how is that possible? What do you do that is so different? How do you control your nitrate without WC?