Barebottom Enthusiasts: what are you using as far as detrivores are concerned?

C

cherubfish pair

New member
My liverock is (shedding?). I can't keep ahead of this detritus production by mechanical means. I would like to add some detritus eaters for this and to add diversity. We are a long ways away from a lfs and S&H plus minimum orders for online purchases are expensive for just a few inverts to put in nano tanks.

TIA
 
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For the shedding, the siphon hose was my best friend.

While snails might break it down further - not as efficient for removal as the hose IMO.

I ran mine with Astreas, Ceriths, a couple emeralds.

If you don't want to w/c but need to siphon ... you can put a filter sock in your sump, and siphon out of the main tank with the water going through the filter sock into sump. Bypasses overflow temporarily ... but works like a charm for a quick 5 minute cleanup - no w/c involved.
 
i had to turkey baste my rocks about 2 times a week for the first 6 months and then all of a sudden they stopped shedding:rollface: this was after a 3 month cook, man its amamzing what came out during the cooking process i thought i was home free once i put my rocks in the tank. the other thing you can do is really stir up the tank and run a small canister filter for an hour or so with a pleated filter i used a magnum 350 or a filter sock will work also
 
After converting I had to baste off the rocks, make sure to blow out between the rockwork, and do a fair bit of regular cleanup. Sadly, it seems par for the course. The filter-sock in sump vacuum method allowed me to remove the piles that accumulated darn near daily for a little bit. Vacuumed off the rocks in places that needed, too.

I ended doing a bit of aquascaping [opening up the lower part of the reef] along with adjusting flow. Took a few months to really start to `turn the corner', but was worth it for the next year's success.

Ended up with less rock, and after an initial massive increase in flow - I've toned that down a bit.

Disclaimer: I've now added back in substrate after 2.5 years or so BB.
I see nothing wrong with the BB system, wasn't unhappy - just ready for a change both visually and to keep me focused on the tank. Think I'm a lot better reefkeeper having run the system [I've dealt daily with being sure I export what I import)] ... though I've learned from every method I've run, and I'm not done yet.
And the SSB isn't deep nor covers the whole bottom, I can still go back :D
 
Well, I done a few things that have been suggested to reduce detritus: reduced lighting, added a powerhead, and added purpleup and magnesium to encourage corralline algae growth.
 
I broke down and bought a canister filter. I'll try siphoning for awhile.
I don't get it. On my first reef tank the coralline algae took off right away, but I had an urchin that was scraping the rock and a lot of pods jumping around. I've been puting off buying a cleaner crew and now I think I'll try an urchin or two again.
 
I was also thinking that I would need to get a canister filter, and just run that like a normal house vacuum. Did you have much success with that? Was it worth it? Which one did you end up getting? Probably something that you can just clean the filter and not use anything else, right? TIA, and sorry for the slam of questions! Hahahahah!
 
I too use Astreas, Ceriths, and Emeralds. I used to use Urchins too, which did a very good job, but I got tired of rescuing frags that had been bulldozed into crevices overnight.

Every few weeks, I attach a hose to a sump pump and really blow out between and behind the rockwork. If the tank were smaller, I'd probably give my old diatom filter a try too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8747360#post8747360 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the cattleman
Has anyone tried putting liverock in the sump compartment meant for bioballs?
Click to expand...
that sounds pretty standard lots of peeps have "cryptic fuges" in their sump
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8747260#post8747260 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the cattleman
I broke down and bought a canister filter. I'll try siphoning for awhile.......I've been putting off buying a cleaner crew and now I think I'll try an urchin or two again.
Click to expand...
The canister filter is helping immensely.

I talked to a FedEx guy last week and he told me that I can't get livestock this time of year in Montana as the overnight shipping center for Montana is in Great Falls and it's outside. That leaves the cleaner crew out since the temp rarely gets above freezing all winter long.
And to make things worse, the closest lfs that carries marine livestock is 100 miles away one way with a very limited selection.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8861242#post8861242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smurray
I was also thinking that I would need to get a canister filter, and just run that like a normal house vacuum. Did you have much success with that? Was it worth it? Which one did you end up getting? Probably something that you can just clean the filter and not use anything else, right? TIA, and sorry for the slam of questions! Hahahahah!
Click to expand...
smurray, I don't mind the questions.

I got a Tom's mini canister for my ten gallon. 80 gph, just right for a nano. I took off the accordian-like hoses and inserted two 1/2 inch vinyl hoses on input/output and fill the thing with floss.
 
Got a magnet holder for my maxi-jet today, now I'll be able to change the direction and depth of flow more.

I think I need to add some actinic lighting for the coralline.

I don't have a mechanical filter other than siphoning and the bioballs.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8747360#post8747360 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the cattleman
Has anyone tried putting liverock in the sump compartment meant for bioballs?
Click to expand...

Finally got the courage up to do this. I was worried that the lr under the trickle plate would fowl the water because it smelled bad and had some junk on it.
 
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