Cleaning my sand bed, Please help!

[DaveMorris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14686036#post14686036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gdevine
Really? Please provide the validation for such a statement. Honestly, is this a personal statement or something you can refer to as a tested fact?

Beneficial bacteria can reproduce at incredible rates and if one syphoned half their tank one week and the other on the second they'd be more fine...and have a clean tank to boot.

I have run a tank with a deep sandbed for over 12 years and have never wanted to or needed to vacuum it. All of my knowledge on sandbeds either comes from personal experience or from people like Ron Shimek. http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

You are correct, some of the beneficial critters will come back quickly, but that has nothing to do with why I don't vacuum it. For me it simply isn't necessary to have a continual process of renewel of these critters. I am sure that if you are skimming the surface and not disturbing much of it, it would be fine. I have never seen someone use a gravel vac in that way. Normally they will stir up quite a lot of the sandbed and that is bad. As mentioned above, if it works for you, great. Keep doing it. When someone asks me for advice on it, I always say don't do it. It is bad for the valuable micro fauna and it doesn't matter if that micro fauna will come back quickly. It should not have to be disturbed in the first place.

 

[luther1200]

I gravel vac as I said above but I don't have a DSB. Its only about 2" at the highest. If I had a DSB I would only vac the surface like many people said.

 

[Toddrtrex]

The question that needs to be answered is how deep is the OP's sandbed.

I have shallow (( 2-3 inches )) sandbeds for all 3 of my tanks, with each weekly water change I gravel vac all the open sections. I have been doing it that way since 1992, and have yet to have my tanks crash from it.

 

[smoothdog]

Good question. I just assumed it was somewhat deep since he had problems after stirring it. If it was shallow it shouldn't have caused any problems since it wouldn't be deep enough to create anoxic zones.