do you stir up the sand?

I have to agree with Waterkeeper. There should really be no reason to stir your sandbed if you have a system with the proper inhabitants
 
I agree Capn.......Once, maybe twice a week I lightly puff the top layer of the sand & then the rocks. It looks cloudy for a few hours, but then the crap gets filtered out & everything looks great. I also do this minutes before I do a water change. By doing this during the week, it really cuts down on the amount of crap when doing the water change.
 
i think that lightly blowing the surface will do the trick considering how many ceriths and hermits and the 2 gobies. I don't think this is my problem. ugh. thanks everyone!
 
yeah, my coralline algae is dying, phosphates are slightly high but no nitrate/nitrite/ammonia and some of my corals are going down hill: in particular my frogspawn and chili coral and possibly my blue xenias.
 
I blast mine to the bottom with a turkey baster once a month or so prior to a water change. But I have a SS. Works great! Wouldn't do it on a DSB.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14833572#post14833572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gothicgirl
yeah, my coralline algae is dying, phosphates are slightly high but no nitrate/nitrite/ammonia and some of my corals are going down hill: in particular my frogspawn and chili coral and possibly my blue xenias.
Click to expand...
don't blame sandbed- look elsewhere.
Test SG, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium levels ASAP.
 
re: do you stir up the sand?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14831162#post14831162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
No!!!!

Not if you have a DSB. It takes weeks for a DSB to develop the desirable zones that convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas. Mechanical agitation of the bed destroys that environment. If it is a shallow bed, then stir away, but for a DSB let the sand shifters do their job and avoid moving more than the top quarter inch.

Yes, there is a coating of bacteria on the sand but they are breaking down harmful waste and help keeping the water clean.
Click to expand...

good advice worth heeding :thumbsup:

DSB= 4" or greater depth of sugar fine sand
SSB= anything less
 
Blasting away at a DSB is not a method for success. Usually the problem with a DSB is that it is mainly artificial sand or it is not seeded with some regularity. I've always told the keeper of a DSB to seed it with as much true LS as their pocketbook can sustain. Even older beds need to have some new LS added annually. The little buggers that keep the bed healthy are eaten or die off after some time and need to be replaced.
 
no, i have high phosphates which is messing with my frogspawn and chili i think. though the chili never looked too good. possibly my blue xenias.
 
oh, interesting. what should i do about the phosphates? CUC? Is 1 cap three times a week of DT plankton too much if I change water every week?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14834094#post14834094 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gothicgirl
oh, interesting. what should i do about the phosphates? CUC? Is 1 cap three times a week of DT plankton too much if I change water every week?
Click to expand...

If it is phytoplankton--yes too much--your corals don't eat it. Once and a while I will throw some phytoplankton in the refugium---the zooplankton eat it and in turn they become food for the corals and fish that eat them

Reducing phosphates:
don't use tap water
reduce the amount you feed at one time esp flake food
rinse all frozen food before you feed with it.
setup a refugium with macro aglae such as cheato
run a phosban reactor.
 
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