how often does everyone completely clean their reef?

[deansreef]

i am talking taking out taking out all live rock and scrubbing it down getting off all detritus and algea!! I did that today on my 180 and must have had 5 lbs of detritus and algea in the bottom of the bucket when I emptied it!!!!


I will post pics later.

Dean

 

[chuckdickson]

I have never done it but i think I need to, did your coraline die off?

 

[deansreef]

some died, where the water was drained out.

 

[mikeatjac]

Never.

 

[Sk8r]

hmmn. I ran a 100gal for 5 years and never did until I sold it. But in those dinosaur days we yanked nastiness with diatom filters and particulate filters. My current one is amazingly clean, but it's only 2 mos old.

 

[snulma1]

I'm not to sure, but is that really a wise thing to do?
If you think about what goes on in the ocean, I'm sure there is a fair amount of detritus build up.

I usually will use a baster on the LR and then do my water change while the detritus is in suspension.

 

[Lpsfanatic338]

Never

 

[deansreef]

using a turkey baster will not remove enough detritus, eventually I would think the detritus will defeat the live rock's purpose??

 

[exacta123]

never i dont think that would be a good idea like stated above think as your reef as a natural reef a good clean up crew should do the job just like in a natural reef

 

[SDguy]

Never. BTW, try using a small PH instead of a turkey baster. Much better results.

 

[dperrucc]

never

 

[chrismunn]

i did it 3 times in 3 years. 2 of the times was because i was moving. and this last time is covered in this thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=790820

amazingly, nothing bad ever happend any of the times that i have done it. at most it just "disrupts" the biological aspect of filtration, and ****es of the inhabitants. but even tually, things will settle down.

although, maintaining a tank that a full breakdown will never be needed is optimal

 

[moumda]

Only when I went bb. Lots of stuff.

 

[thereefmaster]

i use a maxijet 300 for to clean my LR. but no, i have never, ever, torn down my reef. then again, its only 18 months old.

-Nate

 

[otterpop510]

not yet, not planning to.. don't think you need to from what i understand..

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

Powerhead with a sponge attached to catch as much as you can while you work.

 

[petermai]

diatom bag works for me, but i'm starting to think that the diatom bag themselves are nitrate factory...i mean what's the difference between a diatom bag and a filter pad? i usually buy a new diatom bag once a month. at a mere 6 bucks a pop, it's not worth washing then risking contaminant chemicals getting into my tank.

peter

 

[marinelife]

Seems like that would just make you start over and not have a mature tank anymore, I can not see a reason to do it unless for a move

 

[Craig Lambert]

Never...but I blow the rocks off with a turkey baster daily.

 

[Douglas LEHMAN]

Hello
Twice a year I'll run my Diatom filter for a few hours, I'll take a power head (Hagen 801) with a 12" hose attached and blow it into all the nooks and crannies. I always get a huge detritus storm, change 25% of the water and were good for 6 more months or so! My 75 gallon tank is going on ten years, and my 125 just turned 7 years old.