Is this good advice from the LFS?

[iiiiiiivvvivii]

it's interesting to look at the yes's vs. the no's and the join/experience dates

I hope one posts again with where they got their opinions from. Book, magazine, other poster?

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14835539#post14835539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iiiiiiivvvivii
I hope one posts again with where they got their opinions from. Book, magazine, other poster?

As for me, it was a hold over from my fresh water days. And since I never had any issues with doing it that way, and noticed a ton of "junk" being sucked up, I continue to do it to this day.

For a while (( maybe a month or two )) I didn't touch the sand bed, and the sandbed looked awful and the tank seemed "off".

In addition I can't recall the last time I had a nitrate reading.

Mind you, when I started this hobby (( 1992 )) a wet/dry filter was still high tech, and an undergravel filter was pretty common too --- at least around me.

 

[laugh]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14834182#post14834182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamwrasseman
i hear you on that one ,am i going crazy? i have ALWAYS siphoned my sandbed as part of my water changes ! must be something i'm missing here ,did i read it wrong?

If it has always been done keep doing it. I think the question is if he hasn't been doing it should he start now. I think most will agree that SSB should be cleaned and gravel is best not put in a reef but if it is there and not going to be removed it should be cleaned regularly.

 

[NexDog]

Does a standard gravel vac have enough power to siphon up an SSB on a 30" tall tank? I have a need to siphon all my sand out as I'm redoing the rockwork but don't exactly want to kill my tank doing it.

 

[daudelus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14834303#post14834303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanook
Some will eat the small, beneficial lifeforms found in the sand.

Then when they've eaten everything, they die and spike ammonia, etc.

 

[NexDog]

Yea, like a tiny starfish is going to cause an ammonia spike.

(well, maybe in a 5g nano tang tank)

 

[Alaskan Reefer]

SSB = Siphon / Stir / Blast regularly
DSB = Leave It Alone

 

[Mikro]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14833904#post14833904 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BLKTANG
yeah no doubt.bad idea.imo so is having gravel in a reef.

I don't have gravel I have aragonite sand..

 

[jenglish]

I think not ever cleaning a DSB is a disaster waiting to happen. If you have critters in the sand and it is no more than 4-5 inches deep you should not have hydrogen sulfide, as this does not develop in the low oxygen areas but in no oxygen areas. I would only clean a section no more than 1/6 to 1/4 of the DSB at a time. In this way you are removing the detritutus that gets in there but not eliminating the usefulness of the sand bed.

my .02

 

[stlrams88]

Does having a diamond goby that is constantly sifting sand count as stirring a SSB?