Liverock cleaning?

[Titus07]

A buddy of mine told me that periodically I need to take a small powerhead and clean off my reef so that junk doesnt build up. I have pretty good flow through the powerheads but is this additional cleaning needed? I think this might clean up some stuff but then it just has to settle down somewhere else...right?

 

[talon4x4]

By blowing off the rocks you help to get all the junk into the water column where it should be skimmed off. Some will definitely resettle back on to the rocks, that's why its good to blow off the rocks a couple times a week (or whatever is necessary for your particular tank).

I use a turkey baster to blow off my rocks. Use something to blow off your rocks (powerhead, turkey baster, etc) and see what flies off, then you'll know if its necessary, but most likely you'll need to. I also like to stick the turkey baster right into the holes of the rocks and blow out the insides.

 

[kingsland]

I like to use a turkey baster every few days to blow off the rock. About once a month, usually at the same time that I siphon the substrate, I use a maxi jet to blow "out" the rock. The maxi jet has a curved piece of hose slipped over the nozzle. It provides enough force to get under the rock blowing out the crevices, surfaces, and holes that a turkey baster cannot reach. I also like to blow under the base of any attached coral and underneath the lower level of rock where the siphon cannot reach. Also blow out the holes in the rock. Its amazing how much gunk collects there.