Should I vacuum the sand bed in a tank with a Goby?

[IluvGod'sreefs]

I have always believed in vacuuming the sand bed in my tank when doing water changes. It makes sense to me to try to remove as much accumulated waste as possible in order to try to keep nitrates etc., to a minimum.

I just recently got a Dragon Goby, mostly to stir the sand bed, but also because I love Gobies, and this fish is really cool. What I'm wondering is, could my practice of vacuuming the sand bed be a detriment to this fish's health? I mean, since gobies get a lot of their nutrition from the sand bed.

I need some input here. Am I over-thinking this? Tell me what you think.

Thanks

 

[Sk8r]

I never vacuum my sand bed and would never, ever recommend it. A sandbed is like one of those seven-layer cakes, with bacteria for the frosting: crud goes in---percolates through the various communities, and bubbles up again as harmless nitrogen gas, headed for the surface and the planetary atmosphere. A goby is a safe way to clean under-sand, if an appropriate species for that size of tank, as it disturbs only a small area at a time, and leaves the rest intact. Running a sand vacuum is kind of like running a bulldozer through a garden---yes, stuff grows after, but not well.
What I do is maintain two sandbeds: one in a large fuge, and one in the tank. If I have to disturb one, the other one is always intact and can reseed the other sandbed in short order, so I have little danger of a tank crash. If you want pristine sand, protect it from stray sunbeams at any time of day (cyano fuel) and get some bristleworms and hermits.