substrate cleaning

[daveverdo]

Hi All,

How do you clean your substrate?

What type of vacuum do you recommend?

Dave

 

[Tonynlo]

I haven't siphoned my sand bed in about 2 years. I attack it with a fresh filter sock and a power head, followed by a 24hr lights out period, monthly. That's about it.

 

[Sophie10]

It was recommended to me to give it a quick cleaning with my water changes. I just use a cheap old gravel vacuum and siphon the bed slowly. I've made room fore and aft so I can get around the whole 'reef' if need be. I also get a lot of help from Nassarius snails and a Diamond goby with ocd!

 

[jacksonpt]

I don't siphon either... I stir things up with a turkey baster (I hit the sand bed and the rock pile) and crank up my vortechs to get the stuff up into the water column, then I just let thinks run its course. I do keep a closer eye on my skimmer for a day or so afterwards.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I have a Maxi-jet zip tied to a short piece of PVC just for this purpose. I blast everything up into the water column and then let the filter sock work its magic.

 

[daveverdo]

Thanks guys. Sounds good.

Dave

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Imo

Imo

do not run a DSB in the display tank unless necessary (for certain critters).

Stir up BB or SSB periodically with powerhead, cleaning magnet or other.

Detritus in suspension is food for corals. Excess gets removed by filter sock.

 

[amazo]

I cleaned it once and wiped out my pod population had a hard time with my manderin after that (I used to see little white specks crawling in sandbed) now I just do the baster thing and have a few sandbed movers and sifters and the bed looks good .

 

[iamwrasseman]

i always siphon my sand bed and it usually isn't needed that bad because of my wrasses burrowing and stirring up the substrate but if im taking water out of my system it comes from the bottom where the crap settles ,just common sense if ya ask me .