Should I be vacuuming sandbed in my nano?

[ZachP]

I've been reading about this lately and I'm still lost as to where to go from here. I have a nearly 2 month old nuvo 20 setup with about 1.5-2" of Caribsea live sand. It seems I have an awkward depth of sand and it might be better to do a little less so I can siphon it regularly. Should I start siphoning it now? Then as I siphon everything I could lose a little until I'm at the depth I need. Should I siphon all the way to the bottom glass or just the top layer? I'm not going for a dsb. I was originally planning on having a goby/ pistol shrimp combo but changed my mind so I don't think I need the deeper sand bed anymore. I would just like to know where to go from here while my tank is still pretty new

 

[Reefing Madness]

No need to siphon the sand bed. If you want sand gone, scoop it out, use a small cup to remove what you want.
Your siphon idea of removing a bit at a time is sound, it would work.

 

[brandon429]

I agree

its a linear graph upward the effects of delay on sandbed adjustment especially in a nano

about three years hands off is max, and we use sandbed cleaning to collect fixed tanks in large threads. primarily cyano issue ones

the plots increasing on the graph with time are organic loading, pockets of isolated protein decay in accumulated situations (high fish bioload tanks and tanks with lower flow) which are ammonia pockets and nitrite pockets... however we like to curb that is the same pretty much. all at once rip cleaning occasionally as I do, or sand stirring and good siphon/water changes to preempt the sinking effect of waste the bed, all fairly same ends (clean tank lower algae)

 

[brandon429]

some people have uniquely planned setups where certain gobies turnover the sand and kick waste up into the current for mechanical removal. if the sandbed can occasionally be scooped up by hand and dropped back down in the tank without a cloud then ideal measures are in place in my opinion.

 

[ZachP]

So maybe siphoning often as a cleaning measure isn't needed? I like the amount of sand I have and would like to keep it. But if it's going to cause nitrate problems later on I'd like to avoid that too. It's pretty fine sand and I have very good flow in the tank so I don't think much settles on the sandbed

 

[SteveSTL]

I just take my grabbers and stir it around a couple of times a week. Keeps gas pockets from building up and frees up any accumulated detritus. I like the look of a sandbed and wouldn't have a tank without one.

 

[cloak]

Instead of siphoning the sand bed you could just stir it up with a small powerhead right before a water change. Run a filter sock to polish the water for a few hours and you should be set. It's amazing sometimes what can accumulate UNDER those rocks sometimes. Your not going to get all the crap out, but removing what you can on a regular basis will definitely pay off in the end IMO. Just as an example this is how my 20 gallon tank looks after I do this. The sand bed is only about an inch deep, but this has been done once every month for the past 8 years and so far so good.

 

[brandon429]

nice

I too will always have a sandbed I like them and they hold my rocks up for correct lighting in the tiny bowl I use for reefing. My tank is simply taken apart twice a year, corals removed, its stirred up as bad as above then fully cleaned out with multiple water changes until rinses clear, then all rocks and coral set back in an essentially new tank skip cycle and the sandbed has no more waste in it for mos until the next buildup and cleaning round. small tanks are easy to do it that way, same ends. nonstorage of detritus is all that matters over time.

its true the larger the tanks get the more years hands off can go, but in the end some of the oldest sandbeds like Pauls are still worked free of detritus. the ones 10-15 years old are still in the allowable hands off storage phase for that dilution, its no proof of nutrient reduction vs storage imo

 

[ZachP]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like I'll just do a little stirring with each water change. Maybe stir a different section of the tank every time