Gravel Vacuum

APPerkins · 06/18/2012, 10:31 PM

For reef tanks, is it beneficial to use a gravel vacuum on the sand? I was thinking that any bacteria growing in the live sand of the main tank would be disrupted/removed if vacuumed up. Should your water changes consist of vacuuming the sand too?

warlord239 · 06/18/2012, 10:44 PM

I think just spot cleaning or let your CUC do the work, i deffinatly wouldnt clean alot of the gravel/sand at one time

Sk8r · 06/19/2012, 08:16 AM

NO, no, no, no. You can crash your tank, either by stirring up crud, or by diminishing the bed's efficiency. Never disturb a sandbed unless the tank is piped through to a backup sandbed of near equal size, and even then, be careful. Get 2 nassarius snails per 50 gallons and let them work.

cloak · 06/19/2012, 10:55 AM

You wouldn't want to vacume a deep sand bed, but shallow sand beds can be vacumed on a regular basis without any problems. There's a ton of hobbyists here at RC that do that. I only have maybe an inch of sand in my tank right now but once a month or so I'll either use my finger or a small powerhead and turn the entire sandbed over right before a water change. I've been doing this for a little over 2 years now without any problems.

shovelrider · 06/20/2012, 07:18 AM

+1... What cloak said. It really depends on the depth of your sand bed. Deep = leave it & shallow = clean it occasionally/spot clean.

I have a 3&1/2 inch sand bed and have spot cleaned the very top layer, carefully, with no issues. I also take care when adding new water to not let it hit the sand.

Chris27 · 06/20/2012, 09:37 AM

Shallow sand beds can most certainly be siphoned on a regular basis...say like with regular water changes. You'll be amazed at what comes out of there after just a few weeks time. You won't hurt the bacterial filter...you may siphon some microfauna, but that should be of little concern unless you have certain creatures that require it to live.

Deep sand beds are a no no though, introducing O2 into the lower regions of a deep bed usually ends up in disaster as Sk8r mentioned.

06/18/2012, 10:31 PM	#1
APPerkins Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Traverse City, MI Posts: 30	Gravel Vacuum For reef tanks, is it beneficial to use a gravel vacuum on the sand? I was thinking that any bacteria growing in the live sand of the main tank would be disrupted/removed if vacuumed up. Should your water changes consist of vacuuming the sand too?

06/19/2012, 08:16 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	NO, no, no, no. You can crash your tank, either by stirring up crud, or by diminishing the bed's efficiency. Never disturb a sandbed unless the tank is piped through to a backup sandbed of near equal size, and even then, be careful. Get 2 nassarius snails per 50 gallons and let them work. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

06/19/2012, 10:55 AM	#4
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	You wouldn't want to vacume a deep sand bed, but shallow sand beds can be vacumed on a regular basis without any problems. There's a ton of hobbyists here at RC that do that. I only have maybe an inch of sand in my tank right now but once a month or so I'll either use my finger or a small powerhead and turn the entire sandbed over right before a water change. I've been doing this for a little over 2 years now without any problems. Last edited by cloak; 06/19/2012 at 11:04 AM.

06/20/2012, 09:37 AM	#6
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	Shallow sand beds can most certainly be siphoned on a regular basis...say like with regular water changes. You'll be amazed at what comes out of there after just a few weeks time. You won't hurt the bacterial filter...you may siphon some microfauna, but that should be of little concern unless you have certain creatures that require it to live. Deep sand beds are a no no though, introducing O2 into the lower regions of a deep bed usually ends up in disaster as Sk8r mentioned. __________________ Fill your tank with $5 bills, add gasoline and light it on fire.....only then will you know the real cost of reefing. Current Tank Info: 180 Mixed Reef

06/18/2012, 10:44 PM	#2
warlord239 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 334	I think just spot cleaning or let your CUC do the work, i deffinatly wouldnt clean alot of the gravel/sand at one time

06/20/2012, 07:18 AM	#5
shovelrider Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Harvest,AL Posts: 149	+1... What cloak said. It really depends on the depth of your sand bed. Deep = leave it & shallow = clean it occasionally/spot clean. I have a 3&1/2 inch sand bed and have spot cleaned the very top layer, carefully, with no issues. I also take care when adding new water to not let it hit the sand.