Sandbed-to clean or not to clean...

ReefsandGeeks · 07/15/2019, 12:44 PM

The only CUC I have in my tank is a pair of urchins, and a single hermit that's alluded my puffer. No snails or anything else purposefully added to the tank. My sandbed is 1-2" deep on a 150 gallon tank.

I occasionally get dustings of algae, or small patches of cyano from time to time, but haven't had any major algae issues in a while.

I do automatic water changes, so sandbed has not been disturbed by me in quite some time (6 months?).

I've recently been seeing some posts of people who will 100% clean their sandbed to remove detritus, and get rid of cyano or other algae. Should I do this preventatively, or leave my sandbed undisturbed as it's been? I'm sure there's microfauna, and I have plenty of tiny pods I can see on the glass, so it's not lifeless.

Uncle99 · 07/15/2019, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefsandGeeks

The only CUC I have in my tank is a pair of urchins, and a single hermit that's alluded my puffer. No snails or anything else purposefully added to the tank. My sandbed is 1-2" deep on a 150 gallon tank.

I occasionally get dustings of algae, or small patches of cyano from time to time, but haven't had any major algae issues in a while.

I do automatic water changes, so sandbed has not been disturbed by me in quite some time (6 months?).

I've recently been seeing some posts of people who will 100% clean their sandbed to remove detritus, and get rid of cyano or other algae. Should I do this preventatively, or leave my sandbed undisturbed as it's been? I'm sure there's microfauna, and I have plenty of tiny pods I can see on the glass, so it's not lifeless.

I do a light dusting when changing water weekly but to only half the DT.
100% is asking for trouble, is not required and your completely right the micro fauna will be taken as well.
I just like white sand

Your likely to get a 50-50 answer here, except for the 100% thing.

Those micros are the cleaners

j.falk · 07/15/2019, 02:13 PM

I always vacuum half of the sand bed with every water change...then do the opposite side during the next water change.

When I didn't, I had black stringy cyano algae blooms growing all over the sad bed...ever since I started vacuuming half each time = no more cyano problems.

I would never recommend doing a 100% sand bed cleaning...that is asking for trouble.

immortl · 07/15/2019, 02:16 PM

I have always vacuumed my entire accessible sand bed with every water change. But I have done that since the initial set up of the tank over 7 years ago. My tank is a small 28g BioCube so it's pretty simple to do. Every now and then (every few years, during a move, the mood strikes me, etc...) I pull the main rocks out and vacuum under them too.

For example, I was away for 6 months this past winter and while I had someone maintaining the tank for me, when I got back in June, I pulled most everything out of the tank (into bucket and cooler) and vacuumed the entire sand bed, refilled tank, vacuumed again, and then filled the tank again and put everything back. I also frequently do 85-90% water changes due to travel schedules, I'm not always around every week.

I know this is not a traditional approach and most will say not to do either of these things. They have worked well for me over the past 7 years. I think the trick, for me, is that I have always done these things, so nothing noxious really builds up over the years. I would not start this approach on a tank that has been up and running for a while or I would start slowly with sections, then once through the entire tank once or twice via the section method, I'd consider doing the whole sand bed each change.

Thanks,
Joe

ReefsandGeeks · 07/16/2019, 06:13 AM

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking I might try vacuuming out a smaller portion of my sandbed this week, maybe 20% and see how dirty it is. If I'm rinsing out deep brown water I'll probably continue on with doing more cleaning over the next few weeks. If it's not too bad, I think I'll just end up leaving it.

Vinny Kreyling · 07/16/2019, 07:57 AM

You will also find that vacuumed sandbed water is high in phosphate

billdogg · 07/16/2019, 10:08 AM

I vacuum about 1/3 of the sandbed every water change. Perhaps it's a holdout form the old UG filter days, but it works for me and prevents pockets of hydrogen sulfide from forming.

ReefsandGeeks · 07/16/2019, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

You will also find that vacuumed sandbed water is high in phosphate

Interesting. I'll have to save some of the water and test it to see how much phosphate might be hanging out in the SB.

Vinny Kreyling · 07/16/2019, 11:32 AM

Be sure to let it "settle out" 1st.

ReefsandGeeks · 07/16/2019, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

I vacuum about 1/3 of the sandbed every water change. Perhaps it's a holdout form the old UG filter days, but it works for me and prevents pockets of hydrogen sulfide from forming.

Sounds like a reasonable method to me. I'm starting to think I should do a routine sandbed cleaning, maybe every 4-6 weeks. Maybe clean 1/3-1/2 of the sandbed just to make sure too much stuff isn't accumulating. I'd probably do more, but doing AWC it's an extra chore to clean the sand since i'm not killing two birds with one stone doing while I do a water change. Guess I can judge the frequency I need to do it based off of how bad the sand seems when I clean it.

mattgumaer · 07/16/2019, 12:35 PM

I don't really touch my sand beds, for better or worse. I would think if I was into a super clean sand bed, I would probably have only a minimal sand bed. No sand bed is the cleanest possible sand bed. If you're o.k. with the look and are not trying to keep critters that want/need a deep sand bed, the safest course is probably simply to eliminate it all together. As your sand bed gets deeper, the risks of not cleaning (or aggressively cleaning after a long hiatus) probably go up.

Matt

Uncle99 · 07/17/2019, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

You will also find that vacuumed sandbed water is high in phosphate

Now that is quite interesting, I did not know this, maybe that’s why I can’t get my phosphate lower than .1

Think I will stop vacuuming and see what happens.

Good info!

brody83 · 07/17/2019, 11:39 PM

I use a turkey baster in my tank.

paal · 07/18/2019, 12:56 AM

^
Same.

I used to run bare bottom in order to have a LOT more flow (2x MP40 + 1x MP60 on my 100 gallon). In the end, I couldn't deal with the look anymore, so I added sand and set flow to JUST below storm -level.

I clean the filter sock on my main drain 1-2 times per week. Roughly every second time I first turn up my tanks' flow a little and then use a small turkey blaster to gently blow through the sandbed. I then wait about an hour before removing and cleaning the sock.

Super easy, and I don't have to worry about siphoning out all the good stuff. (Though I am not really sure how much that matters. Gives me some peace of mind at least

)

This probably only works well for shallow sand beds though. Mine is only 1 inch deep.

View Poll Results: Deep clean sandbed or no?
Leave it be, it's not hurting anything	9	75.00%
Clean it out before something bad happens	3	25.00%
Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

07/15/2019, 12:44 PM	#1
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	Sandbed-to clean or not to clean... The only CUC I have in my tank is a pair of urchins, and a single hermit that's alluded my puffer. No snails or anything else purposefully added to the tank. My sandbed is 1-2" deep on a 150 gallon tank. I occasionally get dustings of algae, or small patches of cyano from time to time, but haven't had any major algae issues in a while. I do automatic water changes, so sandbed has not been disturbed by me in quite some time (6 months?). I've recently been seeing some posts of people who will 100% clean their sandbed to remove detritus, and get rid of cyano or other algae. Should I do this preventatively, or leave my sandbed undisturbed as it's been? I'm sure there's microfauna, and I have plenty of tiny pods I can see on the glass, so it's not lifeless.

07/15/2019, 02:16 PM	#4
immortl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 114	I have always vacuumed my entire accessible sand bed with every water change. But I have done that since the initial set up of the tank over 7 years ago. My tank is a small 28g BioCube so it's pretty simple to do. Every now and then (every few years, during a move, the mood strikes me, etc...) I pull the main rocks out and vacuum under them too. For example, I was away for 6 months this past winter and while I had someone maintaining the tank for me, when I got back in June, I pulled most everything out of the tank (into bucket and cooler) and vacuumed the entire sand bed, refilled tank, vacuumed again, and then filled the tank again and put everything back. I also frequently do 85-90% water changes due to travel schedules, I'm not always around every week. I know this is not a traditional approach and most will say not to do either of these things. They have worked well for me over the past 7 years. I think the trick, for me, is that I have always done these things, so nothing noxious really builds up over the years. I would not start this approach on a tank that has been up and running for a while or I would start slowly with sections, then once through the entire tank once or twice via the section method, I'd consider doing the whole sand bed each change. Thanks, Joe Last edited by immortl; 07/15/2019 at 02:50 PM.

07/16/2019, 07:57 AM	#6
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	You will also find that vacuumed sandbed water is high in phosphate __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

07/16/2019, 10:08 AM	#7
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	I vacuum about 1/3 of the sandbed every water change. Perhaps it's a holdout form the old UG filter days, but it works for me and prevents pockets of hydrogen sulfide from forming. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

07/15/2019, 02:13 PM	#3
j.falk Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 632	I always vacuum half of the sand bed with every water change...then do the opposite side during the next water change. When I didn't, I had black stringy cyano algae blooms growing all over the sad bed...ever since I started vacuuming half each time = no more cyano problems. I would never recommend doing a 100% sand bed cleaning...that is asking for trouble.

07/16/2019, 06:13 AM	#5
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking I might try vacuuming out a smaller portion of my sandbed this week, maybe 20% and see how dirty it is. If I'm rinsing out deep brown water I'll probably continue on with doing more cleaning over the next few weeks. If it's not too bad, I think I'll just end up leaving it.

07/16/2019, 11:32 AM	#9
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Be sure to let it "settle out" 1st. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

07/16/2019, 12:35 PM	#11
mattgumaer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 561	I don't really touch my sand beds, for better or worse. I would think if I was into a super clean sand bed, I would probably have only a minimal sand bed. No sand bed is the cleanest possible sand bed. If you're o.k. with the look and are not trying to keep critters that want/need a deep sand bed, the safest course is probably simply to eliminate it all together. As your sand bed gets deeper, the risks of not cleaning (or aggressively cleaning after a long hiatus) probably go up. Matt

07/17/2019, 11:39 PM	#13
brody83 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 28	I use a turkey baster in my tank.

07/18/2019, 12:56 AM	#14
paal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 368	^ Same. I used to run bare bottom in order to have a LOT more flow (2x MP40 + 1x MP60 on my 100 gallon). In the end, I couldn't deal with the look anymore, so I added sand and set flow to JUST below storm -level. I clean the filter sock on my main drain 1-2 times per week. Roughly every second time I first turn up my tanks' flow a little and then use a small turkey blaster to gently blow through the sandbed. I then wait about an hour before removing and cleaning the sock. Super easy, and I don't have to worry about siphoning out all the good stuff. (Though I am not really sure how much that matters. Gives me some peace of mind at least ) This probably only works well for shallow sand beds though. Mine is only 1 inch deep.