Blowing Dietrius off rock?

[Seehag]

I just blew off my rock with a turkey baster. There was quiet a bit of stuff in the nook's and crannies, now the tank is a sea of cloudy water. Most of the detritus just settled to the bottom or back on the rock. What good does this do it doesn't get removed only moved. Should I filter with carbon while doing this, that would get the water cleaner. I was under the impression that this would help with my Nitrate problem but not sure how. Maybe someone can straighten me out on this...


Art

[James77]

Let it collect on the bottom and siphon it out. A small power head is alot easier to use than a turkey baster also.

[conefree]

Do what James77 said, or increase the flow in your tank enough to keep it suspended long enough for it to be taken by your overflow into your sump. Put a filter sock in your sump/fuge and change it out when it gets crapped up. I started using one a while back and it makes a huge difference in water clarity. Hence, more PAR deeper in the tank and happier corals. HTH

[virginiadiver69]

Originally posted by Seehag
Most of the detritus just settled to the bottom or back on the rock.
Art

Sounds like you had quite a bit of build up on the rocks. I did also when I first started blowing it off and it would just settle on the sand bed. I did two things that have started to help: 1) I blow off the rocks on a daily basis(have been for about a week now), I have started to notice the amount of junk declining. As this gets better I plan on slowly going to every other day and then a few times a week. 2) I added a diamond goby. He is by far the hardest working member of my clean up crew. In two days my sand bed went from grungy brown/gray to sparkling white! Some will say that they will deplete a live DSB and this may be true but my argument is that I see it go max 1/2" into the sand to forage. He does spit sand onto some rock and coral at the bottom of my tank but...I am in there with a turkey baster anyway right?

[sabbath]

This is normal, The detritus needs to get removed some how. Siphoning it or as they have said, If you have enough flow it will get blown in to your filter.

[Seehag]

Ok, so blow like I never blew before..... Run some sort of filter, sock or carbon..... Keep this up fro awhile.... Maybe get a diamond goby.


Should I be blowing the sand also, I was thinking with a dsb you didn't want to disturb it too much. See the problem as I see it is that the Live Rock is your filter and it just fills up with more junk as you go along, you can't get all the way into the rock deep, so why does it even matter. As you might know I am having a problem with Nitrates and I figure the dietrus might be the issue, also should I clean out the sump and fuge area as they are pretty dusty dirty?


Art

[virginiadiver69]

I also added some emerald crabs to take care of bubble algae. They did not even touch the algae but I watch them pick my rock clean inside and out night and day. Just a thought. I do periodicaly completely drain my sump and wipe out the shmutz that makes it through my filter sock. I just bought a wet/dry vac yesterday that I hope will make this easter next time.
For nitrates, have you looked into running a fuge with a dsb and cheato? I am convinced this is what keeps my trates at zero.

[Seehag]

I have a fuge with Chateo and some of the calupra I cut off the rock's in it, I do not have a dsb set up in the fuge as I heard different opinions on not doing that, and since the tank has about 4" in it I felt it was not needed. I had a huge clean up crew dropped in the tank when it started and today I noticed they are not all there. I have 2 mantis shrimp in the tank maybe they are eating them... I left them in because they went after the gorilla crabs but now I might need to rethink this.

Art

[amike5]

Sounds like you don't have enough flow in your tank or have it inefficiently aimed. But my assumption is a lack of flow, you only have about 16x or so right?

[tmz]

I have a dsb in one tank and a 3/4to 1inch bed in another integrated tank. I have pretty heavy flow but still blow the rocks off every other day with a small turkey baster.This puts the detrius in suspension where it can be removed to your sump or by your skimmer or to dissove some in the water column. I blow the sand beds as well ,just the surface. I like to use the turkey baster because it gives me more control than a power head. As I understand it disturbing a well established sand bed(one thats has been undisturbed for a while )can release sulfides that build up in the oxegen free depths. This gas can be toxic to your fish. I also rely on a combination of cerith snails, nasaurius snails, sea cucumbers,to keep the sand stirred. Bear in mind that when you stir the bed you are releasing nutrients beneficial to some of your corals and filter feeders. Once a stirring ruoutine is establsihed over a period of time your sand and your rock will be cleaner. For the bubble algae and filamentous algae,I have found my foxface tang to be invaluable.

[kuoka]

I use a filter sock. Works wonders!

[Seehag]

Amike I have a mag 12 on the return that I adjust with a loop back to the sump. I also have the closed loop on a t4 that comes out of both sides. I keep one fan pointed down across the sand on the same side that my return fan points towards the top and front. On the other side my closed loop fan splits on towards the back and one towards the front kind of around the overflow area. As far as flow is concerned I have never calculated it because I figured it was good, stuff moves around quiet a bit in the tank.. If you see my other post, I am having issues with nitrates and just removed a heck of a lot of growth from my rock's, and I haven't blown the rock's since they were installed 2 Month's ago, my bad... I will go get a filter sock and start blowing them daily.


Art

[SHLove16]

what does Dietrius look like, so I can see if I have it?

[Seehag]

Look's like fine sandy stuff, kinda a mixture of dust and bit's in my tank...

Art

[SHLove16]

Thanks, any pics anyone?

[amike5]

Originally posted by Seehag
Amike I have a mag 12 on the return that I adjust with a loop back to the sump. I also have the closed loop on a t4 that comes out of both sides. I keep one fan pointed down across the sand on the same side that my return fan points towards the top and front. On the other side my closed loop fan splits on towards the back and one towards the front kind of around the overflow area. As far as flow is concerned I have never calculated it because I figured it was good, stuff moves around quiet a bit in the tank.. If you see my other post, I am having issues with nitrates and just removed a heck of a lot of growth from my rock's, and I haven't blown the rock's since they were installed 2 Month's ago, my bad... I will go get a filter sock and start blowing them daily.


Art

When I first set up my tank, I had about 14x flow. Whenever I moved a rock, touched it, a fish swam by it, or blew it tons of detrius would come off it. I then installed a closed loop with 4 outs at the bottom, 4 at the top controlled by an oceans motions with a 2500gph pump. This brought my circulation up to 36x and I no longer have problems with detrius settling on my rocks. I have since upgraded the impellor on my CL pump to deliver about 3800gph for about 50x circulation. The goal is to have enough random flow (not powerfull flow) to keep particles suspended so that they make it into the overflow without settling. If your are planning on keeping sps or anything, you will need to consider more flow. Your mag pump might say 1200gph, but with head loss, etc. you are probably pushing about 700gph. Your closed loop is about 1200gph. What kind of corals do you intend on keeping?

[Seehag]

At this time I am not really interested in the corals, mostly fish. If I get really into this hobby I may change the whole tank. I am sure you know what I mean... When I blow the rock off the particles stay in suspesion for quiet awhile but the overflow mostly pulls them off the top.


Art

[Young Frankenstein]

If you plan to have brain corals I wouldn't suggest getting the diamond goby, he will be looking at you with a mouthful of sand, and booom right in the center of the brain corals, I think they do that just to p**$ you off. get more flow in your tank it will keep it cleaner in the long run.

[amike5]

If you are only doing fish, point most of your outputs at your rocks, this will prevent settling. Also, carbon doesn't remove nitrates. The only things that will is a refugium or water changes. But if it's FOWLR, then nitrates aren't a major concern for you unless the are considerably high. But if you prevent detrius settling to allow stuff to get to your skimmer, that will also help control your nitrates but it won't reduce them.

[Seehag]

O agios now you come to my thread... I think the nitrates may have been due to the dietirius in the rock's, I have started cleaning them now and will pursue that for the now. I think another water change is coming this weekend or early next week I will keep an eye on the nitrates and change if they start going up again. My fuge is not established yet and at this time is no help. I will look into more flow in the tank. I could always change out the t4 to a bigger one but that is problematic as it means moving tank to get to the back of it. I hope this takes care of this for now. I also turned the return pump to full flow to the tank it was set at about 80% to the tank.

Art