Not sure whether to add or remove sand

ACBlinky · 05/02/2006, 05:53 PM

I've got about 2" of sand in my 65g. There's been some cyano growth lately (only on the sand) and each time I siphon it out, I remove some sand. I'm of three minds: either replace the lost sand, remove the sand all together, or keep doing what I'm doing and graaaadually allow the tank to get closer and closer to BB. Help!
The system is simple, with a canister, mediocre skimmer (Prizm), a few PHs and about 25X turnover - not exactly a BB setup - so I'm not sure if that's worth trying. There are no critters in the tank that need sand like gobies or shrimp.
Levels are good (NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <5, PO4 0.1, 8dKH, Ca 400, Mg 1250), I figure the cyano is there because there's loads of junk in the sand.
Any thoughts?

05/02/2006, 05:53 PM	#1
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Not sure whether to add or remove sand I've got about 2" of sand in my 65g. There's been some cyano growth lately (only on the sand) and each time I siphon it out, I remove some sand. I'm of three minds: either replace the lost sand, remove the sand all together, or keep doing what I'm doing and graaaadually allow the tank to get closer and closer to BB. Help! The system is simple, with a canister, mediocre skimmer (Prizm), a few PHs and about 25X turnover - not exactly a BB setup - so I'm not sure if that's worth trying. There are no critters in the tank that need sand like gobies or shrimp. Levels are good (NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <5, PO4 0.1, 8dKH, Ca 400, Mg 1250), I figure the cyano is there because there's loads of junk in the sand. Any thoughts?