Cleaning Substrate

[spyd]

This is just another maintenance poll to go along with blowing off your rockwork. SSB should be vacuumed or stirred up to prevent dietritus build-up and prevent gas pockets. True DSB should be left alone and just have snails, etc stir up the top layer of the sand. Just seeing what everyone does for another important maintenance procedure; IMO anyways.

Personally, I mix up my sandbed bi-weekly just before I do a water change. I don't vacuum. Just solely stir it up with a wooden spoon and add some MB7 at that time as well. Whether the MB7 actually does anything is highly debatable...

 

[Poseidon]

i dont stir my sand bed but was wondering if i should, it is only 2'' deep and i do have an army of nassarius and a sandsifting star

 

[Duke]

me either, i never stir my sand, i think of that as something that would cause more problems than good. i haven't touched it in 2 years and its as white as the day i put it in the tank.. Fiji pink sugar sand 1 - 1.5" ssb here.

 

[Neopimp]

I haven't stirred mine but it does happen sometimes and I have never seen any ill effects

 

[Poseidon]

I haven't stirred mine but it does happen sometimes and I have never seen any ill effects

Your cucumber takes care of it haha

 

[Darryl_V]

In my experience a sandbed will be OK undisturbed for a period of time till it gets too full of detritus and at that point I always battle cyano.  For me since my sandbed is deep 3.5-4" I only stir the top portion and do it every other week.  Sometimes more if Im battling cyano.....but at the times when Im busy and dont do it for an extended period of time I always get cyano.

To me a 1.5" or 2" sandbed is kinda between an SSB and a DSB.  I would probably only stir the top portion again.  A true SSB that is 1" or less I would go pretty deep.  Ideally to me you would want an SSB to be very shallow...as shallow as you can and still get coverage and I would stir it or syphon it often.

I also think that it's not good to screw with your sandbed once in a while.....you either have to leave it alone or stir it regularly.  I think the leaving it alone strategy does work for a while but for me I always end up getting cyano down the road.

 

[Poseidon]

Would explain my cyano ....

 

[Neopimp]

The only only cyano I get is under the sand along the glass

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

i vaccim my sand bed.  bout every other water change.    ...the one waterchange is with vacuum the sand bed. the next  2 weeks with waterchange i just use the pump in my sump to suck thew ater out

 

[pulpfiction1]

run bare bottom here so no stiring the DT,my 2 over flows have DSB measuring about 6"x6"x6",nasarious snails in both,never stir them either except for what the snails do

 

[Boga]

I have crushed coral as a substrate (about 1"). I do vacuum it on every water change (weekly), but I can not cover the entire surface in one water change. I go mainly for the zones where detritus is accumulating. I insert the tube deep into it and adjust the flow to get only fine sand particles and detritus. Unfortunately, I guess that I remove pods, too.

 

[Victoss]

Never clean mine, I got a orange diamond goby who loves to make dunes in my tank and a maroon who has been waggin his tail fiercely blowing the sand away from his spot, it's now bare where he is.

 

[MrHermit85]

I have 1 inch of sugar fine. Vacuum it every water change biweekly.

 

[draper]

relative success can be had by never doing it I suppose. ive been lazy many times and gone 2 months without doing it. but ill tell you. optimim success/enjoyment is realized when proper attention to water quality is made. your cleaning your glass less, your clowns are pairing up, your corals grow like weeds etc.

 

[Jewel]

I have never done this in the past but with all the little Turds left by my Turbos and the fact that my sand bedis so shallow, I started doing it with every water change, just 6 sq inches at a time.

 

[MrHermit85]

I have never done this in the past but with all the little Turds left by my Turbos and the fact that my sand bedis so shallow, I started doing it with every water change, just 6 sq inches at a time.

My foxface eats all my turbo poop lol. I guess it's because they look like pellet.