Vacuuming a sand bed or not That is my question

[IanWR]

To clean or not to clean, that is the question -
Whether 'tis nobler in the tank to suffer
the detritus and phosphate buildup of outrageous substrate
or take up vacuum against a Sea of pollutants
and by removing end them? To purge, to clean -
be done; and by clean, to say we end
the heartache and thousand natural shocks
that sand is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
devoutly to be wished. To purge, to clean.
To clean, perchance to release toxic sulphides; aye there's the rub,
for in that undisturbed substrate, what pollutants may emerge
when we have shovelled out the sand,
must give us pause.

[jorjef]

Went bare bottom and never looking back. Forget all the "cuc" for sand and clean it from the start. No way they can keep up.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by jorjef

Went bare bottom and never looking back. Forget all the "cuc" for sand and clean it from the start. No way they can keep up.

I would do the same if some idiot hadn't put egg crate across the bottom of my tank!

[jorjef]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I would do the same if some idiot hadn't put egg crate across the bottom of my tank!

Way to go....now Buddy is going to make another thread on the do or don't on using egg crate

[jorjef]

This bad boy is awesome for cleaning bare bottom. May be a wee under powered for crushed gravel and wouldn't use with sand.




http://www.jlaquatics.com/images/ehe...ck_vac_pro.jpg

[denny_C]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

if some idiot hadn't put egg crate across the bottom of my tank!

lol

[don.ald]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I would do the same if some idiot hadn't put egg crate across the bottom of my tank!

Tear down that tank and remove the egg crate...I know you want to!

[albert_dao]

Aquariums sand beds and natural ecosystems are like comparing a picture of New York City to the real thing. They're imperfect recreations and expecting them to operate like the ocean is, at best, a joke.

Keep your sand bed shallow and clean it often. Five minutes of gravel vacuuming > a year's worth of cleanup crew activity.

[Aquattro]

Here is a pic of 50g water siphoned to remove a third of my 1.5" sand bed after 3 years.

[lastlight]

i turkey baste my sandbed every couple days to get all the crud into the water column and hopefully out of the display. prob only 10% does before it settles again but the corals love it. i'm going back to sucking stuff out weekly again as well.