Vacuuming a sand bed or not That is my question

[Reefer Rob]

If your tank is doing well and you like the look of sand why change what you're doing? Unfortunately, not all tanks can handle the extra nutrients of an un-maintained sand bed.

My tanks have been bare bottom for the past 6 or 7 years. I like the look, and I don't miss dealing with sand and the crud it collects. But of course this is just my preference.

[Doug]

I voted no. When I had a sandbed its was pretty deep in both the tank and refugium/sump. Lots of critters so I never siphoned it. Mind you that was back when that was the big thing.

I have been running bare for years now. Was going to add some to my new tank for wrasses but the pain of looking after it was not worth it.

[randallino]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

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

+1

[Cujo#31]

Originally Posted by lastlight

sell it as miracle mud =)

Better yet, sell it to the guy looking for large fish to cycle his tank. Im pretty sure there is enough of a chemical cocktail in that primordial ozze to kick start any tak cycle

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by Basile

Yep like i said you do react the same way making fun of those who chose not to vacuum and then bully them its the same here , chow, done here , not worth it.

I really miss reading all of Basile's posts. *sigh*

[darkreef]

I don't vacuum my sand bed, I give it a little soft swirl once every few months so I don't crush all my worms and friends and the detris just goes into my sump and I vacuum it out... If I vacuums my bed I'd be replacing sand every so often since its so fine... I spend enough on my tank... I just clean my sump floor on water changes it gets gross

I find cleaning my tank spotless just gives me more problems.
But I don't keep sps

[Reefer Rob]

[iceman86]

I now vacuum my sandbed religiously. Im on my third sandbed in about 2.5 years because of the old theory "dont touch your sand bed". Both of my first 2 sandbeds had cyano and then had dinos. Twards the end of my second sandbed I started vacuuming and it started to help but I already had so much crap buildup, the dinos just kept coming back. Everytime I vacummed the water was so dirty and stunk but the water in my tank was crystal clear. Both times after removing the sandbed, it took about a month for the dinos to dissapear off the rocks but it did. I also thought my dry rock was the cause but it wasnt. Since adding my new sandbed and cleaning it often I dont get that dirty water and smell from the sandbed anymore.

On my old sandbeds I constantly had to run gfo and carbon dose to keep the nutrients down. Since vacuuming on a regular basis I dont run anything anymore. Ive never had so much growth and color like I do now.

Anyone who has seen my system knows I run a super clean system of sps and some high end finiky sps as well, so you all know what it takes to keep those alive. Its not a matter of overfeeding or anything, its just buildup over time and it eventually will give you a world of problems.

A lot of info floating around this hobby is a bunch of bogus and I learned that the hard way. Its stuff people read from somewhere from a guy who doesnt know jack about this hobby and people run with this crap. Talk to people who have had successful tanks for years and they will guide you in the right direction. Too many people with only a couple months in this hobby making up and preaching rules about stuff they have never seen or experienced.

Everyones tank is different so learn your tank not someone elses. Follow the basic reefing rules and then play from there.

Just my 2 cents on my observations.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by iceman86

Everyones tank is different so learn your tank not someone elses. Follow the basic reefing rules and then play from there.

And there's the rub. This was a poll, and it's about 50/50 on vacuuming or not. So which side of the advice do you take? There are tanks on both sides that do great. And learning your own tank generally involves expensive mistakes. By the time most people learn their tank, the tank is getting shutdown anyway.

So, for me, based on this poll, I vacuum 50% of the time. Figure I can't go wrong, because I'm doing what 100% of the people do

[iceman86]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

And there's the rub. This was a poll, and it's about 50/50 on vacuuming or not. So which side of the advice do you take? There are tanks on both sides that do great. And learning your own tank generally involves expensive mistakes. By the time most people learn their tank, the tank is getting shutdown anyway.

So, for me, based on this poll, I vacuum 50% of the time. Figure I can't go wrong, because I'm doing what 100% of the people do

Haha good one! Nobody ever said this hobby was cheap or easy, and from my experience listenting to random joe or the lfs has made this hobby even more costly. Im also not stating sand beds are bad, ive seen beautiful tanks with undisturbed sandbeds. Im just speaking from my own personal experience.

I always listen to peoples advice because im no expert, but I dont run and completely change my tank because random joe behind a keyboard said so like I used to when I was new to this.