Cleaning Sand: Livestock Question

[TPATankNano]

Evo 13.5 nano tank. Going to clean the sand with my water change this weekend.

Would it be a good idea to move the fish and corals out of the tank first? I know it’s going to get real dirty and cloudy during this process - should I keep them away until it settles down?

 

[Palyzoa]

Evo 13.5 nano tank. Going to clean the sand with my water change this weekend.

Would it be a good idea to move the fish and corals out of the tank first? I know it’s going to get real dirty and cloudy during this process - should I keep them away until it settles down?

I would avoid stirring up a large amount of sand at once and try and stir up different section every other water change or so.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Is it best to stir up the sand before, during, or after a water change?
How often do you guys stir up the sand in your nano's?

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Is it best to stir up the sand before, during, or after a water change?
How often do you guys stir up the sand in your nano's?

 

[don_chuwish]

One thing you can do is just siphon it down into a bucket, do the dirty work there and then put it back in - less of a dirty water mess in the tank. How hard you want to work on the rinsing is up to you.
Nice avatar BTW! But I prefer my Ducks!

 

[Crazeh]

I just vac the sand directly which stirs it up nicely, and all cloudiness is pulled into the bucket. If I accidentally take a bit of sand into the bucket you can scrub and return to the tank.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Believe it or not, I never siphon or vacuum my aragonite sand. I will gently stir it to suspend particulate matter into the pelagic area of my tank and then perform a water change. The reason I don’t like to siphon/ vacuum my sand bed is because you run the risk of disturbing benthic flora and fauna living on, in and under your substrate.
Moreover, if and when you decide to move or remove your tank inhabitants, you run the risk of stressing or injuring them by doing so.

 

[Crazeh]

Yeah I'll add that I only really vac the top 1cm of the sandbed for the reasons Coralreefer1 makes. If you do stir your bed for the first time in a while do it in small sections over a few weeks, especially if bed is deep. Nassarius snails are a good way of keeping a sandbed turned over safely.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Just to add to what Crazeh mentioned earlier, Nassarius snails make awesome additions to the clean up crew that will aid in sand management. In addition to these, Sand Sifting Sea Stars, Serpent and Brittle Stars, many Gobies (Sand Sifting), various hermits, Pistol Shrimp, Sea Cucumbers and Conch.
Two other key components for maintaining a clean sand bed are, ensuring you have good flow throughout the benthic areas of your tank to limit stagnant locals where detritus can accumulate. The other is to develop an optimum feeding regimen. This will aid in limiting the amount of dissolved organic matter that could potentially accumulate through the processes of advection and diffusion.