" MY WHITE SAND METHOD "
- Thread starter blusop
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Reef_Obsessed
Active Member
Great info! How long would you suggest you start this method after a tank is fully cycled?I've always talked about this in the fb groups because i get so many questions and compliments on my sand bed ....well here's my method....note: I've never tried this on a tank older than 3 years !!!! I'm well aware of the problems that can occur on older tanks...this is a "DAILY" method i use to keep a good look sand bed and to release toxins "BEFORE" they build up....a Preventive Measure .
You need to section your tank off in 3 stages....Start in stage "1" stirring your sand..."ONLY STAGE 1" for 7 days....on day 8 Start stirring Stage 1 & 2 ....Stir stage 1 & 2 for 7 more days....on day 15 stir Stage 1, 2, & 3 for 7 more days ...in 21 days you will have completely stirred your whole sandbed and released the built up toxins slow enough to not cause a problem...if your tank is over 1 year old...i advise adding the appropriate amount of Chemipure Elite or Chemipure Blue to alleviate excess toxins...once you complete this 21 day process just stir your sand daily and it will always remain white and pretty.
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blusop
Active Member
Lasse...OLD TANK SYNDROME is a term not a real Syndrome like you said and yes it comes from poor husbandry....now concerning the Hydrogen Sulfide i didn't know how to transfer the link but i did ss a portion of it for you if you need more let me know ....
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blusop
Active Member
I just got off from work recently and didn't know i had this many responses. ..which is good we are all here to help each other in any way possible ....this lil method i created was not just to keep a clean sand bed but also alleviate the problems so many have when disturbing the sandbed of an older tank to do rescape work...it is a benefit to anyone who chooses to use it ....but some may feel it's unnecessary because they have other methods which work well for them already ...this is my lil contribution to the hobby we all love so much.
Your method has support, here is a six mo old sand rinse thread in support of your white bed approach. We call that being able to pass a drop test.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-of...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445
Passing a drop test in your tank or mine means reach in, pick up a handful of sand, and drop it. If your tank doesn't wipe out or get a massive nutrient/algae spike cloud, then we've been sandbedding correctly.
If that test can't be passed, and the sandbed is located in the display tank where fish poop constantly feeds it, OTS is coming it's a matter of time, volume, and variable symptom expression.
The link applies here because it shows moves, partial sandbed cleaning, or all at once cleaning with no recycling.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-of...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445
Passing a drop test in your tank or mine means reach in, pick up a handful of sand, and drop it. If your tank doesn't wipe out or get a massive nutrient/algae spike cloud, then we've been sandbedding correctly.
If that test can't be passed, and the sandbed is located in the display tank where fish poop constantly feeds it, OTS is coming it's a matter of time, volume, and variable symptom expression.
The link applies here because it shows moves, partial sandbed cleaning, or all at once cleaning with no recycling.
Since true old tank syndrome has nothing to do with a tanks real age, but hints at the *consequence* of non export, let the condition we are referring to be replaced with: DSS
Detritus storage syndrome.
I've seen new systems qualify for OTS after just six mos of a high fish bioload, low export sandbed setup. Their posted pics with algae problems showed dark spots and brown detritus all in that bed...drop test fail
Detritus storage syndrome.
I've seen new systems qualify for OTS after just six mos of a high fish bioload, low export sandbed setup. Their posted pics with algae problems showed dark spots and brown detritus all in that bed...drop test fail
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blusop
Active Member
I like how you worded that ...nice Detritus Storage Syndrome. ...see we're already exchanging knowledgeSince true old tank syndrome has nothing to do with a tanks real age, but hints at the *consequence* of non export, let the condition we are referring to be replaced with: DSS
Detritus storage syndrome.
I've seen new systems qualify for OTS after just six mos of a high fish bioload, low export sandbed setup. Their posted pics with algae problems showed dark spots and brown detritus all in that bed...drop test fail
Yep and we even took the side of non rinsers, true hands off never clean it builds, here
http://reef2reef.com/threads/remote-very-deep-sandbed.252602/#post-2980163
*and 99% of sandbed users don't fit that type, the sandbed in that rare example isn't getting pooped on by fifteen fish.
you must have quite the FB following~
The amount of people reading only your thread is the sum total daily visitation of lesser reef sites lol
I see hydrogen sulfide as variable and kind of rare in the posts we see, the consequences for storing waste often require address long before sulfides become an issue.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/remote-very-deep-sandbed.252602/#post-2980163
*and 99% of sandbed users don't fit that type, the sandbed in that rare example isn't getting pooped on by fifteen fish.
you must have quite the FB following~
The amount of people reading only your thread is the sum total daily visitation of lesser reef sites lol
I see hydrogen sulfide as variable and kind of rare in the posts we see, the consequences for storing waste often require address long before sulfides become an issue.
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Naiad
Valuable Member
I can't reach my sand bed.... I'm sure it will become a massive sink eventually. It is designed to support digging fish and inverts not to really be cleaned. I would be too afraid I would hurt something.
I do think in a nonspecific tank that cleaning the sand is a good idea though.
I do think in a nonspecific tank that cleaning the sand is a good idea though.
Yes and in your case you may have physical stirring kick up the waste into currents for filter export anyway.
there is still a net storage gain as all sand stirrers still make and deposit whole waste, but not as bad as the most common sandbed setup which is set and forget, no natural or manual stirrers, then deal with algae forever when the balance becomes tipped. or, make one bad move and recycle the whole tank with tons of loss, all from storing detritus mid-rot.
Ps there's about five hundred people watching this thread wow
Blusops partial cleaning is neat because large tankers don't want the work of the full rip clean, that's more for nanos.
there is still a net storage gain as all sand stirrers still make and deposit whole waste, but not as bad as the most common sandbed setup which is set and forget, no natural or manual stirrers, then deal with algae forever when the balance becomes tipped. or, make one bad move and recycle the whole tank with tons of loss, all from storing detritus mid-rot.
Ps there's about five hundred people watching this thread wow
Blusops partial cleaning is neat because large tankers don't want the work of the full rip clean, that's more for nanos.
Kengar
Well-Known Member
I was appalled at the amount of gunk stored in moderate-depth sandbed (3 inches or so) when moving a 156 a couple of times. Also, even removing all rock and stock from a 14 nano and completely stirring the modest sandbed every few months releases a staggering amount of gunk!
I am currently in the process of setting up a 250. (The 156 crashed completely five years ago, when moving to new home, and I've been running just a nano to scratch the itch ever since.) As part of the design, I am building a plenum into the system and will run a closed loop to deliver water up from the bottom of the tank an into the plenum. I will run the CL pump intermittently and gently, for just a few minutes at a time, to lift the detritus out of the substrate and back into the water column without creating sandstorm or disturbing burrowing critters. Plenum will be formed by supporting a perforated plate on the bottom bracing glass strips and via a number of glass cubes distributed across the bottom of the tank, with plastic mesh across the plate, and substrate on top of it. I'll post pix when this project is finally constructed. (Still waiting for tank to arrive.......)
I am currently in the process of setting up a 250. (The 156 crashed completely five years ago, when moving to new home, and I've been running just a nano to scratch the itch ever since.) As part of the design, I am building a plenum into the system and will run a closed loop to deliver water up from the bottom of the tank an into the plenum. I will run the CL pump intermittently and gently, for just a few minutes at a time, to lift the detritus out of the substrate and back into the water column without creating sandstorm or disturbing burrowing critters. Plenum will be formed by supporting a perforated plate on the bottom bracing glass strips and via a number of glass cubes distributed across the bottom of the tank, with plastic mesh across the plate, and substrate on top of it. I'll post pix when this project is finally constructed. (Still waiting for tank to arrive.......)
Nice
Another support for hands on sandbed:
Paul Bs tank has not been a constant waste incursion for forty years, and his ATS does not imply he stores a filthy sandbed. His ATS benefits are in addition to not having a sandbed blackened with four decades waste.
two specific things he does (one is occasionally) makes his bed, and tank lifespan indefinite biologically. Two aspects of his sandbed are different than 99% of beds and fully support a hands on mode even if it's not very often.
Another support for hands on sandbed:
Paul Bs tank has not been a constant waste incursion for forty years, and his ATS does not imply he stores a filthy sandbed. His ATS benefits are in addition to not having a sandbed blackened with four decades waste.
two specific things he does (one is occasionally) makes his bed, and tank lifespan indefinite biologically. Two aspects of his sandbed are different than 99% of beds and fully support a hands on mode even if it's not very often.
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Nitrogen gas.. it's the final stage of the nitrogen cycle and its accomplished by an anaerobic bacteria colony in the sand bed..you probably don't have nitrate issues because you allowed this bacteria to colony to grow it's the way nature and and POTWs handle nitrates.
john.m.cole3
cyclOps
Lorenzo! I didn't know you hang out here too! I'm getting my flat worm stop this weekend. I like stirring and siphoning my sand bed. You and @brandon429 helped me get here.
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blusop
Active Member
I really want to thank @brandon429 ....he really helped explain in detail what my lil write up meant...I'm kind of a "HANDS ON" type of guy lol ....i can do things all day long. ..but i do lack a lil in explaining details from a scientific point ; ) i hope this helps many people out in the hobby so we have less problems due to poor sand maintenance.
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blusop
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