Vacuuming Sand Bed

[PlantsBirdsAndFish]

This is a noobie question but I have tried other methods including searching for threads here and have either found nothing or the method I have tried doesn't work.

The problem is a have a thick matted layer of algae that doesn't break up easily and combined with the oolitic sand I have doesn't not want to come out when I vacuum.

Pinching the tube leaves the sand as well as the algae, and using full suction leaves the algae suspended in the tube, then falls back down to the sand bed when I stop. I thought about getting it out with a fish net but I'm afraid of disturbing the sandbed with it.

Any suggestions?

 

[Jesterrace]

A solid cleanup crew will make that unnecessary for you (ie Conch Snail, Hermit Crabs). I haven't cleaned my sandbed in going on 2 years as they take care of it for me.

 

[PlantsBirdsAndFish]

A solid cleanup crew will make that unnecessary for you (ie Conch Snail, Hermit Crabs). I haven't cleaned my sandbed in going on 2 years as they take care of it for me.

I only have 20 gallons to work with and my nassarius snails aren't doing crap

 

[ImNemo]

I stir mine once or twice a week. Just starting dosing nopox this week so I'm hoping that will help.

Also added a sea hare and this thing is devouring all algea.

Dolabella Sea Hare

The Dolabella Sea Hare, Dolabella auricularia, also known as the Wedge Sea Hare, is one of the best algae-eaters in the home aquarium. The Dolabella Sea Hare can clean an entire 125 gallon reef tank of all hair algae in about two weeks - they are quite the efficient janitors. They are rather...

www.saltwaterfish.com

 

[brandon429]

On the 20 gallon, you have the option to take the whole tank apart, full rinse the sandbed in tap water to clarity, then saltwater final rinse, then set back up the tank cleanly it's called skip cycle cleaning. Thread of examples below is four years of us continually doing this and winning on the after pics

If it were dangerous, or bad for bacteria, this wouldn't be a book of solid fixes

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Deiblerj]

I stir mine once or twice a week. Just starting dosing nopox this week so I'm hoping that will help.

Also added a sea hare and this thing is devouring all algea.

Dolabella Sea Hare

The Dolabella Sea Hare, Dolabella auricularia, also known as the Wedge Sea Hare, is one of the best algae-eaters in the home aquarium. The Dolabella Sea Hare can clean an entire 125 gallon reef tank of all hair algae in about two weeks - they are quite the efficient janitors. They are rather...

www.saltwaterfish.com

Got me all excited until I looked at how much one of those little suckers are!

 

[PlantsBirdsAndFish]

On the 20 gallon, you have the option to take the whole tank apart, full rinse the sandbed in tap water to clarity, then saltwater final rinse, then set back up the tank cleanly it's called skip cycle cleaning. Thread of examples below is four years of us continually doing this and winning on the after pics

If it were dangerous, or bad for bacteria, this wouldn't be a book of solid fixes

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

Man it's going against EVERYTHING I was brought up to! Looks like a lot of work for my tank though. It's not just a 20L it's quite deep so would be a PITA. Mostly I'm worried about resurrecting my dying corals before making a huge change like that but you've definitely convinced me.

I just need to do a lot more research because I'm afraid of screwing it up. I would definitely rinse my sandbed on my next tank but tearing everything apart in order to get to the sandbed before the tank inhabitants are fully acclimated is a titanic task for a newbie like me! I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes. Thanks for the advice!

 

[brandon429]

that action is designed to rejuvenate the corals total irony I know. the clean condition is never harmful, its old school info that told me and you that causing immediate cleanliness would be harmful, agreed im from back in the day too. thats new stuff~ but well, well tested. we broke away from the old info bc they couldnt keep tanks alive as consistently as that method does.

Doing that above is what makes tanks live forever, we show. it reverses old tank syndrome, coral issues, algae etc.

Not that we have to do it this way, but for small tanks, its ideal. its simply a cheat using tank size and access/ any large tank is benefited by that method just the same, but its too much work typically for them. unless they're moving homes, then they have to and we scoop up the work examples right there. we make predictions before the work is done how the tank will pan out and as a matter of pride that whole thread has zero ammonia testing because we dont need it. we know exactly how rip cleaning works, tank to tank.

when we direct a tank to become detritus and invader free, it does. no need to test, it'll be a zero ammonia rip clean if zero clouding is allowed to follow into the new tank.
B

 

[Billdogg]

I wouldn't hesitate to clean it up either.

Here's how I have done it in the past. Get a length of 5/8 or 3/4 clear vinyl tubing long enough to go from any corner of you tank into the sump. My piece is probably 7-8' long. Tie a filter sock around one end and toss it into the sump. I use a plastic spring clamp to keep it from falling out while I'm armpit deep in the tank. Start a siphon on the tube and start sucking up the algae in question. Don't worry about removing some sand too. Stop when your sand is clean. Carefully remove the filter sock from the sump and dump it into a 5g bucket. Clean the sand in the bucket until all the algae is gone. Return the now clean sand to the tank.

Next - figure out just why there is a algae issue and fix the problem. You will probably have to repeat the algae siphon a few times over the next month or two, but that will get you back on top of things.

hth!

 

[Eagle_Steve]

This is a noobie question but I have tried other methods including searching for threads here and have either found nothing or the method I have tried doesn't work.

The problem is a have a thick matted layer of algae that doesn't break up easily and combined with the oolitic sand I have doesn't not want to come out when I vacuum.

Pinching the tube leaves the sand as well as the algae, and using full suction leaves the algae suspended in the tube, then falls back down to the sand bed when I stop. I thought about getting it out with a fish net but I'm afraid of disturbing the sandbed with it.

Any suggestions?

A picture of what you are dealing with would be awesome, at that point the culprit could be identified and possibly a root cause found. Once the root cause is known, the options could be narrowed down and the a few solutions presented. Another thing would be tank parameters. NO3, PO4, things like that.