Some people search far and wide for the most useful CUC to tackle detritus. Others see it as a nitrate factory. However, detritus does play an important role in let’s say, a well-established mixed reef.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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The reason I posed this question was because there seems to be conflicting thoughts on whether detritus is good or bad. I run a BB tank and one with sand. The BB allows me to see the amount of detritus in the display. When I stir things up with a powerhead, most corals seem to go into feeding mode. I use real LR from the ocean as well. My nitrates are on the high side but everything continues to grow. I’ve lost maybe one coral this whole year which is a huge contrast to this period one year ago.Another thing I’ve come to see is that all the wiggling and moving diversity of worms and pods that really do house in zones that also tend to trap detritus aren’t that important at all. If they’re gone, corals still grow. If we want them to look at and ponder, thats ok too. The upper reef can be managed independently from detritus zones, helpful to know. Ten years ago if you didn’t farm the detritus and heavy worm zones you’ll never reef again lol instability etc.
i prefer live rock, true live rock, to solve the sterility problems reefs have nowadays. I don’t see the balance being in the sandbed, it’s in rock maintenance and maturation techniques and that a house all good pods too after a while of guiding and gardening. half a million reefs are healthy and have detritus, and as many are low to no detritus throughputs they’ll both work. I advise 100% of my message setups to be low to no detritus, not zero but at least occasionally cleaned, and we have zero invasion issues in these setups.
It's all about balance. Detritus is food for stuff, if you don't have the right stuff to eat the food then you are "overfeeding".Some people search far and wide for the most useful CUC to tackle detritus. Others see it as a nitrate factory. However, detritus does play an important role in let’s say, a well-established mixed reef.
Thoughts?
I, against the advice of myself, decided to run socks in my Red Sea nano only because I had them. I don’t feel they help better than anything else, such as filter pads. I just like the idea that I don’t always need to throw them away. But detritus is food for many corals and inverts. It’s generally looked down upon but I feel most people misunderstand it.So do most people here run filter socks or not?? If i dont run filter socks the sump gets full of ditritus and i feel it may be a concern but from reading these posts it seems it may not be as bad as i thought.. so ditritus is food? Do people find tanks do better with or without filter socks?
I find that bare bottoms are easier to manage as well. I like the fact that you know what’s on the bed. With sand, it’s a mystery concoction, although I do love the look of sand and the types of fish and inverts you can keep with it. Btw. Congrats again on your hospitality badgeI do like allowing the buildup of some detritus in my bare-bottomed SPS-only frag system. I allow it to collect in the first chamber of my sump, which holds my filter socks, live rock, and MarinePure spheres. Weekly, I blow everything around in that chamber with a small pump, and it causes the system to cloud with detritus. I don't let the detritus become unmanageable, but the amount is enough to cloud the water for an hour or so. My corals seem to enjoy it because they extend their feeders almost immediately.
I think that bare-bottomed systems have their challenges, but the maintenance of detritus removal is easier, allowing hobbyists to control the buildup to suit their systems. For example, my bare-bottomed SPS-only system requires cleaner water than some other systems, and I can easily see when detritus gets out of control. I can remove enough to leave a small amount that seems to keep my corals happy.
I love the appearance of a nice, clean, bed of sand. I love that they reflect light and seem to add more visual interest to systems. I have never had fish or shrimp that utilize sand, so I'm not missing out there, but it was always fun watching Nassarius spp. appear from the sand when they sensed food enter the water. The only issue that I had with sand was that I often became too lazy to maintain it to a level that wouldn't cause my display to look impossibly disgusting when the sand was stirred.I find that bare bottoms are easier to manage as well. I like the fact that you know what’s on the bed. With sand, it’s a mystery concoction, although I do love the look of sand and the types of fish and inverts you can keep with it.
Thank you! I appreciate that.Btw. Congrats again on your hospitality badge
I’m limited with wrasses and some nems with BB. But eh, I don’t mind. I have two tanks for a reason Selling my wife on that second one was tough though.I love the appearance of a nice, clean, bed of sand. I love that they reflect light and seem to add more visual interest to systems. I have never had fish or shrimp that utilize sand, so I'm not missing out there, but it was always fun watching Nassarius spp. appear from the sand when they sensed food enter the water. The only issue that I had with sand was that I often became too lazy to maintain it to a level that wouldn't cause my display to look impossibly disgusting when the sand was stirred.
Thank you! I appreciate that.
I read a book once, that explained that SPS corals and many others benefit from the dirty water at night and they feed off of detritus. They recommended to blow off your rocks at night when many corals feed. I have no evidence this has worked but I have no complaints. I wish they could talk to me and say “that was a nice meal”.My 120 is bare bottom. That being said detrius builds up in one place for bi monthly removal.
I cant get to whats under rocks and dont try.
What I notice is po4 before blowing off rocks and letting settle is around .02ish.
After it is .06ish everytime.
Anyone else notice this trend.
Corals also like it.
I read a book once, that explained that SPS corals and many others benefit from the dirty water at night and they feed off of detritus. They recommended to blow off your rocks at night when many corals feed. I have no evidence this has worked but I have no complaints. I wish they could talk to me and say “that was a nice meal”.