When you think of vacuuming the first picture that pops into your head is usually not one of a reef. Recently I have began to vacuum my shallow sand bed on a much more consistent basis,with every water change, and I have noticed some marked improvements in the health of my reef.

I am surprised at how much detritus(waste) I am able to siphon out of the sand bed. This waste was surly contributing to my bio load and causing PO4 to creep up. The sand I use, Caribsea Seaflor Special Grade, is a larger grain size(1.25–1.95 mm) than the normal sugar sized sand making it easier to vacuum. If you are setting up a new reef or are having issues with sand blowing around I highly recoomend the larger sized sand.

After vacuuming my sand bed twice this month I have noticed an increase in growth in my corals. Growth of film algae has also been cut back. It usually takes about a week for a slight film to develop on my viewing pane, but now it is taking almost two weeks.

Some will say "just go bare bottom", but I tried that and could never do it again. When I went BB in the old tank it looked horrible and I really had a hard time maintaining my Alkalinity and Ph. After 6 months I added the sand back and all was well once again.

Sand beds may require more work and maintenance but the look and rewards are well worth it. 

-Sonny






 


Comments

stunreefer
04/24/2009 11:00am

Good write-up Sonny... vaccuming ones sand bad is so vastly overlooked it hurts to think about. Anyone that's not running a DSB or BB should be siphoning their sand occasionally...

I also use a larger grain substrate, Tropic Edens "Reef Flakes" (3.5 mm). It stays put under high flow conditions, looks fantastic, and is very easy to vacuum.

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thin crust
04/24/2009 11:09am

Great advice on the larger grain sand, definitely will try that out on my next tank.

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Sonny link
04/24/2009 12:04pm

One thing I forgot to mention is that I add triple my normal bacteria dosage to make up for any loss in bacteria from siphoning.

Also, I use this http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...oductId=2754084 to siphon out the waste into an empty salt bucket.

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bill
04/24/2009 12:26pm

Sonny

We often overlook vacuuming. Appreciate the tip and the reminder Would you recommend to triple the dosage of Bak after vacuuming??

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Sonny link
04/24/2009 12:35pm

Bill

Yes, I dose the bacteria AFTER I am finished siphoning and changing the water.

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SPSHolic link
04/26/2009 7:57pm

Dear Sonny

Great advice on the larger grain sand.
I used carib fiji pink sugar size sand and am changing 2~3mm sand slowly because of sand storm and unknown algae.

Vacuuming means You remove old sand and put new sand periodically or just remove detritus(waste)?

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Sonny link
04/28/2009 8:09am

SPSHolic,

When I vacuum the sand I am only removing the detritus and NOT the sand. I used to remove the sand from my old reef but found that to be too much work and not worth it.

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h.veras
05/01/2009 2:41am

hey sonny great job.. could you post a video of you vacuum the sb? thx i really appreciate

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Sonny link
05/01/2009 10:46am

h.veras,

I will see if I can get a video camera over as I have yet to purchase one. Most new Digital cameras have built in video but my Nikon D50 SLR does not.

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Marcus
05/25/2009 10:36am

Great advice Sonny. I just started my tank and I used the same substrate you used. My plan all along was to vacuum my sand bed for all the same reasons you have said.

Two questions: Using that vacuum do you have issues with it trying to pull up the sand as well?

Also is dosing bacteria required? I never would have even thought of that.

Thanks

Marcus

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Juan
05/29/2009 9:47pm

Hello Sunny i have problem whit Glacilaria alge on my live rock i like a red roots what can you tell me to do tanks.

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David
06/11/2009 1:15pm

hey sonny what bacteria do you dose?

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Sonny link
06/11/2009 1:20pm

Hello,

I am using Microbacter7 by Brightwell's.

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Daniel
09/18/2009 9:13pm

Sonny, could you repost the siphon you use? The previous link does not work.

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