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WaitForIt... 
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 Topic: To vacuum or not vacuum...
Posted: February 17 2016 at 9:46am |
Hello all, I'm new to reefkeeping and new to the forum as well. I have had a lot of differing opinions on many different topics, so I'm still trying to work out what will work best for my tank. In this case, I am trying to decide whether or not I should vacuum/stir the sand to help rid the bed of excess waste and nutrients. I have a small/moderately sized patch of cyano growing. Some say vacuum and lights out, and others say don't vacuum because it could release toxins and crash the tank. Any other opinions I should consider? thanks!
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Krazie4Acans
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Posted: February 17 2016 at 10:27am |
What a loaded question.  Before we answer that lets get some more information about your tank. How long has it been setup? was it brand new when setup or an established tank that was moved? Have you tested your water parameters and if so what were the values? What do you have in your tank providing water flow and circulation? What are your feeding habits? How many fish are in the tank? In general I go by two rules of thumb. If you haven't been vacuuming then don't start. If you have been vacuuming then don't stop. These are general and there are obviously ways to start and stop without causing too much trouble in your system. Lets start with a few answers. Krazie 
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1stupidpunk
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Posted: February 17 2016 at 10:37am |
I agree with what crazy said. If your going to vac always vac. If you don't vac then don't start. FOR MY TANK I always vacuum at each monthly water change, BUT I only vacuum the top 1/4" or so of the sand bed to keep it clean looking. I would never recommend disturbing the entire depth of the sandbed, IMO that is going to stir up way more gunk than your going to be able to vacuum out. Plus I am under the impression that the bottom of the sandbed holds a lot of anaerobic bacteria which would throw your system out of whack if you stirred it up all the time.
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WaitForIt...
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Posted: February 17 2016 at 11:29am |
Fast replies, thanks guys! I set up my tank just around three weeks ago. It is a 75 gal with 120 lbs of live rock. I bought it used, but was mature and running when I got it. It went through a mini cycle and has come out of it already. I added a purple firefish, cardinal and a lawnmower blenny along with a small cleaning crew. Water tests have been good: Alk-9.3, pH 8.2, SG 1.024, no ammonia or nitrate, phosphates are low but I can't recall the value. I feed at night 1/4 cube of frozen Mysis and a pinch of pellet. I have two Hydor 1150 power heads on each end of the tank as well as the return from the pump that come out the overflow in the back-middle of the tank. thanks again for your input.
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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: February 17 2016 at 4:21pm |
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I say siphon now and then. Go for it.
Adam
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Reefer4Ever
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Posted: February 17 2016 at 8:57pm |
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That is a lot of food for 3 fish imo. I would like to know what your po4 phosphates and no3 nitrates. I agree either always do it or don't even start.
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90 gal reef w/refugium
24 gal softie tank
11 gal nano anemone tank
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WaitForIt...
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Posted: February 18 2016 at 8:02am |
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thanks guys. i'll cut back on the feeding for a week and see if it helps.
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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 18 2016 at 8:19am |
Good advice above. Cyano bacteria can be evidence that the amount of biofiltration is not able to keep up with the amount of feeding. May we see a pic of the tank, please? Does the pic show where the Cyano is growing? There are other things that could be happening, so a pic helps a lot. Also, what is the sand depth and type of sand/particle size? Same sand that was in the tank when you bought it? Was the sand rinsed when the tank was moved?
Aloha, Mark 
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WaitForIt...
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Posted: February 18 2016 at 1:49pm |
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i'll try to upload a pic later. sand depth is approximately 1.5-2 inches of aragonite sand. it's not fine, not coarse. I added some in order to increase the depth slightly. I didn't rinse the sand when I set up the tank. I thought that since the tank had undergone a cycling, the best thing would be to leave it be.
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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 18 2016 at 2:52pm |
Since the tank was just recently moved and the sand was not rinsed to get rid of excess detritus, I'd do some deep vacuuming at every monthly water change. I'd do maybe just 10-20% of the sand area each month. That way it won't seriously disturb the majority of the LS biofiltration.After several of these vacuumings, when all the area of sand that can be reached is done, it won't be necessary to do vacuuming more than 1/2" deep and only in a portion of the sand bed occasionally, but not continually.
Aloha, Mark
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