# Sand beds and cleanup crews



## tweber (Feb 24, 2015)

Have had freshwater for decades; learning the ropes re salt water for the last 3 years. Am interested to hear what the group has to say about sand beds and cleanup crews.

Have a red sea 450 [92 gallon display + 24 gallon sump with skimmer] with a number of good sized corals, 5 bubble tips, ~10 big turbos, ~ 10 hermits, one pepermint, couple of big sandsifting stars and 9 fish [4 damsels, two clowns, sailfin, yellow and blue tangs]. Two questions:

1) Am I correct in assuming that the sand bed (~1.5 inches) does not need to be "vacuumed" in the same way a freshwater bed does since its playing a more significant role vis a vis water quality?

2) Should I be adding other cleanup crew members, in the broadest sense of the term [e.g. blennies/ gobies, more snails/ hermits, cheato/ mangrove...]? My parameters are pretty good but i just want to stay ahead of things. thx!


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

The 'rule' that has been bandied about for years is that less than 1" sand bed, vacuum. There is a danger zone in a sand bed between 1.5" and 3" that can be hard on the tank and you should avoid. Over 3" don't vacuum as the sand bed becomes it's own biological filter.
I can tell you my sand bed at 1" got vacuumed regularly in my tanks, but not in my refugium. Which I discovered last year was probably not a good idea. I still don't clean my sand bed in my refugium very much, but I do try and stir it up.
What I notice is that when I stir up the sand bed, a lot of my corals send out feeder tentacles and my NPS corals open up.
Bottom line: I would vacuum. 
But then that's me. Others might say different.
Probably best to follow your instincts.
If you're looking for a clean up crew to keep whole tank healthy think about in the sense of who is doing what job. I recently added a lot of small blue legged hermit crabs to my system, and they went through the tank cleaning rock and bits of dead coral off everywhere. They filled a niche that my shrimps, starfish and snails didn't take care of. It's kind of a team effort.


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## tweber (Feb 24, 2015)

Crayon said:


> The 'rule' that has been bandied about for years is that less than 1" sand bed, vacuum. There is a danger zone in a sand bed between 1.5" and 3" that can be hard on the tank and you should avoid. Over 3" don't vacuum as the sand bed becomes it's own biological filter.
> I can tell you my sand bed at 1" got vacuumed regularly in my tanks, but not in my refugium. Which I discovered last year was probably not a good idea. I still don't clean my sand bed in my refugium very much, but I do try and stir it up.
> What I notice is that when I stir up the sand bed, a lot of my corals send out feeder tentacles and my NPS corals open up.
> Bottom line: I would vacuum.
> ...


Thanks for this Crayon! Will continue to give my bed a periodic stir.

Nothing comparable to a fresh water pleco for cleaning the glass; rely on snails and stars and elbow grease? Re gobies and blennies, have been getting mixed messages... stiring up the bed is a good thing but they might also be robbing the stars/ snails of their food. Comments again appreciated/ thanks.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi Tweber, I just want to caution something as stirring is completely different than vacuuming.

To add to Crayon, vacuuming removes the organics completely from the tank while stirring essentially moves organics from one place to another. Organics if not consumed can overtime create several problems. Vacuuming is indeed the best method IMO and would take Crayon's recommendation.

Now having said that, I do things a little different but the concept is the same as I am still removing the organics.

As I run my tank at a pretty high flow, I have specific livestock that helps sift sand/organics into my water column and into filter socks (Checkered Wrasse, Strawberry Conch and Diamond Goby). Anything not caught by the socks, gets shop vacuumed in my sump every 2 weeks during my water change.

Hope this helps.



tweber said:


> Thanks for this Crayon! Will continue to give my bed a periodic stir.
> 
> Nothing comparable to a fresh water pleco for cleaning the glass; rely on snails and stars and elbow grease? Re gobies and blennies, have been getting mixed messages... stiring up the bed is a good thing but they might also be robbing the stars/ snails of their food. Comments again appreciated/ thanks.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

WiseGuyPhil said:


> Hi Tweber, I just want to caution something as stirring is completely different than vacuuming.
> 
> To add to Crayon, vacuuming removes the organics completely from the tank while stirring essentially moves organics from one place to another. Organics if not consumed can overtime create several problems. Vacuuming is indeed the best method IMO and would take Crayon's recommendation.
> 
> ...


Agree w Phil. My comment about stirring up my sand bed in my refugium is more because it's my fuge as opposed to a good way to clean it. There are too many good things living in the muck of my fuge so I don't want to suck them all out by cleaning it. Vacuuming is preferable in the display tank.

Don't worry about not having enough food for your stars if you vacuum, there is always enough food in the sand bed for everyone.


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## tweber (Feb 24, 2015)

Thanks to both of you for the help! Can hardly wait to dive back into the tank this weekend!!


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## Mikeylikes (Nov 22, 2013)

what/how are you people using to vacuum your sandbed ? 

I have never done that and I am bordering wanting to do so as my sandbed is about 2-3 inches max.

I have med to fine sandbed (mix really) and am afraid of sucking up too much of the fine sand. 

My nitro and phosphate levels are becoming somewhat difficult to bring down .. I'm not sure if its because I have too much crud in the sandbed that is contributing to my high phosphate levels


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

Python. Actually just the large tube end of the python with a Venturi into a bucket.
You should probably try vacuuming. If you go slow, you shouldn’t lose too much fine sand.

A German reefer I met swears that a sand bed should be exchanged every two weeks. Take a cup of old sand out, put a cup of new sand in.

The dirty sand will be contributing to your nitrate levels, but it may be a combination of stuff. However I see dramatic drops in nitrate levels after cleaning the sand bed and blowing off the rock in my tank.


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