|
|
|
|
#1
11/13/2007, 05:38 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Gravel Vac or Not?
I was wondering about the process of water changes.
Right now, I have a MJ400 that I connect to some tubing. I stick the MJ400 in the tank and put the other end of the tubing into a bucket and turn the pump on. The water flows out. However, by doing this, I'm not doing a gravel vac. The water is just being taking out so I'm confused about gravel vac in a SW tank. In my Oscar tank, I use my python gravel vac and I actually but it down in the sand to stir up the sand and clean it. The sand is heavier so as long as I don't leave it there too long, the sand never gets sucked up. But in a SW tank, from my understanding, I don't want to disturb the sand like that because my BB is there. So I guess my question would be how do I clean the sand in a SW tank? Can I do the same thing in my SW tank as I do in my Oscar tank? I want to fine tune my water change procedure so that everything is taken care of properly. |
|
#4
11/13/2007, 06:41 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
As long as it is only the first quarter inch or so it is usually OK. Reduced oxygen tension is not present that close to the bed surface. It is the lower, anoxic levels that you don't want to stir.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
|
#5
11/13/2007, 09:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
It is regular black sand. The one that come in the small 5lbs bags not the larger 20lbs bags usually seen. I think it is by Este. I only have it from 1 - 1.5 inches.
mg426 If you never gravel vac, do you clean the debris of the top layer. Currently using the method I described above really only takes water out. Should I use my python to siphon the top of the sand to get extra debris? |
|
#6
11/14/2007, 02:02 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Detritus is light compared to sand so if you get just marginal agitation of the very top of the bed it will remove the detritus without stirring the lower levels. Many people see the black gunk that accumulates in a DSB and thing that it is bad. Actually the bed is doing its job and biological decomposition is occurring in the lower levels to assimilate that black organic matter. It is just part of the natural process.
Your bed is fairly shallow and it sounds like fairly course sand. In such a case it may be better to vacuum the bed more rigorously than you would ever attempt with a 4" DSB of fine aragonite.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
|
#7
11/14/2007, 02:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I just do the top layer of my sand every once in awhile as it does get pretty nasty.
|
|
#8
11/14/2007, 04:59 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
It is pretty hard to get a deep enough tank where there are 8 tons of water pressure at the bottom and also keeps that lower region at 3.5° C while the upper part is a balmy 27°.
 The ocean has a bit more ability than our artificial attempts at recreating it can achieve. We only recreate the primordial ooze to a small degree in our limited tank environment (thank heaven  )and must face the fact that all waste is not reduced to inorganic minerals and the carbon bearing materials recycled. A DSB can process a lot of waste but part of it does accumulate. One of the main reason to have a good supply of sand shifting organisms in the bed is to move those untreated organic back toward the water column where hopefully such mechanical aids, such as a skimmer, can export them from the tank. Therefore, it is not alarming that we do have some material that builds up in the bed over time and a light vacuuming is in order. You just want to be careful not to disturb the lower bed and make the situation worse.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
|
|
Linear Mode
