Shallow sandbed Maintenance Q's

[speedy5200]

Hi, i have a 2 inch sandbed right now, and was wondering what all the other shallow bed reefers do to keep it clean. Do you vacuum it regularly, or what? I have enough pure aragonite sand to make mine a DSB, but im not quite ready to make the leap yet. my tank is 6 months old, and i have a descent critter population in my sand, and they have been keeping it pretty white and clean, I havent been vacuuming it. Should I start? I dont want anything to creep up and crash my tank one day, thats why i am asking. Please anybody else thats successful with a 1 to 3 inch sandbed, what type of maintenance do you do to it?
Thanks in advance,
Billy

[DgenR8]

Billy,
Don't vacuume your sand. There is life in it that you can't see and do not want to remove.
Add another 2" slowly, so not to trap critters that live near the top of your bed.
What you have now is not helping you deal with nitrate, you need an anerobic (oxygen free) zone that the experts recommend a min of 4" to achieve.

[speedy5200]

Thanks for the reply Larry. I got extra sand, in case I wanted a DSB, But im not quite ready to jump on that bandwagon yet/ and I dont really want to start a DSB debate, I know there are other people out there with successful shallower bed systems, and I was wondering what they used to keep it clean, and not become a nutrient sink/ whether it be critters/ or vacuuming or whatever.
thanks again,
Billy

[DgenR8]

Billy,
You don't have to go DSB now, you probably will later, but you can wait if you want to.
Just don't vacuume it, keep it clean with a detrivour kit.