What is this beown dust
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In my experience, the vaccum is possibly the most beneficial thing one can do for their tank, short of the actual water change, itself.
It pulls out a lot of poop and other settled stuff that is polluting the water. Take your time with it and get good at it. The more poop you can pull out, the less poop in your tank, and the cleaner the tank is.
Yes, it sounds like "duh" simplicity. But you're right... There are many who don't vaccum, and justify it some way. Vacuuming is a pain in the butt. If it were as "Kum Ba Ya" feel good like feeding is, then everyone would do it.
When we poop, gravity removes the vast majority away from our bodies. It can be nasty, but if we don't physically wipe and remove the rest, bad things happen.
Vacuuming is kinda like wiping the tank.
It pulls out a lot of poop and other settled stuff that is polluting the water. Take your time with it and get good at it. The more poop you can pull out, the less poop in your tank, and the cleaner the tank is.
Yes, it sounds like "duh" simplicity. But you're right... There are many who don't vaccum, and justify it some way. Vacuuming is a pain in the butt. If it were as "Kum Ba Ya" feel good like feeding is, then everyone would do it.
When we poop, gravity removes the vast majority away from our bodies. It can be nasty, but if we don't physically wipe and remove the rest, bad things happen.
Vacuuming is kinda like wiping the tank.
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How do I vacuum without taking most of the sand with it??
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Generalky speaking, I suck sand up at full speed up to a point of the siphon bell and then squeeze the line shut to allow the sand to fall. The detritus stays suspended for the most part. Then I open back up to suck the detritus out.
That's the basics to it. There are a lot of variations that you can play around with.
Hope this helps!
That's the basics to it. There are a lot of variations that you can play around with.
Hope this helps!
I have to agree with both of you. I have read alot about not stiring up the sand. There is alot of benificial bacteria living in the sand and i can see you not wanting to suck them out but on the other side with the topic leaving it alone to long you will get the "swamp gas"effect. that will be bad. I clean what i can in my tank but atleast half my sand is under rocks....
I suspect that the bulk of the beneficial bacteria will remain attached to the surface area of the Rock and sand while the yeah won't. In addition, when don in moderation, I believe any BB that would be lost would quickly be replenished via reproduction. Just my opinion.
Crimp the hose to control flow. Lighter poop goes up, sand goes back down.
The bacteria live ON the sand, the only ones you'll lose are attached to the bit of sand you will inevitably lose.
Arthropods (amphipods/copepods) will avoid the siphon too. If you think you're sucking them up, wait for your waste water to settle and try to see any. Chances are, you won't.
I always suggest putting rock on bare glass, then add sand. For one, you won't have an avalanche caused by a tunneling creature digging out the foundation from under the rocks, and crap won't get trapped in sand compressed by rocks. Yes, a bit of detritus will inevitably get there, cleaning substrate is not an exact science, but if you can get most of it out, that's a plus.
No matter how careful you are, you aren't going to get all of it. If you can get most of it, you're doing it right.
Jenn
The bacteria live ON the sand, the only ones you'll lose are attached to the bit of sand you will inevitably lose.
Arthropods (amphipods/copepods) will avoid the siphon too. If you think you're sucking them up, wait for your waste water to settle and try to see any. Chances are, you won't.
I always suggest putting rock on bare glass, then add sand. For one, you won't have an avalanche caused by a tunneling creature digging out the foundation from under the rocks, and crap won't get trapped in sand compressed by rocks. Yes, a bit of detritus will inevitably get there, cleaning substrate is not an exact science, but if you can get most of it out, that's a plus.
No matter how careful you are, you aren't going to get all of it. If you can get most of it, you're doing it right.
Jenn
Cleaned up the sump tonight with my wet vac...took the pump skimmer and refugium all out. The bottom looked like mud, I was thinking this was just sand from the rocks. I also vacuumed about one quarter of the tank. Certain sections we're clear while others were brown. It does not look like my sand was that dirty but the water was brown that is a first. I will continue to vacuum little by little.
API test kits are crap, BTW.
Parameters vital to live support:
Temperature
Specific Gravity
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Any problems with the above are life-threatening.
Parameters that should be monitored/adjusted for coral health:
Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
If any of those last 3 are out of whack, usually they won't directly kill something but they will make corals 'unhappy' and impede growth. If they are REALLY out of whack I suppose they can kill (low/high alk in particular).
Parameters vital to live support:
Temperature
Specific Gravity
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Any problems with the above are life-threatening.
Parameters that should be monitored/adjusted for coral health:
Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
If any of those last 3 are out of whack, usually they won't directly kill something but they will make corals 'unhappy' and impede growth. If they are REALLY out of whack I suppose they can kill (low/high alk in particular).
So I noticed the tank being a bit cloudy so I tested the ammonia out of hunch and it was off the charts high. I did a 10g water change, changed out the carbon, and turned the skimmer up a bit. I made another batch of 15g salt for tonights change, but do u think the vacuuming led to this?
You had tons of stuff built up in you substrate. You have released some of it into the water column. Doesn't surprise me that you see an ammonia spike or that you skimmer is going crazy. But, both are good things if managed correctly. Means you are removing nasty stuff from your system. JMO.
The fish were also very lethargic yesterday, thats when I really started to notice.. Actually the kids told me "Dory is sleeping"
So yesterday about 1pm the api ammonia test was 2-4mg/l (depends on how I read the green, but it was a dark green.
Today, the fish are back to themselves, and the test I just did is between .25 and .5 mg/l again, depends on how I read the color card.
The cloudiness, haze has gone away.
"Dory" is back to herself and swimming around. Scary for sure and I think I have made it thru the high spike but should I change out another 15g today?
Also, isnt it strange how one moment the ammonia level was 0, then off the charts, now its almost back to normal? All live stock is accounted for.
I did nothing I normally do not due, but I did add 15 snails to a 65g display, with 20g sump on Friday Night. NO water, just picked them out of the back and dropped them in
Thanks!
So yesterday about 1pm the api ammonia test was 2-4mg/l (depends on how I read the green, but it was a dark green.
Today, the fish are back to themselves, and the test I just did is between .25 and .5 mg/l again, depends on how I read the color card.
The cloudiness, haze has gone away.
"Dory" is back to herself and swimming around. Scary for sure and I think I have made it thru the high spike but should I change out another 15g today?
Also, isnt it strange how one moment the ammonia level was 0, then off the charts, now its almost back to normal? All live stock is accounted for.
I did nothing I normally do not due, but I did add 15 snails to a 65g display, with 20g sump on Friday Night. NO water, just picked them out of the back and dropped them in
Thanks!
