Can you clean, or vacuum live sand? there is alot of junk on the bottom, even after only two days. Can I vacuum the sand or should I leave the crap for the bacteria to get?
Cleaning Live Sand
- Thread starter VDub90
- Start date
I'd say to leave the crap, especially since it's only been in there for 2 days. I'm curious, are you cycling your tank right now or have you just finished that part? The crud in my tank gets picked up by my cleaning crew pretty quickly. My cleaning crew is snails, hermits, an emerald crab and a peppermint shrimp. The cleaning crew can be added when the tank is done cycling.
My tank is still cycling. My ammonia is at 0, but my nitrites are falling, I do have 4 hermits, that do a pretty good job. I guess that with the sand in the tank you just notice the dirt more than when I had gravel/rocks.We'll see over the next few days.
I would leave the sand alone. That is a bacteria bed and you shouldn't disturb it at all untill your tank had completed all cycles (some tanks can cycle more than once). Personally I didn't start vacuuming my sand for 6 MONTHS!! You are supose to disturb live sand least as possible. I would take my scraper and stick it in the sand every .5 inch one way then come back the other way so it would kind of bury the gunk. You are waiting for corline algea and this is the best way I have found in my home tank and the 50 plus tanks at my work. Do you have any live rock?
I currently put in 10lbs of live rock the same time as the 20lbs of live sand. My tank is just over the 4 week mark.
Actually I don't even know if what I put in the tank is classified as live sand? It's Arag-Alive Fiji Pink, I just assumed it was alive as the package stated 20 million bacteria per pound.
Actually I don't even know if what I put in the tank is classified as live sand? It's Arag-Alive Fiji Pink, I just assumed it was alive as the package stated 20 million bacteria per pound.
Yep that's the live stuff. I used Arag-alive too, and my tank cycled pretty fast. What size tank do you have. Remember if you want more sand and if you add more arag-alive, like another 25 pound bag it will throw your tank into another cycle, even a pretty aged tank will cycle again. I know because unfortunatly I had to learn the hard way. We had a 75 gallon-four years old-with a buch of fish in it
and a customer accidently opened a bag so I dumped in the tank.........the ammonia spiked off the testing charts and we lost everything!! Even damsels and all inverts!! Anyway just more advice
Tina
I don't know it all, just most. lol
and a customer accidently opened a bag so I dumped in the tank.........the ammonia spiked off the testing charts and we lost everything!! Even damsels and all inverts!! Anyway just more adviceTina
I don't know it all, just most. lol
Sand base depth
It's a 29G, if I add more sand I was just going to add Seaflor Special Grade, maybe 15lbs more.
Ok, It's been a week since I added the live rock/live sand. The ammonia is still at 0, and in the last day the nitrites which were way high, have now dropped to a reasonable level(cycle could be ending?)(week 5 and 5 days). I have ordered a 40lb bag of Seaflor Special Grade, to add to my existing Arag-Alive. How deep should I go? I currently have 20lbs in there, and that gave me about an inch everywhere. Should I add 20lbs more and go for a 2" base? or is that to deep?
It's a 29G, if I add more sand I was just going to add Seaflor Special Grade, maybe 15lbs more.
Ok, It's been a week since I added the live rock/live sand. The ammonia is still at 0, and in the last day the nitrites which were way high, have now dropped to a reasonable level(cycle could be ending?)(week 5 and 5 days). I have ordered a 40lb bag of Seaflor Special Grade, to add to my existing Arag-Alive. How deep should I go? I currently have 20lbs in there, and that gave me about an inch everywhere. Should I add 20lbs more and go for a 2" base? or is that to deep?
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