cleaning detrius? - Page 2

lunatik_69 · 11-21-2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bc219

I've always read not to use those with saltwater, that you end up sucking up your pods and other beneficial stuff. Heck, if it's a good idea I should start using the one I had for my freshwater tanks...

The way I do it, it only suchs up light weight stuff, not strong enough to pick up sand. Luna

crashtestdummy · 11-23-2008, 08:05 AM

My water changes:
-Unplug return pump so all water with potential nastiness kicked up is not going into the sump, then take out all the sponge filters from the overflow box and sump and get the wife to rinse them down.
-Blast off nastiness from rock and sand and such and keep the powerheads on so it doesn't settle back down
-Siphon out 5 gallons into my glorious 5 gallon bucket and try to take as much nastiness out of the water as possible during the process
-Pour in the WCW
-replace sponges/filters, plug in return pump, and let the bio filter handle what I didn't get with the siphon.

Having a 55 makes 10% water changes easy to handle with a 5 gallon bucket, and having hermit crabs and snails roaming around make life much easier by cleaning up the place.

mirandacollc · 11-23-2008, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crashtestdummy

My water changes:
-replace sponges/filters, plug in return pump, and let the bio filter handle what I didn't get with the siphon..

So is this stating that you let your bio-balls collect the gunk? Just curious because I made that mistake and have been fighting algae from the nitrate factory! Cleaning bio balls weekly a quarter at a time now

Luna good call on the turkey baster. I am in the middle of a w/s not and got alot of the sand with it. Just the stuff I couldnet pick up with the siphon. I have the python that you showed in the pic also btw. I am doing 10 gallons today just to do maintaince on the sump.

crashtestdummy · 11-23-2008, 05:07 PM

The way my sump is setup I have 3 sponges/filters for the water to pass through. It needs to pass through 2 of these to even reach the bioballs. The first one being in my overflow box, it collects the big stuff like poop and what-not before sending the water down into the sump. The next sponge is a large square 1 inch thick really fine thing. Only super small stuff would be able to get through it...my bioballs do not get any "detritus" on them thanks to those sponge filter things. Those filters, combined with my Live Rock and Bioballs, and snails, crabs, shrimp and other critters, and a BA protein skimmer (no not a brand), I rarely have any debris build up in my tank.

So what I'm saying is that no, my bioballs do not collect all the gunk. The things that do collect all the gunk are cleaned once a week. The bioballs handle ammonia to nitrate only, and water changes control the nitrate levels. If you have a problem with a "nitrate" factory, ease up on the feeding. Anything that isn't eaten by something will indeed fuel the nitrate factory.

tigermike74 · 11-25-2008, 01:02 PM

I just use a 3/8" tube to siphon out my water. The flow is low enough to control sand being sucked out but strong enough to get the loose gunk when it's an inch away. I do what Luna says, I pinch the tube if I see that sand was sucked up. Sand sifting stars can also clean it up.

Yuri Kapustin · 11-25-2008, 01:17 PM

I use hermit crabs. It may just be my tank, but the hermits tend to hang out on my sand and clean it. I rarely see them on the rock and when i do, the sand is spotless.
I also have a lot of current. I use quite a bit of flow in my tank.

I never siphon my sand. Then again, my tank is only a 20g.

Aqualung · 11-25-2008, 01:50 PM

I turkey baste the rock with my filter and Hydor on. I wait 20 min for the water to clear and baste again. Ater 2-4 times there's really nothing let. Then i waterchange, and then change my filter pad, so all the debris leaves the tank. Also, since I bought Turbo snails, I hardly have any detritus on my rocks. My Nass snails, hermits, and Turbos clean my gravel. Good luck!

=Jwin= · 11-26-2008, 08:50 AM

God knew what he was doing when he made the oceans, so the snails and hermits are the best things I've seen to clean off waste. You can never go wrong with a hermit crab. Unless it kills a snail to steal it's shell...then you're down one snail...but other than that all is well.

Aqualung · 11-26-2008, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by =Jwin=

God knew what he was doing when he made the oceans, so the snails and hermits are the best things I've seen to clean off waste. You can never go wrong with a hermit crab. Unless it kills a snail to steal it's shell...then you're down one snail...but other than that all is well.

Ahh, I lost a hermit and a snail in the last few days! My Nass snails had a feeding frenzy on the hermit, and I watched the snail shell get snatched by my starfish.

=Jwin= · 11-26-2008, 09:14 AM

Animal fights are so intense...but sad at the same time. Stupid Nass shells have to look so pretty to hermits and other critters, they should just stay in the sand like they're supposed to.

11-25-2008, 01:02 PM	#15 (permalink)
tigermike74 Sailfin Tang Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Southern CA Age: 35 Posts: 1,735 Skin: Classic Karma: 5961	I just use a 3/8" tube to siphon out my water. The flow is low enough to control sand being sucked out but strong enough to get the loose gunk when it's an inch away. I do what Luna says, I pinch the tube if I see that sand was sucked up. Sand sifting stars can also clean it up. _________ 150G Custom All-Glass 48"x24"x33", Bubble King Mini 180, CR-2000 Wet/Dry sump, 380W MH/CF Hamilton, currently with LR and my mean 3-strip damsel, lionfish and porcupine puffer 20G Top-Fin, CPR Bak-Pak2, 70W HOT HQI Hamilton, T5 2x24 actinic supplement, Aquacontroller Jr., 2 maroons, BTA nem 65G Clear-For-Life All-in-one aquarium, Aqua-C EV-180, 130W Coralife CF Retrofit, empty 12G JBJ Nanocube 2 misbar ocellaris clowns, AquaticLife 115 skimmer, upgraded to 2 Current USA LED lights.

11-25-2008, 01:17 PM	#16 (permalink)
Yuri Kapustin Coral Banded Shrimp Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 370 Skin: Mint Karma: 1137	I use hermit crabs. It may just be my tank, but the hermits tend to hang out on my sand and clean it. I rarely see them on the rock and when i do, the sand is spotless. I also have a lot of current. I use quite a bit of flow in my tank. I never siphon my sand. Then again, my tank is only a 20g. _________ Tank: 20 Gallon Tall Reaction 4 Stage Filter with UV, JBJ 65X2 PCs, Rio nano skimmer, 65 pounds LR, 15 Pounds LS, Custom temp monitors and computer fans, Rio powerheads. My Tank Thread

11-25-2008, 01:50 PM	#17 (permalink)
Aqualung Millepora Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Age: 32 Posts: 948 Skin: Dark Karma: 5752	I turkey baste the rock with my filter and Hydor on. I wait 20 min for the water to clear and baste again. Ater 2-4 times there's really nothing let. Then i waterchange, and then change my filter pad, so all the debris leaves the tank. Also, since I bought Turbo snails, I hardly have any detritus on my rocks. My Nass snails, hermits, and Turbos clean my gravel. Good luck! _________ My Tank Thread 16 gallon bow/10 gallon Fuge New Puppy! http://www.3reef.com/forums/bucket/w...cey-70527.html

11-26-2008, 08:50 AM	#18 (permalink)
=Jwin= Purple Tang Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tennessee Age: 19 Posts: 1,823 Skin: Classic Karma: 31663	God knew what he was doing when he made the oceans, so the snails and hermits are the best things I've seen to clean off waste. You can never go wrong with a hermit crab. Unless it kills a snail to steal it's shell...then you're down one snail...but other than that all is well. _________ -46g bowfront-born 11/21/08 http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off...ont-55581.html =9g Mantis= born 02/04/09 http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off...tml#post551014 I think I'd find watching my mantis shrimp more enjoyable if she didn't watch me back...

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11-23-2008, 08:05 AM	#12 (permalink)
crashtestdummy Astrea Snail Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 26 Skin: Mint Karma: 25	My water changes: -Unplug return pump so all water with potential nastiness kicked up is not going into the sump, then take out all the sponge filters from the overflow box and sump and get the wife to rinse them down. -Blast off nastiness from rock and sand and such and keep the powerheads on so it doesn't settle back down -Siphon out 5 gallons into my glorious 5 gallon bucket and try to take as much nastiness out of the water as possible during the process -Pour in the WCW -replace sponges/filters, plug in return pump, and let the bio filter handle what I didn't get with the siphon. Having a 55 makes 10% water changes easy to handle with a 5 gallon bucket, and having hermit crabs and snails roaming around make life much easier by cleaning up the place.

11-23-2008, 05:07 PM	#14 (permalink)
crashtestdummy Astrea Snail Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 26 Skin: Mint Karma: 25	The way my sump is setup I have 3 sponges/filters for the water to pass through. It needs to pass through 2 of these to even reach the bioballs. The first one being in my overflow box, it collects the big stuff like poop and what-not before sending the water down into the sump. The next sponge is a large square 1 inch thick really fine thing. Only super small stuff would be able to get through it...my bioballs do not get any "detritus" on them thanks to those sponge filter things. Those filters, combined with my Live Rock and Bioballs, and snails, crabs, shrimp and other critters, and a BA protein skimmer (no not a brand), I rarely have any debris build up in my tank. So what I'm saying is that no, my bioballs do not collect all the gunk. The things that do collect all the gunk are cleaned once a week. The bioballs handle ammonia to nitrate only, and water changes control the nitrate levels. If you have a problem with a "nitrate" factory, ease up on the feeding. Anything that isn't eaten by something will indeed fuel the nitrate factory.

11-26-2008, 09:14 AM	#20 (permalink)
=Jwin= Purple Tang Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tennessee Age: 19 Posts: 1,823 Skin: Classic Karma: 31663	Animal fights are so intense...but sad at the same time. Stupid Nass shells have to look so pretty to hermits and other critters, they should just stay in the sand like they're supposed to.