move powerhead?

[stephensmith23]

hi guys,

If someone could answer this question it would help, When i move my powerhead it disturbes a lot of debrit/dirt from my liverock, should i do this or leave it alone ?

[coral reefer]

Yes, every once in a while it is advantageous to remove by blowing off detritus and algae that may accumulate on corals and live rock! This build up can also cause decreased light to corals and clams as well as reduce the amount of oxygen available to beneficial organisms on or within your live rock!
By suspending this detritus etc. into the pelagic area(water column) of your tank, you give your skimmer or other form of mechanical filtration a better chance of removing these dissolved organics and inorganics!

[Frizza]

Sounds ok to me, I would rather debris not to settle on the rocks and eventually it will work its way into whatever filtration you have. The areas in the tank where it does settle are normally taken care of by your clean up crew. I think either way it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

[stephensmith23]

guys thanks for the advice, my problem is there is lots of it, when i move the powerhead the water is really dirty. I suppose the question im asking is, is it harmful to the fish(wrasse and 2 firetales), i dont have corrals just a cleaner crew and the 3 fish. I have lots of live rock(maybe too much) and its gathering in the crevises

[coral reefer]

No, its not that detrimental as long as it is removes as quick as possible. If it allows to float and settle in your tank it will cause problems with your wtaer parameters, ultimately leading to problems with your live stock.
Also, by allowing all of this detritus to settle, you run the risk of alot of this waste etc. to work its way into your substrate via adsorption and advection!

[Frizza]

I would do a clean up and combine it with a partial water change. Maybe just use a syphon over your rocks and replace with your new water. You then don't have to do it all in one go and maybe do this a few times over say a couple of weeks.
If your fish are in good health then they will generally tolerate bad water conditions far more than corals and other inverts. It's better to tackle this now rather than struggle further down the line, especially with unwanted algae growth.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[WFOgixxer]

If your having a lot of detritus build up on your LR you have too many "dead zones" and you should move your powerheads to eliminate these "dead zones" or add more powerheads or add more total flow (GPH) this will limit the risk of poor water quality or the growth of problem algee or (bacteria)