Should I remove live sand bed?

I have that sealed, bagged live sand for substrate. I was wondering if I can remove it and replace it with crushed coral. The sand discolors too quickly, and when I do water changes, I wind up sucking up lots of it when vacuuming substrate. Will there be any harmful repercussions from doing this? Will I screw up biological by removing the live sand and replacing it with crushed coral? My tank has been established since early May and I run a TidePool wet-dry with bio-balls.

Jason

 

Please describe the discoloration and please explain how you are vacuuming. How deep is your DSB?

 

You shouldn't be vacuuming your gravel anyhow! All you need to do is stir it up occassionally. If you want you could add it to what you have already but I wouldn't get rid of what you have now.

 

Well, it always discolors a light green. I run a good skimmer and my lights are only on for 5.5 hours a day. I use nothing but RO water. My current sand substrate is about .5 - 1.0 inches deep.

I vacuum this way: Stick a larger circumfrence "sucker" into the tank and start a suction. the circumfrence is large enough to not suck up the entire sand bed at once. The sand stays suspended for the most part and the dirt/debris is sucked away. Inevitably, some sand gets sucked up and tossed away. I prefer to vacuum a crushed coral bed - the debris/dirt is sucked up much easier with no substrate loss.

 

Coral Reefer - you don't vacuum your substrate?? Please explain!

Jason

 

It is normal not to vacuum a DSB(4"+) but in your case you are running a shallow sand bed. It is mostly there for looks and won't provide denitrification like a deep sand bed would. So your probably better off to continue vacuuming.

Since it is a SSB you can change it to suit the look you want.

 

If your wanting to add more coral I would rethink the SSB, the wet dry, and the bioballs though as you would probably benefit from some added denitrification.

 

Covey - so you're saying I should REMOVE the wet-dry and bio-balls and INCREASE the depth of sand bed? I'm sticking to FOWLR for a while. Except for my little anemone - he's doing great, but other than that, FOWLR for me!

When you say "Increase the amount of coral" do mean REAL corals or crushed coral substrate? I'm not interested in adding more REAL corals. I've never had luck with them.

 

IMO, I would leave the tank alone as there's no need to mess with the established bacterial colonies. I have always run a shallow sandbed and have never vacuumed the substrate or found that it was needed. If you keep the proper amount hermit crabs, snails and such, there is absolutely no need to do this unless you feed the tank very heavily. If your sandbed is turning green, I would look more into what is happening in your water than what is happening in your sand.

 

okay. thanks everyone. as i said, i only run lights for 5.5 hours, i have a good skimmer, i use a phosphate sponge and ro water. i do not over feed. what else can be causing the green color?

instead of vacuuming the sand, i'll just give it a good stir every water change then suck out the water and replace with fresh ro as i see fit. i thought you always had to vacuum! i had no idea.....