Cleaning a Sand bed

[wwest]

ok i have always cleaned my ysand bed with a syphon and a kitchen sifter. both always get the water all clouding and dirty. does anyone have any suggestions on cleaning a sand bed? the way i do it works but it takes awhile and the waters nasty afterwards. thanks in advance..

[CarmieJo]

I just clean little bits of my DSB with the syphon (gravel cleaning type) each time I do a water change.

[V]

if u didn't check whats in the sand to start with, try running the magnet through the small areas ur disturbing with your cleaning, any heavy elements should stick for extraction if u didn't check at the start

[V]

prob best to map visualise zones in the tank for cleaning, & do what ever u chose to do to clean those zones, but target the next zone on what ever time frame u chose next

[stang5_o2002]

I just got done doing a wc on all 3 tanks. I always just syphon the top layer of sand, then when the waters nasty i run filter pads in the hob power filter to clear the water back up. Im interested to hear if anyone has a better\easier way to do it too.

[Amphibious]

I clean my sand bed using a piece of 3/4" OD rigid clear pipe. Holding my thumb over the end I sink it deep into the sand and release my thumb. Here's a series of pics....



I push the pipe into the sand and release my thumb.



The sand rises into the pipe.



Let the sand settle to the bottom of the pipe.



Allow the sand to drop out of the pipe.



Then slowly raise the pipe to allow the crude to flow into the water column. By doing this I'm feeding the filter feeders. Any excess goes into the overflow and is trapped in the filter pad.

Dick

[Rob]

for those with a DSP Ampibious's way is the best i have found
if you have a DSB you don't want to attack it all with a gravel cleaner as you will remove ALOT of the beneficial bacteria and life in there.

however if it is a shallow sand bed, then regular cleaning with one of those gravel cleaners or syphon is usually the best option

[V]

Man this subject is massive, here goes...lol
Cytoplasmic membrane (CM), and Intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) systems!
These two fancy words actually mean something in regards to bactera, even more specific, anerobic bactera. without getting into to much of the tech mumbo jumbo, its easyest way to describribe it is like our own skin, with the upper layers connected to the lower levels. with vesicles, tubules, or thylakoid-like sheets bridging the gaps! now just below the ICM (skin) there are pigment-proteins that use light and oxygen tension to regulate the formation of the ICM, such that ICM formation is induced when the oxygen tension is lowered and the most extensive ICM development occurs during the textbook anaerobic periods. (low oxygen levels)

Now a typical anaerobic phototrophic bacteria contains both Carotenoids and bacteriochlorophyll. once again without getting into all the mumbo jummbo, these are both the bulding blocks & the vehicel that transfer light energies into another form of usable energy the bactera can use! If u could see it , it would most likely look like a lighting storm between low clouds & highter ones.
In processing terms the closest example would be like plants, we all did high school science, u should have an idea...lol
There are other factors in play, actually, alot of other factors, like Quintones & Cytocromes, but thats left alone, mainly cause my head hurts...lol

aerobic phototrophic bacteria is the flip side of the coin, the carry out anoxygenic photosynthesis under aerobic conditions. although the presence of Bchl in cells is a property shared with the anaerobic phototrophic bacteria, the aerobic phototrophic bacteria cannot use light as the sole source of energy under normal conditions. Taking into account that most of the common species bactera are strictly aerobes, the best growth is obtained with organic substrates being the main source of carbon and energy. during the last 10 to 15 years, the number of aerobic phototrophic species characterized has increased greatly, resulting in two marine and six freshwater genera, all of which are phylogenetically located in the >α subclass of the Proteobacteria. although this may seem in dirrect contridiction with what we belive to be happening in our tanks, it is in fact the diversity of the species that allow for muiltible functions as a whole.
light is in fact used by aerobic bacteria as a supplementary source of energy, these bacteria could be called photoheterotrophs. however, the sense of the term “photoheterotrophy” for anaerobic phototrophic bacteria and for the aerobic phototrophic bacteria differs significantly.

Light is thought to be the major source of energy (ATP) for anaerobic purple phototrophic bacteria during anaerobic photoheterotrophic growth, whereas organic compounds are the source of substrates oxidized to provide reducing power and intermediates for biosynthetic anabolism. furthermore, most anaerobic purple phototrophic bacteria are capable of photoautotrophic growth, whereas aerobic phototrophic bacteria are not. all the available data indicate that in aerobic phototrophic bacteria an organic substrate is used as the main source of energy,using carbon for biosynthesis independently of the presence of light. They both have crossing factors during the course of their lifecyles.

So, the short of it is, what we belive to be 100% true about bactera seems not to be the case, but where it applies here is that with our DSD, Atomspheric pressures do a part and max growth is attained under the longest running anerobic conditions we can achieve!
now, im off to work. have a good night folks!

[V]

nice posting by the way Amp! it looks like u dont touch the bed oftern though

[Amphibious]

You are absolutely correct, V, and very astute. I combine a little cleaning of the DSB with feeding the filter feeders. I may only "clean" a few square inches at a time and about once a week at most. I chose a different area each time.

I have to confess, reading your post gave me heart thrombosis, thought I was going to die or worse throw-up from overload. I'm beginning to understand why my Father refused to send me on to higher learning. He, a college educated man himself, knew I'd never make it. All he ever encouraged me to do Was, "Get yourself a good trade, you'll never be out of work." So, I became a pipefitter.

Thanks for the lecture/explanation. What is it that you do down under???

[V]

I've seen alot of people in the trade earn alot more that that educated people thats for sure! education is one thing, trade is another, life skills meet somewhere in the middle. your achievements Amp must be good, because you seem happy,youv'e still got your finger in everyones pie, & u love & have an understanding for the hobby more than anyone i know!
As for what i do, im a joker with a pay master job for one of if not the biggest transport company within australia on the verg of a promotion. & id give it all up tommorow to become a marine biologist or something along those lines, or maybe a games tester by day , porn star by night.i havn't quite decieded yet...lol

[Amphibious]

Thanks V. I have done OK by the trade route. In the trade, I was most happy running a crew of men, I liked the challenge of laying out work, figuring the best route to run pipe, setting equipment, etc. I was a working foreman, I worked with my men, Had to, to keep some of them working.

[fat walrus]

Amp, if you come clean my live sand bed, you get first dibbs at any baby dragons!

[Amphibious]

Woo Hoo, you can expect me there this afternoon!

[fat walrus]

Originally Posted by Amphibious

Woo Hoo, you can expect me there this afternoon!

since you only clean a couple inches at a time, by the time you're done, that baby eel will have died from old age. haha