Stirring up the sand

[mikesroth]

Righty, could you post it in here. I would be curious to read up on it too.

Thanks....

 

[Anonymous]

i find my nassarius snails dont stir the sand well enough. i have plenty of deritus in there that keeps feeding cyano and does it regardless of the amount of light or flow i throw at it. if i stir it out it actually sits around looking like a brownish powder. the sand comes alive after i stir it. but i definately believe you need to stir your sand because it will get nasty enough in pockets that no critters want to even get near it.

stop overfeeding your system :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Stirring the sand is ok..every once in awhile..use a power head..it gets the detritus up and about..its a good thing for the filtration so it could suck it up..it also benefits the filter feeders...My clark clown has a nasty habit of doing this <stirring up the sand>

the reason why 'stirring' up the sand bed w/a powerhead is a very bad idea is the resulting disturbing of the various 'zones' that form in strata in the sand bed

the snails, cukes, et al that we call 'stirrers' don't exactly 'stir'.

it's more of a very gentle tunneling through, than it is a stirring.it occurs slowly enough so the various organism's preffered strata isn't ruined faster than they can adapt/migrate to

overturning aerobic zones and anoxic, anaerobic ones willy nilly is a great recipe for never letting an sb stabilize and mature properly

 

[Playdope]

Do you all find cukes to be the best guys to keep the sand bed white?

Jon

 

[Anonymous]

the reason why 'stirring' up the sand bed w/a powerhead is a very bad idea is the resulting disturbing of the various 'zones' that form in strata in the sand bed

the snails, cukes, et al that we call 'stirrers' don't exactly 'stir'.

it's more of a very gentle tunneling through, than it is a stirring.it occurs slowly enough so the various organism's preffered strata isn't ruined faster than they can adapt/migrate to

overturning aerobic zones and anoxic, anaerobic ones willy nilly is a great recipe for never letting an sb stabilize and mature properly

I stir mine regularly and don't have any problems (but like I said before, I would never 'stir' a sandbed that had been sitting for years). What do you mean by 'stabilize and mature properly'?

 

[Anonymous]

i refer to the establishment of the various 'zones/strata' of the sb, each of which supports different fauna from the most highly aerobic at the surface, to the highly anoxic near the bottom

different bacteria populate each 'zone'

if the anoxic zone is suddenly turned over and exposed to high O2 levels, what do you think happens to the anoxic (denitrifying) bacteria ?

 

[Anonymous]

i refer to the establishment of the various 'zones/strata' of the sb, each of which supports different fauna from the most highly aerobic at the surface, to the highly anoxic near the bottom

IIRC, it doesn't really work that way. The zones are more like pockets that aren't static, but move throughout the bed.

if the anoxic zone is suddenly turned over and exposed to high O2 levels, what do you think happens to the anoxic (denitrifying) bacteria ?

You can get problems - which is why I don't advocate 'stirring' beds that have been sitting a long time.

 

[Anonymous]

Righty, could you post it in here. I would be curious to read up on it too.

Thanks....

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... genumber=1

Its 35 pages and there is a lot of bs, but the upshot is the science behind Dr Ron style DSB's doesn't seem to exist, and that sand is like any other filter and can eventually 'fill up' and re release ickies back into the water.

 

[Anonymous]

i refer to the establishment of the various 'zones/strata' of the sb, each of which supports different fauna from the most highly aerobic at the surface, to the highly anoxic near the bottom

IIRC, it doesn't really work that way. The zones are more like pockets that aren't static, but move throughout the bed.

if the anoxic zone is suddenly turned over and exposed to high O2 levels, what do you think happens to the anoxic (denitrifying) bacteria ?

You can get problems - which is why I don't advocate 'stirring' beds that have been sitting a long time.

our memories differ, then

in a sand bed 5" or greater, i'm fairly certain that stratification has to occur, both w/regards to the types on environment, and the majority bacteria types-the bed at 4.5" can't be as aerobic an environment as it is at .5", with the 'stirring' that results from the typical fauna that live in it

i'd agree that the different environ preferring critters may migrate to an extent, but i'd imagine more of the movement is horizontal, rather than vertical

are you saying that a sandbed has an equal amount/proportion of aerobic and anoxic bacteria at .5" as it does at 4.5" ?

 

[Anonymous]

our memories differ, then

in a sand bed 5" or greater, i'm fairly certain that stratification has to occur, both w/regards to the types on environment, and the majority bacteria types-the bed at 4.5" can't be as aerobic an environment as it is at .5", with the 'stirring' that results from the typical fauna that live in it

That has been the common wisdom, but it appears that science doesn't back it up. Slog your way through the thread I linked, I think you will find it interesting.

are you saying that a sandbed has an equal amount/proportion of aerobic and anoxic bacteria at .5" as it does at 4.5" ?

IIRC, the depth has little to do with it, the anoxic areas can occur anywhere in the sand bed.