Wade Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 How often do you all stir your substrate up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I don't stir it. I siphon it. about 30% per water change which is every 2 or third week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 I've got a mandarin and don't want to lose any pods. It's my understanding that if you've got an inch or less of substrate that you should simply stir it up once in a while to kick the detritus into the water column so it can be filtered out. I'm just curious if that's once a week or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Yeah ornamental sandbeds can pretty much be stirred up in pieces here and there. I try to do the same with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 When you say in pieces, do you mean just do like 25% one week, 25% another, etc. or more/less often? What's your process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Pretty much. I'm not too scientific about it. Like you I don't want to vaccum out pods, Just plunge my long aquascaping tongs in once a week or so at a different spot and gently agitate the sand till clouds of detritus get pulled up and suspended. The corals actually seem to respond real well and almost get instantly more vibrant and show great polyp extension. I can only assume it triggers a feeding response due to the makeup and particle size of what gets stirred up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 ok cool. I did about 75% of the tank today for the first time so I'm sure I created a little nutrient spike, but everything looks ok and the water cleared up in about an hour. I'l do smaller sections next time. Maybe 25% every three or four days so I cover the whole tank in a two week period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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