Detritus

[Ulta]

What are the negative effects of Detritus build up in your tank?

I added some new LR and stuff into my tank and realized I have lots of detritus build up in my crushed coral. Was just wondering what are the negatives of having this in your tank or will the microorganisms eventually keep it at bay?

So far the tank is running good and clean/clear. I cleaned out my Canister Filter(it was packed full of brown and dead stuff) Nitrates are at 2-3 ppm(which seems to be down slightly). Also if I look real close down in the crushed coral there seems to be a healthy population of pods down in there.

So does the detritus need to be cleaned out or can I just leave it be?
Its going to be a pain to try and clean it all out if that's what needs to be done >.<

 

[parrotchute]

It can start to deteriorate and lead to an ammonia/nitrate/phosphate spike.

A good clean up crew will help break it down further and further into microorganisms can take care of it. Also, you might want to increase your flow to keep the detritus in suspension to allow the filter to pick it up. I'd personally swap out the canister for a good skimmer.

I would def clean it out if you can. What kind of a clean up crew do you have? How much water movement?

 

[Tristan]

if nothing eats it, it will eventually lead to ammonia spike and raise your nitrates and it will lead to algae growth. its better you take out whatever you can with a siphon.

 

[Tristan]

ahh parrotchute beat me!

 

[Ulta]

What kind of a clean up crew do you have? How much water movement?

15 Blue Leg Hermits (which are depleting b/c I found one dead and other fighting @_@)
10 Asteria Snails
11 Cerith Snails

Been trying to get my buddy to get me a brittle star or 2 but hes slackin.

And I have 2x 1300 GPH powerheads + the return on my 350 canister filter

 

[parrotchute]

Try to adjust your powerheads so they point downward a bit and kick that detritus up.

 

[dcantucson]

Be sure to keep you canister filter clean. Clean it 1-2 times a week or it will lead to higher nitrates.

You could vacuum your sand bed using the canister intake too.

 

[sen5241b]

Leave your canister unhooked and use it temporarily for emergencies when you have some toxin like copper, ammonia, nitrates, etc that needs to be removed.

 

[andysgirl8800]

You can also consider a diamond goby and/or Nassarius snails, which will help keep your sand bed aerated and the detritus out.

 

[Alexander]

your cleaner crew is a good start, but for a 55g tank I wuld reccomend about 4x what you have currently. canister filters can be just fine..... you just need to make sure its cleaned regularly as stated above.

nitrates are at a totally acceptable level so far.

 

[Ulta]

Leave your canister unhooked and use it temporarily for emergencies when you have some toxin like copper, ammonia, nitrates, etc that needs to be removed.

That's my only filtration as of right now.

You can also consider a diamond goby and/or Nassarius snails, which will help keep your sand bed aerated and the detritus out.

I don't have a sand bed.

your cleaner crew is a good start, but for a 55g tank I wuld reccomend about 4x what you have currently. canister filters can be just fine..... you just need to make sure its cleaned regularly as stated above.

Ok, I was thinking they were doing pretty well tho... They keep my diatoms and any algae at bay pretty well. It was only the Detritus from when I was adding new LR and stirring up my crushed coral that I was worried about.

Who in the CUC is specifically useful for taking care of detritus(not algae) or more specifically even, in the crushed coral?

 

[daugherty]

youm said that you have cruched coral or am i wrong? that is your sand bed. crushed coral is the worst substrate that you can use because it traps everything in it as you are finding out

 

[Ulta]

OK yes I do, then my crushed coral is my "sandbed" I guess xD

So do nass snails crawl around in that too then?

 

[daugherty]

yes they bury them selves in it and eat what is in the sand and what is onto of it. another good cleaner is a few conch's

 

[dcantucson]

Dump the crushed coral!

 

[yote]

Dump the crushed coral!

Took the words right outta my finger tips.:D