should i clean sand when changing water

have read that i should clean sand when i do water changes is this right and how to do as worried about any nasties ie sucking it up pardon the phrase what should i use is there a tool or ?

 

really shouldnt clean the sand. digging through a deep sand bed will release unwanted and dangerous nutrients in the tank. look into a clean up crew of crabs snalis etc to take care of it. or some sand sifter speiecs like sleeper gobies or sand starfish and plenty others.

 

depends on how deep your sand bed is. If it is a SSD 2.5" or less then yes, you could clean it. I would not however. It would remove any good critters hiding in it.

 

+1 to 2reef. I would not stir it as Sodium Hydroxide and other junk can build up in the sand if it is not worked over regularly. I had an issue recently where I introduced a Diamond Goby after not having anything in the tank as a sand sifter for a while....my pH went crazy and I lost a few corals and a feather duster due to the massive change in perams (the sad thing was that I knew this and instead of removing the sand I did it anyway...DUH!!!). I would get a good CC and a hard working sand sifter (Diamond Goby, Pink Spotted Goby, any type of sleeper Goby are best) and be prepared to do a few water changes when you introduce them and as they begin to work the sand so you don't get crappy water (that is unless your tank is fairly newly set up).

 

I wouldn't touch the sand..like NU-2reef said..let a professional do it like a sleeper goby! These guys will clean your entire sandbed in no time

 

Nassarius snails are invaluable to sand beds. They are the only cleaning your sand needs.

 

i "clean" mine regularly by blasting it and my rocks with a powerhead,however if i ran a deep bed i wouldn't, my substrate is a mix of fine sand.aragonite,and golfball size pieces of granite,every time i blast the sandbed i am glad i did and can never believe the amount of crap that has built up in it, i run a mechanical filter whenever i do this(pretty much monthly)and always wipe any salt creep off my bulbs also,once everything is stirred up real good i do my "large" (40%) water change, i call it a "tropical storm" and would recommend doing it for any tank without a dsb as part of regular maintenance, just think of all the gunk that isnt going to be breaking down in there after doing it

 

I had a goby for awhile and just let him do the cleaning. But now that I don't have one, I lightly stir the top layer of my sand bed once a week. I only do about 1/4 of the sand bed area though, never the whole thing. Granted I don't have a deep sand bed either.