[joecon]

Hi folks, when doing a water change, is it ok to just simply replace the water, or is there a need to "vacuum" the sand and the LR? I've been vacuuming, but someone told me even just simply siphoning the water is good enough. Please let me know.... Thanks!!!

[Ninong]

I wouldn't vacuum the sand bed unless you have a shallow crushed coral substrate. As far as the live rock is concerned, I routinely blasted it with a turkey baster maybe every two or three weeks or so but not in conjunction with water changes.

[reefhead]

Great Advise from Ninong!

[Lance]

Dont vac. the SB. IF SB is dirty and brown then you need to get it in order. More sandsifter better flow. Your SB will convert nitrate into harmless nitrogen but not if its dirty or the flow is low then it just becomes a nitrate collector.

[bongobrian]

Hi Joecon

Like the others said- most people don't usually vacuum if they have a fine sand bed. I just wanted to also point out that you don't have to vacuum the entire sand bed, but you can still siphon out undesirable things that might be on your sand and live rock. Things such as slime algae, any dead or decaying material, detritus, will benefit your tank if you remove it. You can usually find something that needs to be siphoned out if you look hard enough. Good luck.