Is it safe to siphon out my sandbed?

[Logzor]

I have been battling Dicyota algae for a long time now. I have a healthy 55g tank, no sump, running a CSS 125 HOB. 4x54 T5 lighthing.

I noticed that in some places on the sand that lack flow there is a massive amount of gray/brown colored detritus. Is it safe to just siphon out most of my sand? I think it is really hurting my system and trapping nutrients.

Here are some pics, the algae just grows all over the rocks. As you can see everything does very well in my tank but this algae just loves to grow everywhere.

http://fc80.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/221/8/d/Trumpet_Coral_by_Logzor.jpg

http://fc47.deviantart.com/fs35/i/2008/237/0/f/Bottlebrush_Acro_by_Logzor.jpg

FTS (OLD):

http://fc35.deviantart.com/fs27/i/2008/162/4/1/tank_shot_June_7th_2008_by_Logzor.jpg

[SaltyDr]

No problem siphoning out the sand bed - just don't disturb too much of it at once. Nice tank BTW>

[Logzor]

Thanks! I just scraped about 3 pounds of xenia from the glass and cleaned things up a bunch, looks way better.

Ive resorted to feeding my tank small amounts twice a day and farming chaeto to helpfully remove some nutrients.

I try to blow off the rocks but the skimmer is not able to suck out the heavy particles so it just settles. I figure that if I siphon out the sandbed I can blow off the rocks and then siphon the glass.

[crvz]

I siphon the glass regularly, as I don't have any sand in the tank. I'd recommend removing it slowly, though, maybe a fourth of it at a time over a number of weeks.

[chimmike]

i'm not sure what your CUC consists of, but my hermits do an incredible job of getting rid of standing detritus.

[Darth Gator]

I have siphoned out the sand bed lots of times. I dont think you would even need to go all the way down to the bottom. Once you suck it enough the CUC may be able to catch up.

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13454021#post13454021 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
I siphon the glass regularly, as I don't have any sand in the tank. I'd recommend removing it slowly, though, maybe a fourth of it at a time over a number of weeks.


yep i agree, shouldnt be a problem just be a bit cautious:)