[TUCCI]

Update from my previous post; the longer my newly setup cycle ages, the more HS pockets are forming. You really can’t see the black areas on the substrate surface until you remove decor. I’m in the process of slowly removing a large percentage of the sand and mixing small gravel with it which gives it a more natural appearance. I’m doing it in phases so not to shake up my CLs too much. Thus far I’ve got an approx 60/40 mix with the gravel being the 60 (no more than 1” thickness). I don’t think I’ll eliminate all the pockets from forming but I’m hoping for less.

 

[EricTheRed]

I have Aragonite sand in my 125g Peacock and Hap tank. I always get a noticeable amount of detritus from the Aragonite when I vacuum the sand about every two weeks. The aragonite is very fine so a small amount always gets vacuumed up with the detritus into a 5 gallon bucket I use for the water changes. I fill this bucket up about six to seven times during every water change. The Aragonite that gets sucked up into the bucket, I carefully clean then return it to the tank. By the end of this process, my Aragonite sand looks pristine and I am good for another two weeks. I use 3 HOB filters ( a Tidal 110, Aquaclear 110, and a Marineland Emperor 400) but I don’t have a wave maker, so the detritus mostly lies on the surface of the sand, but enough gets buried that I find it worthwhile to vacuum all of the Aragonite sand during every water change. Listening to Podcasts while I work makes this two hour bi-monthly task, less of a chore.