On the topic of sand bed, do you vac or not? I've read both, and how do you do it without a tsunami?
I have no reason to vac. Thanks to Rockgarden I have a very healthy community of detritovores living in the dsb (2"-4") Along with two or three Nassarius (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1763) snails which turn over the upper layer of aragonite looking for stuff to eat every night. By morning there is never a trace of poo or any other crap on the sand.
Only did it once - to get some sand to seed my other tank.
Otherwise, as kennyman mentioned - no need to touch it.
Regards