How do i clean my sand???

[Pickles]

So my tank just went through really UGLY brown algae outbreak (they one that happens to everyone!). Anyway, no new algae is forming anymore and my sand is disgusting. I have about 15 snails and a little crab but none seem to be doing anything for the sand. Is there some way that I can manually clean the sand?

 

[plack]

Just siphon it during a water change !



Paul

 

[Pickles]

Ok so I will try to syphon it. What do I use to do that with. is there a special salt water syphon? Is there a syphon that wont take all my sand out? Or do I just use any only syphon sold at any old pet store?

 

[mfinn]

I use the long one.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3728+3761+3889&pcatid=3889

 

[Sascha D]

Well theres two way to do it. You can siphon the water out into a green or white fish net and rinse manually using full pressure on the siphon. You could also reduce the flow of the siphon so it doesn't pick up as much sand. Mainly you just watch the sand in the tube, when it gets high you raise the tube and the sand will fall out.

 

[warforged]

I had the same problem with my white sand...

I picked up Nesarious (Spelling??) snails, Sand sifting starfish, and a Sand Sifting Goby..

That goby is a work horse...in less than 48 hours he had all my tanks sand turned over and white again.... he is awsome... I suggest getting one.

 

[Pickles]

I had the same problem with my white sand...

I picked up Nesarious (Spelling??) snails, Sand sifting starfish, and a Sand Sifting Goby..

That goby is a work horse...in less than 48 hours he had all my tanks sand turned over and white again.... he is awsome... I suggest getting one.

As soon as my ich problem goes away, I will pick one up!

 

[aquariumdebacle]

The only way to get sand clean is to remove a portion of it every year. Phosphates adsorb onto the calcium particles taking them out of the water column but when the sandbed gets full they release it back into the water column until it reaches equilibrium. In an old sandbed it is continually leaving the sandbed and into the water column feeding the algae.

 

[Sascha D]

The only way to get sand clean is to remove a portion of it every year. Phosphates adsorb onto the calcium particles taking them out of the water column but when the sandbed gets full they release it back into the water column until it reaches equilibrium. In an old sandbed it is continually leaving the sandbed and into the water column feeding the algae.

He has a new tank and I think he just meant how does he get rid of the brown algae on his sand.

If you keep your sandbed clean, manually or by animals then you shouldn't have a big problem with it. I had a Dragon Goby that was pretty awesome at turning the sand but I mostly did it by hand.

 

[Pickles]

He has a new tank and I think he just meant how does he get rid of the brown algae on his sand.

If you keep your sandbed clean, manually or by animals then you shouldn't have a big problem with it. I had a Dragon Goby that was pretty awesome at turning the sand but I mostly did it by hand.

Ok, I have heard mixed opinnions on turning the sand. One dude told me to NEVER touch the sand and others have said its ok to do so. I am so confused,

~MISS Pickles~

 

[Sascha D]

Well it depends what you have. You should NEVER turn a deep sand bed because it would ruin all the reasons why you have a DSB, unless you want to effectively create chaos in your tank.

If you have a few inches of sand for show or for your livestock, its okay to turn your sand as well as it is okay to siphon your sand when you do your water changes. Its not a good idea to turn your sand if you have years of gunk and debris in it hehe.

 

[Sascha D]

I had the same problem with my white sand...

I picked up Nesarious (Spelling??) snails, Sand sifting starfish, and a Sand Sifting Goby..

That goby is a work horse...in less than 48 hours he had all my tanks sand turned over and white again.... he is awsome... I suggest getting one.

Alot of websites and databases don't mention that large grain sand is not safe for sand sifters. You should also avoid adding crushed coral and should remove tiny bits of rock if you see them because they will kill your gobies.

 

[Pickles]

Well it depends what you have. You should NEVER turn a deep sand bed because it would ruin all the reasons why you have a DSB, unless you want to effectively create chaos in your tank.

If you have a few inches of sand for show or for your livestock, its okay to turn your sand as well as it is okay to siphon your sand when you do your water changes. Its not a good idea to turn your sand if you have years of gunk and debris in it hehe.

Not to sound stupid but I am new to this...what are the reasons for a deep sand bed and what is considered to be a deep sand bed? I hope to someday have a orange spotted shrimp gobey and a shrimp to accompany him. Will I need a deep sand bed?

 

[Sascha D]

A DSB is roughly 4+ inches and I have heard of people going up to 7 inches. People use them for beneficial bacter filtration. It also acts as a refuge for pods and organisms to breed, away from predators that would normally extinguish a population within the confines of the home aquarium. Some animals also require a fair amount of sand to make burrows, like your shrimp DSB also can have layers and can also be made of alot of different things, to include mud.

I don't have any experience with a shrimp/goby relationship. Hopefully someone else can chime in on the burrow requirements.

 

[Pickles]

A DSB is roughly 4+ inches and I have heard of people going up to 7 inches. People use them for beneficial bacter filtration. It also acts as a refuge for pods and organisms to breed, away from predators that would normally extinguish a population within the confines of the home aquarium. Some animals also require a fair amount of sand to make burrows, like your shrimp DSB also can have layers and can also be made of alot of different things, to include mud.

I don't have any experience with a shrimp/goby relationship. Hopefully someone else can chime in on the burrow requirements.

Oh great! Thanks for the explanation!

 

[warforged]

Alot of websites and databases don't mention that large grain sand is not safe for sand sifters. You should also avoid adding crushed coral and should remove tiny bits of rock if you see them because they will kill your gobies.

I have the fine sand and large rocks =) so im ok on my part...glad you mentioned this because I forgot about those things.

I purposely took tonga rocks and broke them to make bases for flat rocks I have...so if they do go make a cave...it doesnt pancake my fish.

thanks for the catch on cautions.

 

[mnewby]

i would recomend the diamond goby they do good at working all the dirt out of your sand and keeping it looking nice had a problem with cyan bactirea out brake caused by low water movemnet and build up of dekayinmg mater in the sand once i added the dimand goby adtional pump for water flow and some addintanl snails and hermit crabs

 

[Sascha D]

i would recomend the diamond goby they do good at working all the dirt out of your sand and keeping it looking nice had a problem with cyan bactirea out brake caused by low water movemnet and build up of dekayinmg mater in the sand once i added the dimand goby adtional pump for water flow and some addintanl snails and hermit crabs

...and they're cute too!

 

[warforged]

...and they're cute too!

yah I like watching him.... my sand looks so nice.... sometimes he looks like a chipmunk with all the stuff in his mouth his cheeks bump out like a chipmunk or hamster with a full mouth.

They are pretty nice dudes to....