how do you keep your sand so clean?!

[hernluis]

how do you guys keep your sand so clean? mine is always covered in algae?
i have snails and hermits but the sand is not white!!

 

[LakeEd]

Welcome To Reef Frontiers Hernluis!!!

I keep my sand so clean, by NOT having any!!

I know... NOT the input you were looking for here... sorry. There will be many joining in here soon, that will give you their experiences... I just wanted to welcome you to Reef Frontiers!

 

[dnjan]

I have some clean sand and some dirty sand. The clean sand is where there is more flow ...

 

[ronj]

Welcome to the forum!!!!! i too have barebottom tank, so mine is very clean, but i used to keep sand in my tanks...if your tank is new, it could just be the cycle creating an algae bloom.....if the tank has been up for a while, it could be a nutrient or lighting problem(old bulbs)......either way, keep the sand vacuumed and test the water for nitrates and phosphates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! doing weekly or biweekly 20-30% water changes will help with the nutrient problems...these should be done anyway!! if you don't have a good protien skimmer, this will help with the nutrients and dissolved organics..also, if you are feeding alot, or have a huge bioload(too many fish), you may need to cut back on the feedings!!!

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Keep the sand clean by having many cleaners to mix it up.
Sand sifting star, misc sand sifting snails, lawnmower blenny digs in it.
Also have a spray bar in the back to blow across it.
I love the look of sand and think it is good for the clams and scallop.

I agree with Ron, the algae is not "dirty sand", it is too high a nutrient level in your water.

 

[ronj]

i wouldn't use a sandsifting star...most tanks don't have enough food for them to live on..i bought 2 of them when i first set up a reef..one died within a year, and the other wasn't very healthy..it's best to leave them in the ocean or a large, very aged tank.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Well Ron, your problem was self evident: 2 stars in a light load tank?
My one little star is happy, healthy, and always on the go. Finding that balance for your own tank is the key.

Now as to my large green/orange brittle star that came from a guy who's tank blew out? That takes some work to keep him fed so he avoids my other critters. Discovered him chewing on my Harlequin serpent one day. That was the last week I went without giving it something to eat.

 

[ronj]

oh, i agree that they can be kept, but in a mature tank...my tank was very new when i bought the stars and one lived for 2 years before i traded him back to the lfs..i just didn't want to advise him to put one in a newer tank

 

[Brenden]

Good sand stirring snails.

 

[steve-s]

oh, i agree that they can be kept

I don't. Sand sifting stars should not be kept except in very large systems. One star can quickly strip the fauna in a 100 gal tank is less than a few months.

 

[SueT]

I just added a sand sifting star to my tank and it is a workhorse. I can tell a major difference in under a week.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I don't. Sand sifting stars should not be kept except in very large systems. One star can quickly strip the fauna in a 100 gal tank is less than a few months.

Can you cite any studies on this? I have had mine for over 1/2 a year, mostly in a 90 AGA and no apparant losses to date.

 

[steve-s]

6 months is by no means successful nor any gauge of potential success in terms of keeping animals.

As for the study, I would be interested if you could come up with one that supported they could be kept successfully?

Here's one to the contrary with just a quick google search...
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rs/index.php

These stars need a significant variety of food for good health, and require a lot of food. The amount of animals in a rich sand fauna of a few square meters will support a 10 cm diameter star for no more than few months. Putting one of these animals into a tank with less than several square meters of sediment surface is condemning it to a slow death by starvation.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Thanks Steve. I did not claim success nor that mine had sufficient food naturally without supplemental feeding (along with the fish and inverts.)

My question was regarding your claim "One star can quickly strip the fauna in a 100 gal tank is less than a few months" and my anecdotal evidence to the contrary. Here are a coupe pics of mine. Even hammed for a direct shot

 

[burning2nd]

i clean my sand by me cleaning it.............

if i dont stirr a part for a while it will get darker then the rest..... my hermits an dsnails do some damge... but since my tank isnt DSB and it isnt BB theres really nothing liveing it but my barrared nassasus snails. so i stirr it as much as i can....

makes a nice storm the skimmer loves.........

 

[tike]

Ditto with LakeEd! I had sand for 3 years and it just gave me grief trying to keep it clean and also keep nutrients down so i ditched it Haven't had a problem since! I would post a pic but i am a little sensitive about my BB!:lol:

 

[hernluis]

what do you use now?

 

[Sherman]

I just added a tiger tali cucumber, and it's been AWESOME. That little guy is a serious work horse, and I'll never be without one again.

 

[zenn]

What about non-toxic Sea Cucumbers? I don't actually have one but I'm currently doing research because I'm looking to add one to keep the sand cleaner. I've found the Holothuria species to be a good candidate for the home aquarium. They aren't toxic and pose no threat if they die in the aquarium. Many other species can be a problem, but the Holothuria is not. Plus, I've heard from people that actually have them, that they do an excellent job in cleaning the top layer of the sand...while leaving the fauna and other DSB organisims alone.

I was at Coral Connection in New Orleans just a few weeks ago. They have a MAGNIFICANT...and I mean breathtaking ultra-aquarium in their store. The thing that impressed me most about it was the sand was so clean and natural looking. I asked what they did to get it like that, and he said they used fighting conches to clean the sand. I found out later that you need approx. a 2x2 area of open sand to support 1 fighting conch. So that would mean I could support one FC in my 75g setup.

HTH

 

[SueT]

my star is in my 120g tank thats been up since jan. 1998. I think it's well aged enough and the sand bed is roughly 3-4". It came from a reef tank that my maintenance guys had. It had been in that reef for years. Mine has constanly been on the move and submerged.