Keeping Sand White?

[tdgates10]

May be a dumb question, but how do you keep your sand looking pure white? I use RO/DI water with 10% water changes weekly. Have plenty of water turnover. I try and put flow over the sand but then it goes everywhere and I end up with holes in the sand.
Any advice?

 

[NC2WA]

Not saying this is the correct way of doing it, but I use a mixture of sand sifting starfish, nassarius snails and sand sifting gobies. My sand is very white.

 

[tdgates10]

See, I've wanted to add the sand sifting stars, but I heard that the kill important things in your sand? That could be bull, but I have no clue.

 

[NC2WA]

Define "kill important things in your sand" please.

It may be true, that they will eat detriusa and fauna in the sand and once it is depleted, they will starve. But that is not the same as "kill important things in your sand".

 

[trido]

I have a few nassarius snails and a sand sifting goby.

 

[tdgates10]

I'm not sure. All I was told is that they take too much of the good stuff out of your sand? It doesn't seem like my nassarius snails and conch's are doing enough to the sand

 

[jake65]

are you saying your just getting current blown holes in your sand or are you gettin algae over it?

 

[NC2WA]

well, I would like to get a clarifying statement on what exactly what "they" meant by killing the good stuff. I might be able to assist further.

 

[tdgates10]

It looks like diatoms, but a real thin layer, which is only in spots where there isn't good sifting or current going on.

 

[NC2WA]

you want to remove diatoms, this is a good thing.

 

[tdgates10]

Whats the best way to remove a thin layer of diatoms?

 

[burning2nd]

the changes color when it becomes... Live sand...

white sand.... is nothing sand is it not?

 

[Brenden]

When sand becomes live it does not change color.

 

[tdgates10]

When you buy the sand, it's live (if you buy it that way) and it's white.

 

[NC2WA]

is this a new tank?? a diatom bloom is normal for a new tank that is just set up. give it time it will correct itself in several weeks.

However, it is a seasoned tank, then you need to find out the cause of the bloom. Water parameters? Over feeding? Nitrate and phosphate levels?? If you are using a RO/DI unit, do the sediment or carbon filters need to be change??

 

[tdgates10]

I upgraded to a 180 about 3 months ago but transfered all rock from and some sand from my previous tank about 8 months old. All my parameters are good, but I just looked at my TDS meter and i'm reading about 14ppm. Do you think that would be the cause?

 

[Sherman]

14ppm coming out of your RO?! Yeah, that's bad.

I have had AWESOME success with tiger tail cucumbers. I had one in a 38g, before it split. Now, both of them are in my 120g. A friend has a 240g that started with one tiger tail several years back, and now has at least 6. I've also had decent success with cerith snails. IME, the nassarius are scavengers, meat eaters, and don't make much difference to the white sand. The best success for me, however, has come from adjusting the flow so that the sand is always slightly shifting around. It's stayed super white this way.

See here:

 

[NC2WA]

Looks like you may have found a source.