Queen Conch sand stirring effectiveness?

[MarineTeng]

I want to put a sand bed in my upcoming tank, and was wondering how these compared to Nassarius snails, some sites i've read say a Nassarius snail for every 2 gallons or so, and a queen conch for like 10 or 20 i don't remember the number off hand, i want to keep my sand as clean as possible (plz no dsb vs bb debate)

 

[Sherman]

I've had nassarius vibex snails in my tank for quite some time. I stocked up with about 20 of them just over a year ago, but only about a half dozen are left. They seem to be more of a meat eating scavenger than a sand cleaner, in my experience. Don't get me wrong, I love these snails, but I'm not convinced they're sand sifters, even though they will submerge completely into the sand bed. Same with ceriths. Great snails.

I've been thinking about a tiger tail cucumber for some time now, and will probably do something about it soon. These don't appear to have the same "nuke your tank" potential as many cucumbers, and are extremely effective sand stirrers. Just food for thought.

 

[JC Pollman]

I have had a queen for amost 2 years: it does not stir the sand. They also need alot of territory: most say you need at least 16 square feet of bottom area or the poor thing will starve. I have also had fighting conches, and again, no sand stirring.

 

[Aquatic Guru]

I have about 10 conch snails but if you want clean sand....get a sand sifting goby.

 

[MarineTeng]

what kinda do you suggest for a 30 gallon tank, is there any special care for them i should know about? liveaquaria.com says some of them need 50 gallons with an attached refuge w/ pods, and my fuge will get pods slowly, but i should probably start stirring at the beginning so no algae builds up right?