Best Sand Cleaning for 40br?

[Spicer]

So here are the couple options I have been thinking about, and will most likely end with a COMBO of all of them...


Cucumbers?
Mass Nassarius?
Goby? Which one? (Diamond?)
Manual cleaning?


Hoping someone can chime in, I have fijipink sand.


I seem to be leaning towards a mix of nass, and a diamond goby.

Anyone have any input?

Sandbed is 1-1.5inch deep.

 

[yh1185]

usually cuc depends on what you like. What i've read about cucumbers are they're just ticking time bombs, so not best option. Snails are always good. Diamond goby is fine, but they time to do better with established systems, and if you get a big one, be ready for it wipe out your pod population in your sand, and be ready to feed it a lot. I think mine may have died of either starvation, or hopped out of my tank somewhere never to be found . But while i had him, definitely one of the most entertaining fish to watch. Another option would be a conch of some sort. Do some reading up on them. Lots of fun to watch as well.

 

[aleonn]

My fighting conchs, nassarius snails, and diamond goby keep my sand bed pretty clean (180g). You do need an established sand bed for any sand-sifting goby, though, and it helps if you can find one that eats prepared foods readily (I got mine from a fellow reefer who trained the goby to eat pellets). You might be able to house a fighting conch, although the general rule-of-thumb is one per 50 gallons.

 

[gbru316]

Siphon and gravel vacuum...

 

[LISound]

I have Fiji pink and put a conch in my 20g last week. Sand was clean in a day. That little animal is amazing. I would get one or two, but they need to eat. So if you don't have algae, it may not be a good idea. They love the film algae and some turf as well.
Really cool creature.

 

[SushiGirl]

In a 40 breeder I'd go with a fighting conch. We don't even keep nassarius snails anymore, or any other kind of sifter for that matter.

 

[Spicer]

Will be picking up a fighting conch or 2 this weekend, depending on size.

Thanks for the tips guys!

 

[SushiGirl]

I would just start with one unless they're really tiny. We have 2 good sized ones in our 55 & I have to supplement them so they don't starve. Ours are just under 2" long.

 

[TucanSam007]

Fighting conch and mass nass!

 

[Reefin' Dude]

Siphon and gravel vacuum...

+1

all of the other critters you listed actually deplete the sand bed of the critters that you want to help push the detritus deeper into the sand bed to prolong its viable life.

the exception to your list is the Nassarius snail, which are just hiding in the substrate. not a fan of them myself. a bit to opportunistic for my taste.

G~

 

[elegance coral]

Siphon and gravel vacuum...

I'll second that.:thumbsup:

 

[ddavies564]

I really like the sand sifting star in my 40br, he does an awesome job.

 

[SushiGirl]

Sand sifting stars quickly eat all the critters in the sandbed that help your tank out then slowly starve to death over 6 months to a year. Best left in the ocean or in large tanks that have been very well-established.

 

[rjcranor]

I have 3 nassarius and 1 conch