How do you keep the sand clean?

[CyberGuy]

I have these for my sands:

Well, in the first week the sand look pretty white and clean.
Now it has brown patchy areas and looked dirty.

What kind of animals/invertebrates can I put in the tank to stir the sand up a little bit and make it white again?

Also, will there be any side effects of putting those animals in?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

well first, so you know...many people here (including myself) think that live sand is just a gimmick to sell sand for more than regular price...because especially this stuff...when its sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, and when the shelves are often not optimal temps to keep the stuff alive (i'm in az...i'd hate to feal the shelves in minnesota lol..jk its prolly not much dif in the stores).
So my point is, by the time you get it in your tank, you're gonna have lots of die off...which will cause amonia/nitrates/whatever...thats whats feeding the algae on the sand. Test for nitrates phosphates (and might as well test nitrites too) and phosphates... Test at night tho, cuz the algae releases nutrients after the lights are off for a while...so you may get a reading of less than there really is dureing the day.

But also, with any live sand, when you stir it up, you're generally gonna get a bit of a spike in a couple things...i'd just think it'd be higher w/this stuff.

But last, how old is the tank? I'm guessing its very new since you just added sand? If so, i'd completely expect this algae outbreak (and a few more down the road too) cuz they're common in new tanks. So it may not be related to the sand at all...but just keep your nitrate and stuff down so that you know you dont have a problem.

Anyways, on how to get rid of it...cerith snails have worked wonders for me. They love the brown (diatom i'm assuming is what you got if its a new tank) algae in the sand and they pretty much demolished the stuff in my tank. Also, if your tank is cycled, maybe a diamond goby...but they're kinda big (just kinda) and they can shift the rocks around cuz they burrow...so be carefull w/them

hth

 

[nazzy_19]

I second cerith snails. May also wanna look into conches (i.e. Fighting conch) as they are also good sand cleaners as well.

 

[corals b 4 bills]

Tunze streams will beat it into submission!

 

[MayoBoy]

I take it you just added it recently? To a new tank possibly? If that's the case, it's a diatom bloom and will go away on it's own over time.

However, as mentioned above, add lots of snails, sand sifting stars, etc. You can also add gobies and other fish that will keep the sand bed stirred up.

 

[mthedude]

Steer clear of the sand sifting star and diamond goby if you want to keep pods or other beneficial organisms in your tank. If you don't care about pods these animals will definately keep your sand stirred and clean.

 

[PatrickJ]

flow. flow. flow.

 

[coralnut99]

Carribean Sea Cucumbers (hollothurians). Cheap, largely nocturnal and stick to the sandbed. They do a fabulous job in all of my systems. fwiw, I agree with the above observations of the bagged live sand being a gimmick. You have to believe that stuff is in the supply chain for months and under something less than ideal conditions for sealife of any sort.

 

[newreefbishop]

I have a Diamond Goby and he does a wonderful job keeping my sand white and clean....I also have a refugium so pod populations are unaffected......snails are ok...but goby works wonders.

 

[davocean]

Agree with sir dude guy.
LS will have a cycle from dieoff.
Lots of snails, good flow and a little time to cycle.

 

[UrbanSage]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8229395#post8229395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
well first, so you know...many people here (including myself) think that live sand is just a gimmick to sell sand for more than regular price...because especially this stuff...when its sitting on the shelf for who knows how long, and when the shelves are often not optimal temps to keep the stuff alive (i'm in az...i'd hate to feal the shelves in minnesota lol..jk its prolly not much dif in the stores).
So my point is, by the time you get it in your tank, you're gonna have lots of die off...which will cause amonia/nitrates/whatever...thats whats feeding the algae on the sand.

I cycled my 10 gallon in about no time using Arag-Alive.
The bag has an expired date on it to tell you how long it has been sitting on the shelf.
Temperature swings... sure, but its bacteria. It has a way of surviving.
What die off? Its not like its full of anything but bacteria. This dying off will only fuel the remaining bacteria. And unleasing it in a tank will not cause another die off.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8229395#post8229395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
But also, with any live sand, when you stir it up, you're generally gonna get a bit of a spike in a couple things...i'd just think it'd be higher w/this stuff.

This stuff is the exact same as what you will have after setting up another tank with "dead" sand and running it for a month.

The "live" part is simply bacteria which will colonize any kind of substrate after a short period of time.
Even if you go barebottom there will be a tiny layer of bacteria covering the bottom, just like any other surface of the tank.

This sand is good stuff. But the only advantage is that you can cycle a tank faster than with dry sand.

 

[davocean]

I agree with introducing some Livesand to speed up cycle, but you don't need much.
After helping many friends start up, I've found the fastest cycle happens when I just add a handful of live sand from an established tank to a bed of new sand.
All live sand will have alot of dieoff, and usually takes longer.

 

[areze]

if your getting algea that quickly something is amiss IMO. either the nutrients are coming in with the water your using(need an RO/DI then); or feeding(perhaps too much) the fish and not skimming.

otherwise a basic cycling tank should just have ammonia and maybe nitrate after 1 week. and certainly shouldnt have algea blooms till week 3 or 4.

 

[crabsy]

I like it cause you don't have to rinse it!

 

[Orm Embar]

I'd say that you have 2 options:

1. If you want a live sand bed with lots of critters turning the sand over, get a fauna kit from Inland Aquatics or similar and avoid conches/gobies/sand sifting stars - your sand gets cleaned by snails and 'pods.

2. Add a diamondback goby/sand sifting star/conch, realizing that they will decimate your 'pod population and alter the sandbed mechanics.

My vote would be #1, but that's me . . . you may want to read Shimek's article on sandbed setups and maintenance.

Lastly, if this is a new tank, partial water changes/good prtein skimmer/not overfeeding should be very helpful.

Good luck!

 

[reefez]

suck it all out and solve your problem

 

[kass03]

My nano got it on about week 2-3 and that tank never cycled.

For 1 thing if the tank is still cycling dont add anything yet or it will most likely die.
A new tank prolly would'nt have enough stuff in the sand for a sandsifter star to live.
It's pretty common for new tanks to do this so just wait until it's cycled and then add a cleanup crew with varied snails to take care of it.
Some people like hermits some don't cuz they can kill the snails for their shells if not provided with extra shells.
I added some nassarius snails, varied hermits and astrea snails (cuz it's a nano) but for hair algae like mexican turbos.
They took care of my sand and it's white again. Even the astreas ate the stuff on the sand.

kass