What critter will keep the sand clean?

[steve9k]

My cleaning crew (urchins, turbo snails, hermits, some nassarius snails) keep my rock fairly clean, but I get a fair amount of algae buildup on the sand. Are there any critters that will keep the sand clean? (It's fine sand, like sugar).

I set up a refugium a few weeks ago -- am hoping that this will help counter the algae buildup eventually, though it hasn't had much effect yet (Nitrates around 5ppm).

 

[Southern Boy]

I see my blue leg reef crabs pickin through my sand alot.My sea cucumber never toaches the sand like he's supposed to .Also my airo crab spends some time down there.But mostly the blue legs.

 

[Whisperer]

Get a diamond goby. I had one that found his way to the overflow and str8 to the sump where he was trapped in the outflow tube and died. My sand has never been the same. Diatoms started to show up. I had to get me another and when I saw one at a local petco, I grabbed it. My sand is stirred up again and looking nice and clean.

 

[mnestroy]

Be warned, while a goby will keep your sand clean, he might make the rest of your tank a mess.

Mine would grab mouthful's of sand and swim up and release it everywhere...

I've had mine for 2yrs and I haven't seen him in 10days, I'm so hopping hes dead.

 

[Wett Hands]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10160711#post10160711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mnestroy
I'm so hopping hes dead.

Why do you hope your goby is dead?

 

[Whisperer]

I haven't seen that behavior . The ones I have and had so far sift the sand and stay where they are. The don't dig and spit somewhere else. My royal gramma does that but he's digging a cave for himself and he doesn't go too far.

 

[virginiadiver69]

Second the Diamond Goby. He is the hardest working member of my cleaning crew(yes, I consider him part of the cleaning crew). I do have to blow sand off of the rock at the BOTTOM of my tank but small price to pay for pristine white sand.

 

[t5Nitro]

You say pristine white sand. Is it like it looks out of the bag new? Can you post a picture? My sand always looks loaded with algae. I know I'm short some cleaning crew, could that be it too?

 

[wes_8_u]

yes, i was also interested in getting a goby to keep the sand clean. I'm interested to hear all the ups and downs of having one. I heard that you need to be provide them with extra supplements?

 

[rolyguy7]

I second viginiadiver69 and whisperer on the Diamond Goby. I have one on my 175Gal tank and he keeps my entire 200lbs sand bed clean. I had the same problem with sand getting dirty and diatoms until I added the Diamond Goby. He's by far the hardest worker at cleaning in my tank.

 

[cuddle fish]

I have a bullet goby and it's a great sand sifter and algae eater. I don't give my goby any extra supplements and it's still alive...in contrast to all my snails and crabs who kicked the bucket when I needed them the most.

 

[kaihonu82]

I have a diamond goby as well. When i first got him, I had no diatoms and he did a great job of consistenly turning the sandbed. Now I have some diatom growth and he seems to not touch the sand where there is algae. sort of annoying...

 

[Trigeek]

What do the Gobies eat when sifting the sand? Is it detritus, pods/worms, both??

 

[deege]

I have a horseshoe crab that I call "Dozer". He will dig deep enough that I wont see him for days then he will surface from the sand and get about 3-4 cm. of top sand and doze all around the tank. He does a great job!

 

[bucky145]

I had a medusa worm and the sift the sand/substrate through their entire body neat to watch and very effective in my opinion.

 

[kevin2000]

Best solution to chronic algae issues .. whether is on the sand or live rock is to focus on nutrient control. Try and limit whats going into the tank (cut back on feeding, use food with less phosphates, use RO water etc) and maximize exports (increase water changes, clean your filters more often, increase water flow).

Each time you make a water change you should ligtly blow your sand with a turkey baster .. try and get the algae and othe crud into the water column so you can siphon it out of the tank. You should also blow your rocks on a regular basis to get the accumulated debris into the water column where it can be filtered out.

Dirty sand is pretty std in new tanks ... gets better as your tank matures.

 

[mnestroy]

Found this pic on the net, so I can't have the only messy goby.

 

[drummereef]

steve9k, what are your phospates reading? Also do you use RO/DI or tap water?

 

[darkcirca]

I love my diamond goby. He does make a disaster, and makes the sand bed look wavy, but it looks neat in a sense. I'm surprised he hasn't crushed himself by digging under all the live rock. I'm just hoping he will move to the other side, as right now he likes only the right side of the tank. They are fun to watch though, as my snails will play games with him, going in his home and he has to remove them and spit them out, then they go and do it again and again until he puts them far far away. Silly goby.

 

[Tahlequah]

Here is a pic of my goby and his sand... I do have to remove some sand from my lower rock but only about every 3 days or so and it isnt very much.