How do you guys keep your sand so clean?

[ZANYMASTER]

I have 2#4's and one #2 in the middle and still getting brown crap on the bottom.What's your secret?Inverts?what?

 

[adamrose]

i had some diatom bloom on my sand for a bit.... It would appear around 2 pm every day after the lights were on for a few hours.

I battled it by: getting a phosban reactor, feeding less (every other day) and doing one day of lights out.

now my sand is spotless and white.

 

[noelskii]

get a yellow head goby

 

[tosiek]

You usually see diatoms through exess waste, high nutrients, higher Po4, sugars (silicates?) in the water and a bunch of things. It also usually happens through the nitrate cycle, forgot how it links exactly but alot of people see it more around the first few months of the tank beeing up. Higher flow is only one solution. Could also be through the same reason cyano has hit everyone which everyone thinks is just a weather change. Also, something to think about, Diatoms feed off sugars in the water.

Improve filtration, lower your light cycle, and don't feed as much. Stir it up because they cause some type of nitrate or ammonium (i think) which builds as it breaks something down. or is that cyano....I forgot. but hope this helps a little, wasn't too concrete on reasons why but that will make you research diatoms. =0) mwahahaha...

 

[wayne]

algae contractor...........................

this is how i keep my sand clean another option for you..............

 

[mray]

Cerith snails are worth their weight in gold.

 

[BroRage]

nassirus snails

 

[marki24]

pour some bleach :lol2:

 

[JLAudio]

I have an old diatom filter and it works wonders! I stir up all the sand and let it do its thing. I do this a few times, till its crystal clean, and leave it one for about 6 hours to clean the water column good. A really nice old school piece of machinery

 

[jcurry]

I used to stir my sand bed in the early "90's because I think it was Wilkerson said it was a good way to feed your corals. I ended up have a lot of algae blooms and stopped stirring it. Instead I now rely on Cerith snails & 2 tiger tail cucumbers.
You have to be careful stirring the sand. If disturb it too much you'll expose all that anaerobic bacteria to oxygen and kill them, resulting in an algae bloom. Lightly moving the surface of the sand to the diatoms in the water column might be alright though.

 

[mray]

I recommend cerith snails over nassarius snails for one reason: cerith snails dig into the sand on a diagonal while nassarius in my experience usually dig in vertically.

 

[JLAudio]

I used to stir my sand bed in the early "90's because I think it was Wilkerson said it was a good way to feed your corals. I ended up have a lot of algae blooms and stopped stirring it. Instead I now rely on Cerith snails & 2 tiger tail cucumbers.
You have to be careful stirring the sand. If disturb it too much you'll expose all that anaerobic bacteria to oxygen and kill them, resulting in an algae bloom. Lightly moving the surface of the sand to the diatoms in the water column might be alright though.

hmmm, interesting point maybe I should rethink my methodology

 

[jhale]

i got a sand sifting goby. he moves the entire sand bed every 3 days.
algae does not have a chance to grow with him on the job.

 

[Seadog09]

Algae

I recommend cerith snails over nassarius snails for one reason: cerith snails dig into the sand on a diagonal while nassarius in my experience usually dig in vertically.

I have to correct you on one point here. Cerith snails do nothing for the sand. Cerith snails are mostly on the glass or on the rocks they rarely touch the sand unless they fall off the glass. Nassarius snails live in the sand and are perfect for turning over the sand. As for algae i would recommend less feedind ,maybe 2 day and lights out for a couple days.Thats how i clear up my algae on the sand.:splitspin

 

[mray]

Don't know about you but mine bury themselves in sand.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

As for the goby,will my mystery wrasse bother it?

 

[uncle deisel]

clean sand

dillution is the sullution to pollution.water changes is the best answer to all your needs.

 

[uncle deisel]

i got a sand sifting goby. he moves the entire sand bed every 3 days.
algae does not have a chance to grow with him on the job.

how big is your tank for only one to do the job thats pretty good.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Again,will my wrasse or mandarin bother it?

 

[nanoreefer22]

Got a sand sifting star at the swap and its doing an amazing job on the sand. He keeps it stirred and doesn't make sand go everywhere.