petieaztec
Member
I need some opinions, should i wait for my algea to die off or should i keep sand sifting? It looks really gross and if it kills itself off then i would rather go with that but... if it never goes away then bummer. let me know.
Algea on Sand
- Thread starter petieaztec
- Start date
alyssia
Active Member
Originally Posted by Jon321
Sand sifting stars arnt good. It wont really go away on its own, although it will not be as bad as the tank matures. Id recommend brittle/serpent stars, nassarius/cerith snails, conches, any small hermits. All those are hardy, popular, and recommended sand sifters.
Jon
Sand sifting stars also eat the beneficial things in your sandbed, then they starve to death.
Sand sifting stars arnt good. It wont really go away on its own, although it will not be as bad as the tank matures. Id recommend brittle/serpent stars, nassarius/cerith snails, conches, any small hermits. All those are hardy, popular, and recommended sand sifters.
Jon
Sand sifting stars also eat the beneficial things in your sandbed, then they starve to death.
J
jdragunas
Guest
sandsifting stars will starve to death, and rays need a 300+ gallon tank... getting animals to clear it is a solution, but it sounds to me like you need more circulation across your sandbed. How many powerheads do you have, and where are they placed in your tank? Also, what size is your tank?
petieaztec
Member
Originally Posted by jdragunas
sandsifting stars will starve to death, and rays need a 300+ gallon tank... getting animals to clear it is a solution, but it sounds to me like you need more circulation across your sandbed. How many powerheads do you have, and where are they placed in your tank? Also, what size is your tank?
right now only one power head is grazes the sand a little and i don't know the powerhead strength. i could let you know tommorrow. I have snails, hermitcrabs and an urchin but none of them work. I only have a thirty gallon so i don't want a ray because it would not have sufficent room in my opinion. I also have heard that sea stars are pretty hard to keep alive?
sandsifting stars will starve to death, and rays need a 300+ gallon tank... getting animals to clear it is a solution, but it sounds to me like you need more circulation across your sandbed. How many powerheads do you have, and where are they placed in your tank? Also, what size is your tank?
right now only one power head is grazes the sand a little and i don't know the powerhead strength. i could let you know tommorrow. I have snails, hermitcrabs and an urchin but none of them work. I only have a thirty gallon so i don't want a ray because it would not have sufficent room in my opinion. I also have heard that sea stars are pretty hard to keep alive?
J
jdragunas
Guest
don't get a star, and as i said before, rays need 300+ gallon tanks. Snails and hermit crabs don't really munch on algae, they eat leftover food. You really need to get more flow going over your sand. I would get 2 powerheads, and put them near the bottom of each side wall of the tank. Point them toward the opposite side so they flow across the sand. That'll keep stuff from settling on the sand.
OR if you're able, you could create something with PVC piping that will flow across the entire bottom of your sand easily. If you're interested, lemme know.
OR if you're able, you could create something with PVC piping that will flow across the entire bottom of your sand easily. If you're interested, lemme know.
petieaztec
Member
thanks, I will get some more powerheads because big projects scare me BUT.. if that doesn't work i will probably ask you about the PVC piping idea. i will let you know how it turns out. Peeps
J
jdragunas
Guest
the PVC thing isn't a big project at all... it's actually quite easy.
saltwater8
Member
If I have a 150 gallon tank and a sand bed of 3 inches, what kind of powerheads do I need near the bottom on the tank? How strong, etc? And how can I hide them?
J
jdragunas
Guest
i would get 5 powerheads. Put one on each of the sidewall corners toward the bottom and put the other in the bottom-middle of the backwall facing forward. as for hiding it, it's possible to put LR in front of them, just make sure the flow is still strong enough to flow through it. You could possibly put LR on each side of the powerhead and then one on top, so it's like a cave over the LR.
you could also look into a closed loop setup.
you could also look into a closed loop setup.
saltwater8
Member
Originally Posted by jdragunas
i would get 5 powerheads. Put one on each of the sidewall corners toward the bottom and put the other in the bottom-middle of the backwall facing forward. as for hiding it, it's possible to put LR in front of them, just make sure the flow is still strong enough to flow through it. You could possibly put LR on each side of the powerhead and then one on top, so it's like a cave over the LR.
you could also look into a closed loop setup.
That seems like a lot of current?
What is a closed loop setup?
i would get 5 powerheads. Put one on each of the sidewall corners toward the bottom and put the other in the bottom-middle of the backwall facing forward. as for hiding it, it's possible to put LR in front of them, just make sure the flow is still strong enough to flow through it. You could possibly put LR on each side of the powerhead and then one on top, so it's like a cave over the LR.
you could also look into a closed loop setup.
That seems like a lot of current?
What is a closed loop setup?
J
jdragunas
Guest
you should have a 15x's turnover rate for your tank, so 15 x 150 = 2250. If your filter is about 600, that leaves you with another 1650gph you need. Most powerheads are 300gph, so with 5, your total is 2,100, which is just about right. This will help to keep your sand clean, and to aerate your tank properly.
A closed loop incorporates powerheads and PVC to create a current through your tank. A simple is basically a powerhead hooked up to some PVC with holes drilled in it, like the attached pic. As the water flows from the powerhead through the PVC (which is capped at the end, btw), it is forced out of the drilled holes, hence creating waterflow without having so many powerheads.
There are more complicated ones, but i'm not too familiar with those, you can check out the DIY forum.
A closed loop incorporates powerheads and PVC to create a current through your tank. A simple is basically a powerhead hooked up to some PVC with holes drilled in it, like the attached pic. As the water flows from the powerhead through the PVC (which is capped at the end, btw), it is forced out of the drilled holes, hence creating waterflow without having so many powerheads.
There are more complicated ones, but i'm not too familiar with those, you can check out the DIY forum.
J
jdragunas
Guest
woah there tiger, calm down now... i didn't say you told him to get a ray. All i said was for him not to get a ray. It could be easily construed that you meant that and i didn't want him to think he could have a ray in a 30 gallon tank... you should calm down before responding
petieaztec
Member
i thought like J, that you were recomending a ray as well. but sometimes when we say things in our head we write the message down differently. My friend has a ray but i think that they should have a lot of room to roam, plus they get stuck. I always laugh at him when he complains about the thing getting stuck.
I think they should have very little live rock and i have a lot.
J
jdragunas
Guest
how big is your friend's tank? they do need a lot of room to roam, because they're bottom dwellers, and they get pretty big... you're also right, they need a lot of bare sand and little live rock so they have more room to graze.
J
jdragunas
Guest
that's what i'm gettin at... a ray shouldn't get stuck anywhere, and if it is, the tank it's in either has too much LR or is waaaay too small!!!