cleaning the sand

[debbie]

Would like to know what you all use in your nano tanks (10-12gal) for keeping the sand clean??
I have some very lush green alage in one back corner that I keep on gently netting out but would love to have something that would eat this stuff and the rest of the cleaning of the sand.
10 gal
3 1/2 yrs running
2 clowns
1 coral banded shrimp
1 very large turbo
1 cowrie

 

[peef]

You really shouldn't have to clean the sand, get some small blue leg and red leg hermits. An Emerald crab will help also. I would also recommend a few 3-4 nassarious snails

 

[perfectdark]

Nassarius snails are great sand sifters and do a good job at keeping it clean. Fighting conch are good diatom algea eaters and also do well to keep your tank clean. Emerald crabs from what I hear love green hair algea.. Although I have emerald greens I do not have green hair algea.

 

[new2salt1]

I dont have algae as much as I have dirt/debris from newly added LR.
Here is what I do:
Take 1/4" wide tubing and use it as a syphon. In my opinion, it is much better than a regular syphon because it doesn't pull a gallon of water out in 30 seconds!! I was using my large syphon and it was too strong and too big.
The thinner tubing may not be strong enough to pull the debris on its own. Mine isn't. So I just gently wave my finger to disturn the debris, and then suck it up with the tubing. The thin tubing is also great for cleaning dirt/debis off of the live rock, not just the sand. It can get it the little holes/crannies that hold detritus and other gunk.
When I do water changes, I always use the tubing. It allows you to clean the substrate and rocks, and each gallon of water takes about 10 minutes. Which means you can do a great deal of cleaning without having to swap 50% of your water. Our tanks are small, and we dont want to be doing 50% water changes every week!
I have been doing 1-2 gallons every 3rd-4th day since I setup my tank 3 weeks ago, and the water is crystal clear! The substrate - with all the rock, verts, and fish - will ALWAYS get messy in small tanks. But small tubing will let you meticulously clean it up!

 

[earlybird]

great idea. I've done it but get frustrated when larger sand gets stuck in the tubing.

 

[fish are good]

if you have fine sand i would recomend a sleeper goby and for the glass i would recomend a lawnmower goby.

 

[debbie]

I just got rid of my lawnmover blenny due to the lack of algae in my tank. My tank is also a 10 gal and they need a much bigger tank IMO. They are very darling though.
I don't have alot of stuff on my sand at all, so maybe just a few crabs will do the trick but I worry about my coral banded shrimp having dinner with them. Anyone experience this??

 

[zeke92]

ok first off crabs my kill the snails and crabs are well known for causing problems, such as eating tuff, pinching thigns, etc. i'd get nassarious snails, a couple turbo snails maby. but thats prety much all you need. what d you mean by clean sand exactly? if it's brown with diatoms, thats wtaer quality problem...