Detrius

[wpayton34]

Whats a good scavenger for detruis on the surface of my sand??? I had to move my tank to anouther room and now i have a bunch of crap on the surface. My one turbo snail went died. I have probalby 5 blue hermits. I got a 24 gal jbj nano.

 

[reefkprz]

detritus is best eliminated with more water movement to keep it suspended untill your filtration picks it up,
also check into nassarius snails to turn over the top layers of sand allowing the micro fauna inhabiting the sand bed to eat it, and possibly a smaller of the brittle star species, micro brittles would be ideal. spaghetti worms would make a great addition to your sand bed they lasso the gunk and eat it.
hope this helps.

 

[garychef1]

i went down to the beach and picked up two dozen nass snails for my 14. Keeps most of the stuff off. Also if you have a submergible powerhead, you can aim it at the sand to kick it all up and it will get filtered relatively quickly. Or, you can go the ghetto old school way (my method) and use a tank water filled turkey bast to blow the stuff off and have your flow nozzle create a whirlpool around the tank (counter clockwise as too make the crud go into the filter)

 

[cindyh915]

I was just reading today that the blueleg hermit, the jade hermit and the scarlet hermit are all good for taking care of detritus.

 

[cindyh915]

I was just reading today that the blueleg hermit, the jade hermit and the scarlet hermit are all good for taking care of detritus

 

[meleerock]

Originally Posted by cindyh915
I was just reading today that the blueleg hermit, the jade hermit and the scarlet hermit are all good for taking care of detritus.
Hermits are great. They do tend to be a little moody though (i mean, they are hermits..lol). Just make sure you have extra empty shells in the tank so if they feel like it they can switch their shells with an empty one and not a snails.

 

[meleerock]

I find that nass. snails are the coolest, nicest, and most effective part of the clean up crew. They dont pick on anything and they eat poop... what else could you ask for from a cleaner? lol

 

[peef]

I got an aquacultered queen conch for my 24g nano and whamo no more detritis. You want to avoid stirring up the sandbed manually at all costs though, this can skyrocket your nitrates.