HELP!!! Can't Keep Sand Bed Clean!!!

[asharp13]

ok so i have been battling a major hair algae outbreak in my tank:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/365763/help-cant-keep-sand-bed-clean
i have gotten the hair algae under control finally and am happy with the way my rock work looks. i do weekly water changes of 20%, roughly 100% per month.
my problem is now this. i have a buildup of brown crap on the sand bed. every water change, i use a gravel siphon to suck up a good portion of the crud and rotate the sand to cover up the yucky stuff but within a couple days the build up is back...i cant get rid of it. i have been doing some reading and i have been instructed to get some sand sifting brittle stars and a sand sifting goby. my concern is that they wont be able to do the amount of work that my tank needs and that there is a bigger problem then having missing a few animals in my tank. why does this build up form? i feed 1 time every three days. what can i do to get rid of it and what am i doing to make this stuff settle there?
any advice or thoughts would be great...thx!!!

 

[habsfan]

What are your phosphates? Probably high. Might want to add some power heads for more flow too.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by asharp13 http:///forum/post/3138610
ok so i have been battling a major hair algae outbreak in my tank:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/362743/help-controlling-my-algae-problem-it-has-gotten-out-of-control
i have gotten the hair algae under control finally and am happy with the way my rock work looks. i do weekly water changes of 20%, roughly 100% per month.
my problem is now this. i have a buildup of brown crap on the sand bed. every water change, i use a gravel siphon to suck up a good portion of the crud and rotate the sand to cover up the yucky stuff but within a couple days the build up is back...i cant get rid of it. i have been doing some reading and i have been instructed to get some sand sifting brittle stars and a sand sifting goby. my concern is that they wont be able to do the amount of work that my tank needs and that there is a bigger problem then having missing a few animals in my tank. why does this build up form? i feed 1 time every three days. what can i do to get rid of it and what am i doing to make this stuff settle there?
any advice or thoughts would be great...thx!!!

I have a 90g tank and a little tiny 2 inch diamond sandsifting goby...my sand looks brand new and perfect. They are wonderful sand cleaners. Just make sure your rock is stable. Brown on the sand is normal if it isn't sifted. Either you get a critter to sift or move it...or you do it yourself.

 

[saltyjewell]

I have a 2" diamond goby in my tank and it has kept my sand pretty dang clean in my 170g. I also have some crieth and nass snails.
I had a powerhead down though for a couple days and a bit of the brown came back

Got it back working and the goby kept on working and the brown almost all gone again.

 

[asharp13]

ill be adding the goby tomorrow hopefully...what does the little guy like to eat??? do they just eat the debris in the sand bed or do i need to suplement?

 

[saltyjewell]

My guy will grab whatever falls close to the bottom. He will swim up a little to grab the froozen mix I put in.

 

[ophiura]

I strongly discourage adding a goby. They are eating the beneficial microfauna in the sand...if you want a functional sand bed, they are not good to have. If you have accumulation of detritus, it may also not resolve that...that is a flow problem.
If you have hair algae and this problem - adding another fish is not necessarily more than a band aid. I encourage people to get to the root cause.
Lighting, water quality, flow, overfeeding, overstocking, and an "unhealthy" sand bed (in terms of biodiversity) can all contribute to this sort of issue.