Im tired of my sand being brown...

[gio28]

my conch and snails dont keep it clean and either do my powerheads flow. i need a fish or invert that sifts through the sand to keep it nice and white. ideally, what i am looking for is a smaller fish/invert that is colorful and wont move my sand on rocks and corals, but keep it turned over on the sand bed. any suggestions? thanks.

 

[joncat24]

Get a diamond goby...I will never have a tank without one again. My sand is gorgeous all of the time.

 

[ophiura]

I strongly discourage adding a sand sifter fish or star, for example, IF you want a functioning sand bed (eg if it is shallow and just decorative...not a problem). Sand sifting cucumbers are suitable depending on particle size. I don't believe that adding another fish to what can be a nutrient issue resolves the problem, and it will eat microfauna that are beneficial. But again this pertains to a functional sand bed. Also many people keeping corals do not want the risk of the sand storm they can cause.
There are many issues - water quality, lighting, flow, stocking, feeding, lack of clean up crew, etc that are involved here. IMO solve the root cause to really make this work. When you mean "snails" what kind? A single conch may not be enough in a larger tank...and most snails except nassarius and similar will not touch the sand.

 

[gio28]

my tank is 36 gallons. i have about 3 nassarius snails, 10 ceriths, and 12 turbos, 2 emeralds, a cleaner shrimp, 11 hermits, a little bear conch, and serpent star.
i know that nassarius +conch and maybe cerith are the only ones that sift the sand, but at the rate they do it the sand has plenty of time to have diatoms or algae grow back on it.
my powerheads (2 koralia 2s) dont even make a dent in gently blowing the sand to help keep algae off.
my parameters are:
-nitrates 0
-ammonia and nitrites- 0
-PH 8.3
-SG ~1.024
my light is only 3-4 months old...a 150 MH (phoenix 14K)
the only fish i have in my tank at the moment is a clownfish
im about to hook up a 20 gallon sump that will have a 4-6" DSB, chaeto, and a skimmer so maybe that will help
i should mention that my water source is tap, (i use prime on it) but i have 0 phosphates.
my tank is over 6 months old so i dont think there would be a diatom bloom at this stage...

 

[gio28]

also, i try not to overfeed but i do a little to make sure the nassarius, serpent star, and cleaner get something to keep them full.

 

[gio28]

bump

any ideas?

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139736
bump

any ideas?

If you feed the cleaner crew they won't be hungry enough to eat the stuff they are supposed to. In a saltwater tank with live rock there is more to feed on than just what you put in the tank.
Feed the clown, and let the CUC search for the little stuff to eat that makes the tank clean.
36g is too small for a goby...get a fancy nassarius snail for that size tank.

 

[gio28]

i should mention that the shrimp and star always pick up the food before the nassarius snails get to it. i have a fancy one and 2 normal ones and i never see them or their trunks and they never sift the sand. should i get more or will they go hungry cause the only thing that would feed them is a single clownfish's waste and maybe once in a great while...food that they can get to before the shrimp and star

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139758
i should mention that the shrimp and star always pick up the food before the nassarius snails get to it. i have a fancy one and 2 normal ones and i never see them or their trunks and they never sift the sand. should i get more or will they go hungry cause the only thing that would feed them is a single clownfish's waste and maybe once in a great while...food that they can get to before the shrimp and star

You already have a fancy one??? There is food on the rock, and food on the sand...nothing eats poop...it breaks down and becomes nitrates. Nothing eats the clowns waste. The algae that forms on everything is what the CUC eats...you don't feed them. Once every 2 weeks you can get a chunk of shrimp and put it right next to the serpent star...when lights are out..and it will feed on that. They eat the dead and if nothing dies, feed it.

 

[posiden]

You do have a "new" tank. I think maybe it is because of this. Your tank is trying to settle in. Depending on how you go about doing things and how you added stuff, it is possible that you are still earily in the maturazation process. Sometimes it just takes a tank a while to fully develope. Using tap water may increase the time frame.

It is hard to say. Also a 6 month old tank is nowhere near being called a mature tank. JMO.

 

[gio28]

maybe thats the reason. i had a time after the first few months in between where there was white sand and then it went back to brown like it is now. also, my glass on all sides of my tank has been making me use my mag float daily so i can see clearly in it...idk why thats happening either.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139763
maybe thats the reason. i had a time after the first few months in between where there was white sand and then it went back to brown like it is now. also, my glass on all sides of my tank has been making me use my mag float daily so i can see clearly in it...idk why thats happening either.
Citys work on thier stuff all the time. You have no idea what is going on up stream from you. Your water could have changed on you without you knowing. Heck it could be something the city doesn't know about yet. If tap water is all you have, then buy distiled water. It will be more clean then your tap. I am not saying that by doing so will stop the diatoms, but it will be one more thing you have taken down a notch. The water quality that is.

 

[gio28]

i'll give it a try, thanks.
down the road i will get a RO/DI unit...but i dont have the money for that now

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139771
i'll give it a try, thanks.
down the road i will get a RO/DI unit...but i dont have the money for that now
Neither do I. The unit I want cost some coin. I have used distilled for the 2 years the tank has been up. I am not saying the 2 years has been a handfull of joy. Just that I am not and would not use tap water. I guess that distiled and RO/Di from the LFS would be about the same. Most distilled water says right on it that it is either processed through distalization or RO or RO/DI. Since we have no way of knowing wich is done or when the last time the membrains were changed.........I would say they are about the same.
If you can get RO/DI from the LFS and they are willing to let you see the TDS meter on the water flowing out of it, then you can determine wether it is good or bad.

 

[gio28]

i totally forgot my LFS sells RO/DI water...i think it is $1 per gallon for saltwater, and idk for just plain water. i will go down there and get a few bottles of it to use over the next few WCs and see if it works.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139780
i totally forgot my LFS sells RO/DI water...i think it is $1 per gallon for saltwater, and idk for just plain water. i will go down there and get a few bottles of it to use over the next few WCs and see if it works.

Walmat is cheaper...they sell water at 37 cents a gallon here. Ace hardware sells it for 50 cents...so a dollar per gallon is expensive.

 

[gio28]

sweet! i will go with walmart...now if only my mom could stand setting foot there...she would probably pay me to go buy it from the LFS lol.
but anyways...do you think that walmart is cheaper since i have to mix the salt myself rather than pay $1 for i already mixed at the LFS?

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139789
sweet! i will go with walmart...now if only my mom could stand setting foot there...she would probably pay me to go buy it from the LFS lol.
but anyways...do you think that walmart is cheaper since i have to mix the salt myself rather than pay $1 for i already mixed at the LFS?

I mix my own...I trust my measures more than the LFs. Also you have to have salt on hand anyway, may as well use it.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3139789
sweet! i will go with walmart...now if only my mom could stand setting foot there...she would probably pay me to go buy it from the LFS lol.
but anyways...do you think that walmart is cheaper since i have to mix the salt myself rather than pay $1 for i already mixed at the LFS?
My LFS sells already mixed for a dollar a gallon too. It is never consistant in SG. I always have to boost it. It also seams to vary quite a bit in the other things like calcium. So, I don't buy it anymore. I just get water from Wally World. On another forum I follow a tank that is somewhat an inspration and it too is run on water form Wally World. I will go RO/DI when the unit I want is able to take a pressureized tank. Then I will get a cash fund together to buy it.

 

[gio28]

good point flower, and you and posiden also are probably right about the LFS water varying. id much rather trust myself to mix it perfectly