sandbed maintenance

[snakeblitz33]

Can someone share their sandbed maintenance routine, if there is one... what is the purpose of it,.. what do you use... how often do you do it, etc? Describe how deep your sandbed is, how deep you clean it... if you use biological means, and how old your aquarium is. I think all of that and more is pertinent information.

On the other hand...

If you don't clean your sandbed or stir it or have a biological means of turning it over, how to do you encourage meiofauna growth and reproduction? Does it matter what type of sand you are using? At what depths do you consider it a deep sand bed?

 

[seecrabrun]

I have a 2" bed in my 29 gallon and although it doesn't have the life in it like I see in deeper beds, it does have some of the life and seems to be doing a good job of maintaining itself. I just have dwarf cerith and nassarius snails that burrow in it and my hermit likes to sift the surface.

When I upgrade the tank here in the next couple months I plan to add more sand to get the full DSB effects.

 

[trigger40]

i let my cuc stir it up(nassarius snails). i consider my sand bed is about 3'' deep. it plays a major role in my bio filtration. my aquariums is a little over a year old.

 

[silverado61]

Three inch bed on average depending on how much my watchman remodels it (which is constantly). Nassarious, dwarf cerith and jumbo cerith snails. Oh, and my goby. These all keep my sand bed stirred up pretty good. Other than that, I don't do a thing to it. I like to keep things as natural as possible in my 6-7 month old tank.

 

[jay0705]

Golden sleeper headed goby, my bed is always sifted. Also nassiours snails.
the goby is puzzling tho. Its widely thought not to stir deep into the bed, I have a 3-4" bed. Yet that fella is to bare bottom in spots. No ill effects tho

 

[spanko]

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/index.php?threads/do-i-need-a-sifter-shifter-stirrer-swizzle-stick-roto-rooter.359800/

 

[snakeblitz33]

Thanks for the link, Henry.

 

[pegasus]

I have a 3" sandbed with Seaflor Special. I don't stir it, as this disturbs the microfauna living in it. I have Cerith and Nassarius snails that burrow in it, as well as a large sand sifting sea star. Many will argue that sand sea stars are bad for a sandbed as they eat beneficial creatures living there, but I only have one in a 125 gallon tank, and it's been in there for 2+ years, and it's healthy as a horse. Obviously... it has plenty to eat. Looking at the edge of the sandbed through the glass, there are lots of burrows where critters tunnel through it, and different colored patches where various bacteria grows. I carbon dose, and disturbing it will disrupt the anaerobic zone where nitrate eating bacteria live. Stirring an established sandbed will also release toxins into the tank, which can kill your precious pets. I let nature take it's course, and so far, nature has done a good job.

My 40B has anywhere from 0" to 6", depending on what the engineer gobies have been up to. I need to find them a new home so I can level out what used to be a 3" Fiji pink sandbed. It is not established, as it never stays still long enough to form any "zones". I guess you could say I have a "stirred"... and a "not stirred" sandbed.