Settled detritus

[vlondi]

My tank has been fully cycled and has about 1250 gph of flow (roughly 22x).
I don't have the money until Friday to really get any livestock but I was having a bit of a diatom problem. I went ahead and got 4 Mexican turbo snails and they are tearing that stuff up, thankfully. As snails have to eat they also have to deficate, apparently. Yes, this is a problem.
There are areas in my tank that apparently have some "dead zones". I don't believe they are completely dead because I still see very small particles moving fairly quickly through it. The snail poo, however, is too heavy to settle down. Any suggestions?
I have tried at least 5 different powerhead positions and this is the best I have been able to get even flow throughout the tank. Should I alter my rockwork more? Change positions again? How do some of you keep your powerheads from sucking your sand up and stalling the PH?
Are there any specific clean up critters that will eat or move the snail poo around? On Wednesday I will order my full clean up crew so I need to know what specifically to look for.
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[mudplayerx]

You are going to do water changes anyways, so you might as well use a commercial siphon to siphon the sand while changing the water. You can get a nice siphon for pretty cheap.

 

[salty cheese]

Is this a DSB or a SSB? If it is a DSB do not vacuum the substrate.
Have you tried pointing the PHs at each other to create more of a chaotic flow?

 

[vlondi]

It's at a 50/50 mix, I'd say. The way the powerheads are they arranged my sand so some of it is 4-5 inches and other parts are 2-3 inches. I am trying to have optimal flow while not making the tank look bad with powerheads right in the open and being all ugly and stuff. Sometime this week I will probably rearrange my LR (again) to get better flow but I don't see me doing much better.
Siphoning is good and all, but I don't want to rely on just that to keep detritus levels down. This site says that some inverts eat detritus; I've tried to get a few of those onto my cleanup crew list to help with the problem. I also have some sand-sifters to see if I can get them to stir the stuff into the current (unless this is a bad idea?).
Since we are all here, look at my list and tell me what you think, please:
-10 Blue legged hermits
-2 Emerald Crabs
-10 Hawaiian Zebra Hermits
-3 Scarlet Hermits
-10-20 Nassarius Snails
-10 Astrea Snails
I'm also at a loss as to which shrimp to get; I was originally going to get a Coral Banded but hear they are territorial. Now I'm thinking of either a Cleaner Shrimp or Hawaiian Green Shrimp. Any suggestions?
All these inverts are in addition to the 4 Mexican Turbos already in my tank. These guys get ordered on Wednesday so help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mudplayerx]

You need detrivores if you want them to eat the poop in your tank. I don't think any of the species you listed will eat fecal waste.
You need species like bristle worms, sea cucumbers, etc..
I don't think siphoning a deep sandbed will hurt anything, as the nitrifying bacteria are anaerobes and obligate anaerobes. This means that they do not contain catalase or oxidase capable enzymes, and are harmed by oxygen. Since they can not tolerate oxygen, their growth will be limited to the bottom half of the sandbed, much lower than siphoning would disturb.

 

[vlondi]

This site says that Nassarius Snails and Scarlet Hermits will remove detritus and other wastes from the bottom of tanks, in addition to algae...
I suppose I can see if I can purchase some bristle worms as well.

 

[mudplayerx]

My hermits don't eat the poop. I think they are broken