thinking of adding more snails and sand to established tank

[fishygurl]

I have a 72 gallon and im not sure guessing about an inch of sand i have always vaccumed the live sand when i do water changes but i have been seeing more and more you shouldnt do that so im thinking about adding 20-44 poundsand then start not vaccuming the sand. I think i should add more nassarius snails cuz i have 8 or so of the bigger ones so im not sure of what to add but i dont want a lot of stuff growing on the sand if i dont ever vaccum the sand. So i was wondering if i should add like 12 more nassarius snails maybe more? maybe less? and is there anything else that doesnt eat the bugs bu stirs the sand that is reef safe that i could add??

 

[rcoultas]

Nassarius are excellent sand sifters. I would say its a good idea for you to add more. As far as vacuuming the substrate... it's ok to do the surface of the sand but not good to disturb the lower levels. Deep within the bed (as well as within live rock) anaerobic bacteria lives - these guys are the ones that convert nitrates into nitrogen gas (the final step of the nitrification process) so they are quite beneficial.