Dirty Sandbed

[Djbetterly]

My sand bed is starting to look a bit dirty, is this common? Should I refresh my CUC? Stir the sand bed?

 

[thirty6]

how big/old is tank? i would add fresh cuc if getting dirty, be carefull stirring up sand as it might cause more problems for you in long run

 

[Djbetterly]

34 Gallon Solana, started 1/14/12 - Further details in signature.

I've read about people using SS Gobies, but I worry about them burying corals. I have a sand sifting star, thought it was dying but checked it out today and seems to be healed up.

Any suggestions on snails that move the sand the best? Fighting conch?

 

[Jhoehlein]

IMO sand sifting gobies are more trouble than they're worth - they will merrily bury your corals then go carpet surfing. Most will also get too large for your tank. I would refresh your cuc, maybe add a few Nassarius snails. Check your water too, it could be time for a filter media change.

 

[Djbetterly]

That was my thought, I put a request into reefcleaners.com. As far as filter media goes, I do change that quite regularly. I'm not very happy with my tunze skimmer though. I need to figure that out.

 

[skene]

Dirty Sandbed?

 

[masterswimmer]

Nassarius Snails, best bet for safely stirring up your sandbed. Major importante` though, make 100% sure the nassarius are Vibex variety, NOT Obsoletus.

Russ

 

[sunny]

Counches are also good.

 

[rookie07]

Counches are also good.

Not in a solana, 34 is to small.

 

[Djbetterly]

Major importante` though, make 100% sure the nassarius are Vibex variety, NOT Obsoletus.

Is this something John at reefcleaners.com will know or should I remind him?

 

[haiyzues]

Nassarius Snails, best bet for safely stirring up your sandbed. Major importante` though, make 100% sure the nassarius are Vibex variety, NOT Obsoletus.

Russ

Hey what are the differences??

 

[masterswimmer]

Is this something John at reefcleaners.com will know or should I remind him?

I pretty sure he'll know, just make sure to have the conversation with him so he can't say that you didn't specify.

Russ

 

[thirty6]

John at reefcleaners is excellent, send jim an email and let him know what your looking for

 

[masterswimmer]

Hey what are the differences??

Great article for learning the differences:

Nassarius Vibex vs Obselata (Ilyanassa)

Russ

 

[haiyzues]

Great article for learning the differences:

Nassarius Vibex vs Obselata (Ilyanassa)

Russ

Thanks for the article, I got the wrong snails, now I have to get them out

 

[magicalmets]

Pistol Shrimp are excellent. They are always stirring up the sand.

 

[PHiLiPSKim]

But have to be careful with pistols. They will make your rockscape a mess. And if you didn't probably balance your rocks it can be unstable

 

[E.intheC]

How deep is your sandbed? Lightly stirring a shallow sandbed should be part of the water change routine.

 

[Djbetterly]

My SB is between three and five inches deep. I do have a pistol but I never see it. My rock work rests on the bottom glass so I'm not too worried about anything becoming unbalanced.

Last time I stirred my SB I had a HUGE spike in nitrates, so I won't be doing that again.

 

[E.intheC]

My SB is between three and five inches deep. I do have a pistol but I never see it. My rock work rests on the bottom glass so I'm not too worried about anything becoming unbalanced.

Last time I stirred my SB I had a HUGE spike in nitrates, so I won't be doing that again.

Oh, got it. Well... That's why I asked the depth. CUC will stir the sand up as well, but they will do it slower.

You might want to think about getting rid of that DSB though. Ticking time bomb.