Do you vaccumn your live sand?

F

Frogspawn

I've heard it both ways. Some do some don't. If so how often and how deep? Is this job entirely the the clean up crews work or do we supplement the effort with a vac' once in awhile?

I ask because I think I have way too much loose floaters in the water but I've never vaccumned this tank and maybe that's why.

If not what's the best mechanical method for filtering out the junk?

What say ye....
 
Well, I'd say that depends on how deep your sand is and what critters you have in it.

If your sand bed is deep enough to support denitrification (>=4") then I'd look into getting a sand sifting cucumber like a tiger tail, as well as a small queen conch. These guys keep my sand pretty free of detrius. I'm also partial to hermit crabs, but not everyone likes them.

If you have a shallower sand bed, I'd consider stirring it up and vacuuming every so often.
 
Thanks Ashlar,

Yes I have a 2 to 3 inch bed now and have 300 hermits and snails doing a good bit of work. I have a Sand sifting starfish in another aquarium I've been considering moving to this one though. I also have a small horshoe crab that keeps the top layer of sand turned over pretty well.

Do you use any mechanical filtration whatsoever?
 
You're kinda in a no-mans land with your sandbed. Its not deep enough for an effective DSB, but not shallow enough for easy maintenance. The sandsifter eats the fauna in the sand, not the detritus. I'd suggest you get some conchs (big ones if you can find them), some reef turds (cukes) and a big sandsifting goby.
 
You're kinda in a no-mans land with your sandbed. Its not deep enough for an effective DSB said:
I have a sandsifter in my 26 gallon(he's been with me almost a year). and I would have to agree that he is not doing a great job with keeping my sand 'sifted' Are any of those that you listed good for a 26 gallon?
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@harial wrote:
I have a sandsifter in my 26 gallon(he's been with me almost a year). and I would have to agree that he is not doing a great job with keeping my sand 'sifted' Are any of those that you listed good for a 26 gallon? said:
Heather, the ORA queen conchs are relatively small, so one of those would probably work in a 26 gallon, assuming you have a decent amount of open sand.
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@The Landrums wrote:
I have a newer tank ... How long should I have it up and running before I get a Sand Sifting Cucumber ? said:
Assuming you have a DSB, I'd not consider one before 6-8 months after cycling.
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just to chime in with Scott, don't get a sandsifting star. They are not detrivores but will decimate your microfauna population and probably eventually starve. IMO they are another one of those things that should not be available to hobbyists.
 
IMO it seem all "sifters" eat the micro fauna including cukes and gobies ect... nassarius are good in smaller aquariums for turning sandbeds over. and easier to keep going-and they eat fish waste and make less of it. so do sand stars along with some microfauna you may want (especially in a deep sand bed method) - as far as vac-ing the sand, I do in the open spots quite often (i dont keep deep sandbeds) it helps me from a detritus buildup nutrient problem. the fuge and liverock replenishes most.
 
@harial wrote:
[quote="You're kinda in a no-mans land with your sandbed. Its not deep enough for an effective DSB said:
I have a sandsifter in my 26 gallon(he's been with me almost a year). and I would have to agree that he is not doing a great job with keeping my sand 'sifted' Are any of those that you listed good for a 26 gallon?"]

As Scott mentioned, the conchs usually come small in the 1- 1 1/2 inch range and would probably do okay in there. Conchs like to bury in the sand so if you have 1 inch or so of sand that should be good for them. The cuke I would say add with caution. I've never kept one in a smaller tank and unless its a tiger tail if it passes that could wreck havoc on a small system. For a tank your size, I would go with a small conch, some small nassarius (5-10) and perhaps some speghetti worms. IPSF.com has some sandbed clams that are neat. I have about 2 dozen in my system. They bury in the sand as well. They don't add much to the overall removal of detritus but they do move the sand.
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I have about a three inch sandbed and probably 7 or 8 nassarius snails. I am actually going to be going to the LFS to get a six line wrasse anyway so I will see if I can't find a queen conch and get a few more snails. Also, I have read that fighting conchs will eat red algae, is that true?
 
@Ashlar wrote:
I used to have some said:
Yep... People sell them as cyno eaters but my experience is the same as yours. They move it around but don't seem to consume it. The only thing that I have heard that does are the Mexican Turbos.
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I'd love to get some of those, just to see if they'd eat it. If they did, they'd be worth their weight in gold.
 
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