How can I keep sand clean and white

[syilk1]

I have a tank about 3 years old and corals growing well however my sand is looking sort of brown and crudy. What do you guys reccomend to keep it white and clean??
Scott

[scbauer]

It depends on how deep the sand bed is, but I personally like to keep a shallow sand bed (around 2" or 3") and every time I do a water change, I vaccume 1/4 to 1/2 of the sand bed.

If your sand bed is 3 years old and you have not aggitated the sand bed much in that time, then there is probably a LOT of stuff in the sand. I would definately NOT disrupt the entire sand bed. If you do decide to stir the sand or vaccume it, I would do no more than 1/4 at a time, waiting about a week between sections.

Just my thoughts... I'm sure others will chime in.

EDIT: Forgot to add that if you have a DEEP SAND BED, I would not touch it at all. That's just the nature of having a DSB, it doesn't stay white.

-Scott

[scott473]

I have a dragon goby that does the trick for me. He's fun to watch as he eats/cleans.

[tspors]

Goby, and buy only 1 sand sifting star. ( Buy a small one). If you buy more than one they will eat everything then starve.

[padi200]

There are at least 3 gobies that sift sand, some gobies do not.
You might want to try one of these:
1. Engineer goby
2. Diamond watchman goby
3. Orangemarked goby.

The sand sifting stars are great too, but the goby will do a lot more in my experience. Might consider both?

[gulfstream]

The best solution I have found to keep my sand looking "clean and white" as you put, is a bullet goby...
ever since I got him in there he sure has been keeping it clean.
However all depends on your tank size......they can get up to
5 inches.

[LionfishFinatic]

get a diamond goby or similar as padi suggested. i absolutely love mine and keeps the sand EXTRA clean. i was in the same situation you are in and my sand was dying off and turning black in some parts. the goby cleaned it all up in basically 1 DAY...

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13046185#post13046185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LionfishFinatic
get a diamond goby or similar as padi suggested. i absolutely love mine and keeps the sand EXTRA clean. i was in the same situation you are in and my sand was dying off and turning black in some parts. the goby cleaned it all up in basically 1 DAY...

Does the goby accept other foods now that he has the sand pretty well cleaned up?

[Toddrtrex]

Do NOT get a sand sifting star fish, they will starve to death, and in during the process they will clean your sand bed out of any beneficial life.

I have shallow sand beds in each of my tanks, and with each weekly water change I vacuum the sand bed.

[VCReefer26]

get a good clean up crew! i would leave it alone now since it is so established. But i like to keep about 2 inches and i suck some out durring my water changes, then i add new live sand every few months to keep it white!

[inachu]

In some places my sand is less than half an inch and other places the sand is 4 inches deep.

The 4 inch deep sand has some sand that is really dark gray as if it is trying to turn black. Should I be scared about this? Or leave it alone?

[weluvfish54]

+1 for engineer gobys..they turn your sand upside down and create random tunnels as long as you dont mind lol..but def keep sand clean!

[inachu]

After a major clean up I find my gobies are cleaning the sand better. Funny part is when the gobies are cleaning the sand they make my foxface curious about the area beinv leaned thus more algae being eaten that floats by. I woke up the next monring and the sand was twice as clean as the night before.

[Theomi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13045819#post13045819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tspors
Goby, and buy only 1 sand sifting star. ( Buy a small one). If you buy more than one they will eat everything then starve.

Sand sifting stars eat many of the beneficial creatures in the sb

[serolis7]

Avoid sandstars. They will pork their way through your sandbed then die of starvation. They have an insatiable appetite.

[centipede]

The gray sand sounds bad. Smell it and if it smells like rotten eggs, get rid of it. But be careful, because stirring it up can poison your tank. Once you get all the dark sand out, the gobies should do a good job of keeping the remaining stuff clean.
I use a two-spot goby (about 2-3 inches long), and he keeps my entire 450gallon clean.

[skynyrd]

I use lots of hermit crabs that walk around and stir up the bottom. My friend uses a black sea cucumber to keep his sand clean. I think it's Holothuria atra. Anyway, their all over the pet stores.

[mbscuba]

I have a bullet gobby. He does a great job