What are the best fish or creatures to have in your tank to clean the sandbed?

[aquariumkeeper2]

Hi, I just started my saltwater nano reef tank almost three weeks ago, My sandbed has started to develop patches of orange stuff all over the sandbed. What creatures or fish are best for cleaning the sandbed?

[dean87jones]

that depends on how deep ur sand bed is. Shallow beds usually are less than 2''
and a sand sifting star and snails would be great. these stars do a great job clean the bed. If you have a Deep sand bed.. then you need to be more careful in what you use. A DSB allow for levels with less oxygen and specific anaerobic types of bacteria to grow. These are great for converting nitrates in to harmless NO2 gas that releases from the tank. The problem, especially in ur small tank, is that this star moves too much sand and essentially doesn't allow for this level of less oxygen to exist. Id stick with snails or mini stars if u can get them. ( please other people chime if im not exactly correct.. but this is my understanding thus far.. .im also a newby)

[cdeboard]

Dean's info is pretty good. I would pass on the sandsifting stars in a nano. Nassarius snails work really well. If your nano is big enough a goby does wonders. My diamon goby dessimates the sand in my 90.

[patsfan1130]

Nassarius Vibex snails do a great job stirring the sans bed. Stars do a great job as well but IME they end up starving to death rather quickly. I stay away from them.

[catch1]

Nassarius Vibex snails do a great job stirring the sans bed. Stars do a great job as well but IME they end up starving to death rather quickly. I stay away from them.



+1 Nassarius.

[RocketSurgeon]

I have a couple of Nassarius in my 75 gallon. I am thinking about a sandsifting star.

[cdeboard]

Sandsifting stars are cool. They dont clean the sand that much in my opinion. Mine rarely moves. At night he likes to look around a bit. I will occasionally see him out in the day. A goby is by far the best cleaner if you got room. In that 75, yeah goby for sure.

[Whisperer]

They don't sift sand, they burrow and in the process, stir the sand. Several gobies are true sifters while cucumbers ingest the sand and poop cleaned sand pellets. I'm just saying...

[cdeboard]

LOL whisperer... "poop clean sand pellets"... yeah I have a diamond goby. Within a day my sand was crazy clean. He made him a little house and decorated it with shells and small rocks he found. Very cool creature.

[Nanz]

Nassarius,
Cerith,
Pistol Shrimp
Diamond Goby

[Plan B]

please correct me if im wrong but u said it was a new setup if im correct, i also just set up a new 150gl reef tank and i've read that this is normal in new tanks. that its called diatoms and it will disapear all by itself. hope this helps:clown:

[Potsy]

+1 Stay away from sand "sifting" stars. They're predators that will voraciously consume beneficial organisms in your sandbed then starve when the food runs out. Cerith, nassarius, gobies (although they can be messy). If you're running a shallow sandbed, you can regularly "rake" the top of your sandbed to get detritus in suspension for filtering out.

[aquariumkeeper2]

please correct me if im wrong but u said it was a new setup if im correct, i also just set up a new 150gl reef tank and i've read that this is normal in new tanks. that its called diatoms and it will disapear all by itself. hope this helps:clown:

I know it supposed to be there but it makes the tank look awful. I might get a diamond goby just to clean things up. does it really disappear.???

[iap]

Conch

[fstar25]

Conch

+100 fighting conch! I have 1 in a 29 gallon and he cleans better than a dozen nausarus (sp) snails and a sand sifting star combined.

~Frank

[KromiX]

spotless sand:

Diamond Goby
Nassarius Snails

[Levito]

+1 on the (fighting) conch. They're either eating or sleeping, that's all they do. And they clean mainly the top of the sane, so it looks cleaner. The sand-sifting gobies are great too.

[aquariumkeeper2]

I'm definetly gonna get a diamond goby for sure...

[wilsonreefs]

I have a lawnmower goby, but the best cleaners in my tank is a 'cuke (that goes around the base of all the rocks) and cleans like crazy, and my nassarius snails. What luck too my nassarius had babies about 3 weeks ago and I bet I have almost 100 of them! They're in my sand, on the back, sides front, overflows, and even gotten in my sump. I'm not gonna complain though....

Carl

[walkerbrody]

If you get a diamond goby make sure your rocks are on the bottom of the tank, not sitting on the sand. Many people have had serious rock slides due to a diamond goby removing sand from underneath live rock

[Qtip760]

gold headed sleeper goby, they look cooler then the diamond goby imo.

[Ethan_W]

gold headed sleeper goby, they look cooler then the diamond goby imo.

no on the gold headed goby and i wouldnt recommend the diamond goby either. depending on the size of your nano, they get to big. i would go with a two spot goby. they reach about 4 inches max and sift well through the sand. the only problem you may run into is that they like being in pairs so you may need 2

HOWEVER no matter how ugly the cycling algae looks, wait to put fish in until it goes away. its safer for the fish to let the cycle fully complete.

[justsayno]

I have a maroon clown, he moves the sand so much, filter change every 2 days.. Mr Pain, we call him.. I think 80 percent of junk, and all the light sand have made it out of the tank.

[whipit]

yup Nassarius vibex!

[im4292]

Thing with diamond gobys is that they are 50/50, either they are mess makers or they are clean... I had to trade 1 in until I got one that didn't make a sandstorm..

One I had used to fill him mouth up with sand swim to the top and let it out, like he enjoyed making a snowglobe for the other fish lol

[DustinB]

That's it, they will cover your tank and all your corals in sand.

The key to clean sand is good flow, low nutrients, and time. I have nothing to clean my sand anymore and it's spotless white.

[stevek480]

Conch's are awesome for cleaning the sand like the others above said. Though in a 12G tank I don't know if the sand bed would be large enough to keep them sustained long term. I read something like each one should have about 2 sq ft of area to clean.

[niftyjosh]

my hectors goby is awesome at cleaning

edit

the horned blenny I have is ok too but it enjoys picking at my pagodas too

[ta_billy]

Ward's Tiger Gody (Valenciennea wardii) was the best sand sifter I have ever kept. They tend to stay low in the aquarium which minimizes sand "drift" that ends up on your corals. They stay smaller than most sifters as well. Hard to find though.

For a fish only, I would go with Bullet Gobies (Amblygobius semicinctus). Cool fish and hardy.

My favorite sand sifter I have ever kept was a pair of twin-spot gobies (Signigobius biocellatus). I had a dedicated tank and I acquired a nice pair back in the day when I worked part-time at a LFS. Very very cool but I DO NOT RECOMMEND these fish for anybody other than an expert with a dedicated tank as they are very fragile in my experience.

A Diamond Back Goby (Valencienna puellaris) is also a good choice but gets a little bit large for many reef tanks

[Floowid]

Don't get a diamond goby. you said it was for a nano. Anything smaller than about 30 gallons would be too small for a diamond goby. They get their nutrition from filtering organisms out of the sand. A nano will starve the poor thing.

Diatoms are a normal part of the cycling process. If you do it correctly, the diatoms will be a phase and then gone. If you don't have the patience to wait out the cycle, then you are better off putting that nano on craigslist right now.

[JDMhoes]

go with a yellow watchmen goby instead of the diamond..

[aquariumkeeper2]

no on the gold headed goby and i wouldnt recommend the diamond goby either. depending on the size of your nano, they get to big. i would go with a two spot goby. they reach about 4 inches max and sift well through the sand. the only problem you may run into is that they like being in pairs so you may need 2

HOWEVER no matter how ugly the cycling algae looks, wait to put fish in until it goes away. its safer for the fish to let the cycle fully complete.

the cycle is complete, I took bacteria from another saltwater tank and cultured in and put it in my tank. fully cycled in 3 weeks.

[aquariumkeeper2]

Don't get a diamond goby. you said it was for a nano. Anything smaller than about 30 gallons would be too small for a diamond goby. They get their nutrition from filtering organisms out of the sand. A nano will starve the poor thing.

Diatoms are a normal part of the cycling process. If you do it correctly, the diatoms will be a phase and then gone. If you don't have the patience to wait out the cycle, then you are better off putting that nano on craigslist right now.

I have the patience and My tank is fully cycled. I cultured bacteria from another tank and put it in my tank. all levels are good. no ammonia or anything.

[RocketSurgeon]

They don't sift sand, they burrow and in the process, stir the sand. Several gobies are true sifters while cucumbers ingest the sand and poop cleaned sand pellets. I'm just saying...

Do cucumbers have a dangerous side to them, by being poisonous?

[stevek480]

Yes, I believe if they die they will release toxins which can kill other tank inhabitants.