Detritus Removal

[elliottsa]

Now that my algae bloom has passed (or basically melted) I have large amounts of detritus on (and in) my sand. My tank looks nice but the sand always looks dirty even when/if I slowly turn over the top layer. Would it be OK to add a new top layer of sand to cover the old? Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

--Shaun

[greenbean36191]

Siphon it out with your water changes. If you bury it you aren't exporting any nutrients, just hiding the problem. Also some scavengers like cerith snails and bristleworms will help clean it up.

[elliottsa]

I've tried -- and while it does help to get rid of the piles my top layer still looks dirty (I have a crushed coral type sand and it looks kinda stained.) I also have some cerith snails -- they are pretty cool but don't seem to be helping my problem.

[reefamania]

use a gravel vac and just do the top 1/4" or so. i just use a powerhead to stir things up a little when i do water changes. hth:D

[elliottsa]

Wont that pull out the good bacteria and critters?

[vegasadam]

You should do some reasearch on Mimic Tangs / Chocolate tangs they are one in the same but i understand they will eat brown algea. Good luck

adam

[elliottsa]

I don't have algae. Just detritus.

[reefamania]

not if you just vac the top layer about 1/4 inch. if you're worried than just do like half one day then the other half a couple of days later.

[elliottsa]

Cool -- thanks!

[tanker]

Originally posted by elliottsa
Wont that pull out the good bacteria and critters?

You will not destroy all of them, just some. Go for it.

[romunov]

I have a lot of detritus lying on my sand bed. The tank is fairly new, so the inbed fauna population is still climbing. However, in the morning, I notice the sand around worms' burrows is clean as a whistle.

[NexDog]

Some crabs and shrimp should eat the fish poo. What isn't eaten should disolve but if you have so much poo on your sand that it looks dirty, you have too many fish maybe. I have 2 fish in a 20g and hardly ever see detritus. I also have crushed coral sand and I gave it a good vac every week when I do a water change.

If I had a larger tank, I'd really on the inhabitants controlling detritus.

[porkbullet]

A lot of people don't really like this idea, but I got a small cucumber and a sand-sifting star for this problem and they are doing a real number on the excess detrius in my sandbed. Also, I have noticed the porcelain crab really digs into the stuff with his big claws and does a good job of keeping it clean.
You should keep a close eye on the cucumber and/or star, as they can sometimes starve if your tank isn't big enough, but if you're like me, you sound like you have an endless supply of food for them.
Also, cucumbers release toxins when/if they die that could kill potentially all other tank residents, so it is important to keep and eye on their health.
You also might want to consider a turkey baster to stir up the top layer of detrius. I do this everytime I feed the tank and let the detrieus float around and feed corals and other filter feeders.
All of this combined seems to be working for me so far.

[greenbean36191]

With a crushed coral sandbed a cucumber won't do much. They need fine sand to feed. Also they need a larger tank. A sansifting star may appear to help the problem, but they are really just burying it and making it worse. They don't eat detritus, they eat the sandbed fauna that eat's detritus. They also prefer fine sand and need a large tank to survive.

I'm sure someone will chime in and tell you how theirs has been living in their 29 for 9 months with no problem, but don't let that fool you. Starfish can go for several months without eating with no problems, then they can live for several more months by digesting their own organs. This whole time they may look healthy.

[porkbullet]

But the turkey baster! That's a good one right? Huh?

Oh come on, greenbean, you gotta give me something!!