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#1
05/20/2005, 04:07 PM
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Clean Sand Beds
Hey all, how do you keep your sand beds so sparkily clean? I have about 20 hermits, 10 snails, a yellow tang that loves to pick at the algae but it just grows like crazy and will completely cover the sand. I am using PhosGuard to try to see if that helps, any other suggestions?
I am hoping on getting a diamond watchman goby but I cannot find one. Any help is much appreciated. |
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#4
05/20/2005, 05:06 PM
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Hmm, how new or old is your tank? It is my understanding that algae go through a natural progression soon after your initial water cycles. I am in this phase with my tank, but I don't know how long it lasts. One thing I've done is cut back my photo period to about 6 hours from 12 hours. I have noticed the algae go away, but I don't know if it's due to this natural algae progression I've read about, or if it's due to my photo period reduction.
You may want to try that. HTH Tim |
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#10
05/21/2005, 12:16 AM
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nassarius snails do a great job at keeping the sand stirred up if you have enough of them, those are snails that bury themselves in the sand and mosly just come out when it's feeding time. I love watching their little snorkel come up, and then up pops the rest of them! Cerith snails also bury themsleves in the sane but they're kind of part timers, they also go on the glass and sometimes the rock. Kind of nice because they often go on the edge of the sand by the glass. My favorites are the nassarius though. We have about 30 of them in our 75g.
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#11
05/21/2005, 12:26 AM
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Quote:
I am skimmerless (by choice) with chaeto in the fuge and I am hesitant to add snails to my fine, oolitic sand bed. |
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#12
05/21/2005, 12:34 AM
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I haven't noticed any, then again I haven't really been looking for snail poop, I tend to watch the fish and corals more. hehe
 Now I'm going to have to start looking more closely! I don't remember what kind of sand we used, but i think it was aragonite so not super fine, maybe it's just not as noticeable then.
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#14
05/21/2005, 08:33 AM
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My Diamond Goby does an excellent job cleaning the sand. He does make a little mess every once and a while, but I think he is worth having. The algae was always growing on the sand, now none. My Lawnmower only eats off the rocks and glass.
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#15
05/21/2005, 10:18 AM
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I had algae problems for a while when I first started and I found it was all becuase of my RO water. I would check that out into more detail. I got an RO/DI and haven't had any algae problems for a long time now.
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#16
05/21/2005, 11:38 AM
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Sometimes changing brands of food may help. Some foods are higher in organic phosphates, which a common test kit doesn't detect, and can elevate tank levels. The phosphate sponge may not remove all organophosphates.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
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#17
05/21/2005, 12:36 PM
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Just to be safe, test your RO water for nitrates/phosphates-- this will make sure your RO membrane is still ok and will eliminate your water you are putting in as the cause of any problems
__________________
Bill "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve immortality by not dying"-- Woody Allen |
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#18
05/21/2005, 12:56 PM
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A failed RO membrane is readily apparent. You start replacing the DI cartridge like crazy.
The only real reason to have an RO ahead of the DI is to remove the workload on the DI resin. If you replace your DI section every six months based on TDS results and all of a sudden need to do it every other week; it is a clear sign that the RO section is no longer doing its job and needs attention. RO's main purpose is to get as many contaminants out before they reach the exhaustible DI and deplete the resin.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
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#19
05/21/2005, 02:24 PM
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He didn't say he had a DI cartridge-- to quote the 2nd post
Quote:
just thought I 'd throw it out there (as its not an obvious source of contaminates)...garbage in garbage out... only takes a few minutes to check. But as stated throughout the thread-- it could be any number of things.
__________________
Bill "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve immortality by not dying"-- Woody Allen |
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#20
05/21/2005, 02:29 PM
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Re: Clean Sand Beds
Quote:
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#21
05/21/2005, 06:20 PM
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No argument there Spuds. An RO without DI is far better than tap. The main concern is expressed in Randy's article---How a RO/DI works
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
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#23
05/22/2005, 01:16 PM
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The coin op machines are only RO, at least those around here. They don't produce as high quality as a true home RO/DI but it is still far better quality than tap water. They use a prefilter, carbon block, RO stage and most likely a UV sterilizer though some may use ozone.
As far as a UV unit for one's tank I think it may be a needless expense unless you have a unique situation such as a single sump feeding multiple tanks. Running a canister filter with a micron polishing filter installed will get most common fish pathogens as well as and faster than a UV. They also cost less.
__________________
"Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom |
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#24
05/23/2005, 05:22 PM
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Re: Clean Sand Beds
Like a lot of things in our hobby, easy to understand, harder to achieve. More flow, zero to low nitrates and phosphates, cucumber and/or conch (if you have the space), nassarius and ceriths, quality water in, strain frozen food before feeding, good skimmer, water changes, don't overfeed, don't overstock, and good sifters. I may have left a few out.
Try phosban instead of phosguard. Quote:
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