Best things to sift sand?

[mikelush78]

What is the best thing to sift the sand to keep it from growing algea on top and also collecting detirius?

I know sand sifting stars do a good job but they also eat all the small critters in a sand bad that makes it live....

I know the Diamond Watchman Goby also sifts sand. Never had one and not sure how good of a job he would do on my 90 gallon tank...

I know Nasarious snails also sift through the sand but i have found that they don’t overturn it enough to make the sand look pretty if you get me... I do have 3 or 4 of them in my 90 gallon now...

Do not know anything about cucumbers, not sure what they do lol

So what should I get to sift through my sand in my 90 gallon reef and keep it looking good and healthy?

[AdamBoro]

I would go for an industrial sized tractor plough.

[mikelush78]

That is your first post on this forum and I have to say its one of the worst... lol

[Reefscape]

one of the shortest and dumbest aswell.....

What ever you put in the tank to sift the sand is going to remove some of the live in there, but, i would suggest a Queen Conch..

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/queen-conch---strombus-gigas-inverts--snails---shelled-animals.html

Niko

[mikelush78]

o i forgot about that i do have a queen conchin there lol

[AdamBoro]

I use a stick,and just stab through the sand myself once a week or so. That works for me.

[USCavalry19d]

ok well i am going to advise against a queen conch snail due to the fact that they get to be 12 inches in length and there will not even be enough food for it to even survive ina 90 gallon tank. A orange Diamond goby would be your best bet. They do a really good job and grow to be only a few inches 4-6 to be exact. I honestly feel sorry for the idiots that put a snail that grows to be 12 inches in such a small tank. It isnt right for the life of the snail and also it will do more damage to the tank by knocking over your live rock or coral when ever it decides to move. STAY AWAY FROM QUEEN CONCHES IN SMALL AQUARIUMS. Cucumbers as well as sea stars will sift your sand as well as Gobies.

[Reefscape]

Sorry, but, to me, a 90Gal is not classed as a small aquarium. You have a yellow tang in your 55Gal tank that can grow up to 12"...but a conch that can grow to the same size should not be allowed in a 90Gal?

I dont get the logic there mate...

Niko

[drobes]

I'd have to agree that at least in the long term, queen conches aren't the best option. To me they fall into that same category with horseshoe crabs as ridiculously large inverts that I'm always surprised to see selling commonly on online sites. Eventually the queen conch will grow very large and will likely have a hard time moving around an aquarium, contributing to a little unplanned aquascaping. ...but on the plus side, when it finally dies you can polish out the giant shell and have a nice horn to hold up to your mouth and blow a crisp clear note! :) Maybe useful for waking up the neighboors on an early Sunday morning?

If you're looking to cut down on the amount of dietrius I'd go for a larger crew of hermits or more nassarius or cerith snails (3-4 isn't enough to put a dent in a tank that size). If you're looking to clear the front sand of all dietrius build up, I'd suggest that your best solution isn't a critter at all but positioning a couple low stream type powerheads mounted on the back of the tank pointing forward. Nanostreams or Hyrdor Koralia's would work great for this.

[Fishieness]

IMHO, along with a clean up crew of hermits and some snails and the general types, a lot of flow is your best bet. then also everything is taken out by the skimmer

[m007]

Depending on the depth of your substrate the star is the best option. The sand sifting gobies I've seen only sift the surface substrate. The stars dig down real deep. Your 90 should support a star but I'm not sure which species would be the best. The last time I asked about them at my LFS they dug one out of the substrate and upon returning it the star burried itself in 10 seconds. I've seen others that crawl all over the tank.

[USCavalry19d]

Nixon I don’t know what kind of Yellow tangs they have in Europe or where ever you’re from but i'm sorry to say over here in America a Yellow tang grows to a max of 8" not 12” so lets get that fact straight. A yellow tang is ok to have in a 55 gal tank as well, however that is the MINIMUM size tank to keep one in. Also a fish swims and doesn't crawl all over the rock and sand there for knocking everything over. Yes I agree a 90 gallon tank IS NOT classed as a small tank but for a queen conch it IS. You have to take things into consideration Nixon things grow. If not then you would still be a baby crapping in diapers. There really shouldn’t be any logic on this topic it should simply be common sense.

[Germanman]

yellows do get only to about 8 but i have seen on rare occasion 12...lets drop it though because fights are:OT:
anyway....the gobies are great, diamond, court jester and so on
cucumbers are alright but get large about 12 inches
sand shifting stars aften starve
queen conch get to big and will eat fish
fighting conch are much better and usually only get to be about 6 inches max
nassa snails will go through the sand but dont clean it well and tend to kill ur sick fish better.
hope this helped:)

[Reefscape]

UScavalry...that is your opinion and i respect that, but, research yellow tangs and you find that they can grow larger than 8"..and that is a fact mate..I am not here to argue over facts and figures, i am here in Aquaria central to mearly offer my opinion and give suggestions.

Niko

[AdamBoro]

I would use an army of about 6 queen conchins to perform their duties within your 90 gallon tank. I apply the same method in my 100 gal tank. I would like to clear up this yellow tang argument. Fish grow to the size of the tank they are in, so they are never going to grow to their full biological size when there in a small tank, so thats okay. Unless you get your hands on a 8 or 12 incher straight away!

[jojo22]

I would use an army of about 6 queen conchins to perform their duties within your 90 gallon tank. I apply the same method in my 100 gal tank. I would like to clear up this yellow tang argument. Fish grow to the size of the tank they are in, so they are never going to grow to their full biological size when there in a small tank, so thats okay. Unless you get your hands on a 8 or 12 incher straight away!


COMPLEATLY FALSE!!!!!! A fish, or invert, CAN AND WILL outgrow it's tank. I think this is the worst peice of advise I have ever heard outside of the local Walmart!!!

[Reefscape]

and i thought it was just me thinking that....

Niko

[jojo22]

No I read the whole 3 posts this guy has and I really hope none of the newbies around here take his advise. Not to be mean but it is just really bad, and I don't want to see anyone crash a tank because of what they read here.
I am almost tempted to say he's a troll but I'm hopeing that's not true and he just needs to learn a thing or two.

[Reefscape]

Agreed....

Niko

[mikelush78]

I have had my queen conch now for 1 year and its still the same size... Its shell is about 1.5 inches long and cruses arround..

Is it true that sand sifting stars kill a live sand bed? Like if i get a snad sifting starfish will it make my live sand dead? will it eat all the little things that make it live?

[drobes]

It will eat creatures that live in the sand such as amphipods, copepods, tube worms and spaghetti worms. Although most stuff I've read on them suggests that they have the capacity to clean out even a large tank sandbed in a matter of weeks and then they will bury themselves in the sand and slowly starve to death and decay while remaining hidden.

Make sure you have enough micro fuana to sustain one of these.

[Germanman]

I would use an army of about 6 queen conchins to perform their duties within your 90 gallon tank. I apply the same method in my 100 gal tank. I would like to clear up this yellow tang argument. Fish grow to the size of the tank they are in, so they are never going to grow to their full biological size when there in a small tank, so thats okay. Unless you get your hands on a 8 or 12 incher straight away!

thats a load right there.....not true they will grow slower and fall shot an inch or two but the small fish small bowl thing is an utmost lie.

[Germanman]

I have had my queen conch now for 1 year and its still the same size... Its shell is about 1.5 inches long and cruses arround..

Is it true that sand sifting stars kill a live sand bed? Like if i get a snad sifting starfish will it make my live sand dead? will it eat all the little things that make it live?

they can severely dicipate the sand fauna and usually do so in smaller systems and die and cause a spike.

[gomrjoe]

There are some pretty funny comments on this thread!

Seriously, Gobies are probably a safe bet, and do a good enough job, a sand sifting star will work too, if you have a decent bio load to keep it busy. I agree with the other posts for the most part.

I have had a sand sifting star in my 100 gal. for a year now, and I have noticed that when my bio-load is higher (when I had about 14 fish in my tank) he seemed healthier, ie. more active, more visible, etc. A couple of low points in my tanks life, like when I was down to about 7 fish for a while, and he was hard to find sometimes.

That is my two cents worth.

[Mr.Firemouth]

I would go for an industrial sized tractor plough.

Personally I thought it was funny.=)

Gobies, stars, conchs, nassarius snails, and yes...a stick!!!

Do not dig too deeply when stirring the sand yourself. Agitate the surface only.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamBoro
I would use an army of about 6 queen conchins to perform their duties within your 90 gallon tank. I apply the same method in my 100 gal tank. I would like to clear up this yellow tang argument. Fish grow to the size of the tank they are in, so they are never going to grow to their full biological size when there in a small tank, so that's okay. Unless you get your hands on a 8 or 12 incher straight away!

that's a load right there.....not true they will grow slower and fall shot an inch or two but the small fish small bowl thing is an utmost lie.

Perhaps not a deliberate lie, but the continuance of bad misinformation. The biggest problem with bulletin boards and older published literature is anecdotal information instead of facts. The fact is fish will thrive if provided the proper care, appropriate foods, water quality, and environment. Fish can out grow their containers if provided the proper diet and water quality.

As far as the queen conchs are concerned...most are sold small at 1"-2" and it would take several years and a healthy system for a queen conch to outgrow its tank. These animals do not add shell that quickly. I have and still keep several. They are slow growers. They do move and knock corals around so pinning the coral with acrylic doll rods is one way to prevent this and epoxying the coral to the rock is another.

Without knowing the intentions or age of AdamBoro I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he is trying to be helpful. Time will tell. It is best to have personal experience or link a published work when offering advise or else it winds up here-say anecdotal and could be wrong. I personally have kept FW and SW aquaria for over 25 years both as a hobbyist and a professional. I maintain over 1,000g in my fishroom at home and another 2,000g of SW in a fishroom in Chicago with my friend John(Fishman).

Here is the link for the snail...
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/super_nassarius.html

[esseginz-2]

I have Nassarius Snails in my tanks(55g and 25g)They do pretty good job.I also placed low flow powerheads 3 inches above the sandbad.

[Germanman]

nassa snails arnt really sand shifters! they eat mainly carrion, also know as dead flesh, they arnt the best sand shifters and the only real shifting they do is when they bury themselves. they can be a treat to your fish if there are to many just be careful.

[esseginz-2]

Thanks for the tip Germanman.

[Germanman]

np...and it was saposed to say threat not treat...lol

[Suzzie]

i've got a scooter blenny that stirs everything up really well. Fun to watch, too, most dog-like fish I've owned yet. :)

[Germanman]

i've got a scooter blenny that stirs everything up really well. Fun to watch, too, most dog-like fish I've owned yet. :)

they arnt blennies actually they are dragonetts...sry just my pet peve...just like its sea star not starfish...lol
they dont really shift the sand but ive noticed that mine does the same thing as urs...any bit helps.:)

[Catpicklesdog]

I had two blue cheek gobies that were brilliant at sifting the sand. It was quite entertaining to watch them scoop a mouthful and then watch the bits come out of their gills!!!