Hello everyone, I am new to this site but have been in the hobby for several years. I have a 90 gallon fish-only tank which consists of 1 unicorn tang, 1 blue regal tang, 1 lavender tang, 1 niger trigger (small) and 1 snowflake eel. The tank is aquascaped with about 60 lbs. of baserock and two large conch shells. The sand consists of aragalive sand and is currently being sifted by a 3" sand sifting star. I need to find a fish and/or invertebrate that will consume detritus. The fish has to be extremely bold when it comes to feeding so that it can compete with the current population. I clean the tank every 20 days but can't seem to keep the top layer of the sandbed as clean as I would like. The sand sifting star does a good job, but does not seem to work as quickly as needed. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. :shark:
Efficient sand cleaner needed!
- Thread starter Ex-Reefer
- Start date
I am such a fan of my cucumber. It is the best sand cleaner. It is efficient, quick and looks cool too. They are only poisinous if they get shopped up, not if they just die (or so I am told) so aslong as it does not get eaten or sucked into the powerhead, it is OK
What about adding a couple of powerheads to keep up a good current that won't allow the diatrus to settle....so that the filter/protein skimmer can pick it up ?
I currently have 3 maxijet 1200 powerheads in the tank. Two are directed towards the center of the system making a nice circular disturbance in the tank. The other powerhead is positioned straight down onto the rock structure to help create turbulence around the top portion of the rockwork.
The majority of the detrius collects in the nooks of the rockwork located at the base where it meets the sandbed. I have contiplated adding a second sand sifting starfish to the tank, but am afraid that there will not be enough food for the two of them.
I have tried a brown-barred goby which sifted the sand quite well, but was starved due to lack of food from the other fish. I am willing to try any goby or invertebrate that might be beneficial, I just dont want to lose any more new animals in the process if possible. Thanks again for your comments.
The majority of the detrius collects in the nooks of the rockwork located at the base where it meets the sandbed. I have contiplated adding a second sand sifting starfish to the tank, but am afraid that there will not be enough food for the two of them.
I have tried a brown-barred goby which sifted the sand quite well, but was starved due to lack of food from the other fish. I am willing to try any goby or invertebrate that might be beneficial, I just dont want to lose any more new animals in the process if possible. Thanks again for your comments.