sand bed cleaners

there are some diatoms and some just normal green. i am more worried about the waste. i am horrible at vacuuming sand beds. i probably pull out a half pound of sand every time i vacuum my cichlid tank.
 
donk18 said:
there are some diatoms and some just normal green. i am more worried about the waste. i am horrible at vacuuming sand beds. i probably pull out a half pound of sand every time i vacuum my cichlid tank.
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Funny that, I always take out a load of sand when I clean my cichlids out! If you want something to move your sand bed about I would add more ceriths
 
Not sure what kind of powerheads you have but if they put out a dispersed flow at that rate the waste should be suspended in the water column more than staying whole on the bottom. The large zebra turbo will have noticable waste yes, but it shouldnt' stay in tact for very long.
 
i don't touch it but it is driving me crazy. i have never vacuumed it. and it is pretty much just the zebra turbo's waste that i see. what about worms. the eat up waist right. i could add some more bristle worms or some spagetti worms.
 
I'd look at how the flow is and regular maintenance on the tank during water changes (not vaccuming the DSB of course) before I'd add something to eat the poo. Partly because whatever eats the poo is just going to make their own poo.
 
Goby's are great fish for keeping the sand bed clean. I have two diamond goby's in my tank and they are constantly re-arranging the sand. They build a burrow each day and then sleep in it at night and re-build it the next day. This week they have decided to pull all the sand away from my rock and pile it in the corner. NOTE make sure your rock is resting on the tank bottom or they will cause it to collapse. There are smaller varieties that will go well in a 10 gallon tank. very entertaining fish.

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