chimera Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 what's the best option to help keep my substrate turned over? obviously snails will help, but not enough. i was thinking sand sifting goby or sand wrasse or similar. brittle stars would also help i guess. however, i also have a mandarin and dont want a fish that will out compete him for live food. he was moderately skinny when i first got him but he's been slowly getting fatter as my pod population has increased. so, bearing the mandarin in mind, whats the best fish/invert/other to stir up the sand? oh, and this is for the main tank, sand bed about 1/2" - 3/4" thick. want to consider something for the fuge too, sand bed about 2" thick. not quite DSB (and not interested in going DSB yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 Why do you want to turn it over? I just leave mine (approx 2inch thich), seems fine, looks clean and white. Its full of life (lots of little tube thingies etc), I think if you get a sand sifting goby they 'kill' the sandbed? But they are nice looking fish. Pieman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 I just leave mine (approx 2inch thich), seems fine, looks clean and white well that's where you are lucky. my sand turns brownish over time with algae growth. i would your white sand down to very well directed water flow and good lighting. also the extra life you have also helps turns it over too. i actually noticed once my closed loop went in, the sand stays whiter for a much longer period of time. also reduced growth with new bulbs (go figure) still, i'm convinced water movement helps considerably - once a couple of powerheads go in, i'll see if this helps. however i would still like something that will sift the sand around and help maintain the white appearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 Once a week I stir up my sand bed with a spatula device. I grab it from the bottom and churn it over extremely violently leaving the tank in a swirl of cloudy mess! The mess goes away after an hour and the bed looks Beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 I would say that PIES tank doesnt grow much algae on the sand is his bio load is very low. Lucky some of you have got HUGE tanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 Once a week I stir up my sand bed with a spatula device. I grab it from the bottom and churn it over extremely violently leaving the tank in a swirl of cloudy mess! The mess goes away after an hour and the bed looks Beautiful! Yeah I do this too, but would rather do it some other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 sand sifter gobies are great. id like one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skuzza Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 I have the same problem with the alge over a period of time.I still clean mine with the suck device as i have not found any thing else ether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 Valenciennea strigata (Yeelowheaded Sleeper Goby) This was my nicest one but I lost it, it went skinny and I couldn't save it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 I have had this big boy for a while, bought him cause I felt sorry for him, hand feed him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 Love this little fellow but he hides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 yeah a watchman goby great pic's fay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted April 18, 2005 Report Share Posted April 18, 2005 I Had a blue check goby. I spent more time watching him building and rebuilding his cave than I watched the rest of the tank. I must get another one. A word of caution; Make sure your rocks are stable as they can undermine them. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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