Recommend: Sand Sifter/Stirrer

[naesco]

Originally Posted by walloutlet

I have a question or actually, I am looking for a recommendation. I have a 65ga aquarium hooked to a 30ga of sump/fuge. Lots and lots of live rock, mostly in the sump/fuge.

The sand bed in the display tank is only about 1 inch deep, just enough to cover the bottom. I have lots of flow through the tank, except in the odd area. The unavoidable nooks and crannies created by the rock.

I had an Orange Spotted Goby, did a marvelous job of turning over my sand bed. Sadly, there just wasn't enough sand bed for him. A friend of mine offered to take him but the shock of the move along with the severe starvation he didn't make it.

This leaves me wondering, what critter/critters can I put in my tank that will help me keep the sand bed stirred and turned? I have been doing it (stirring the sand, sickos) myself with a turkey baster, but I don't want to be doing this forever.

My tank obviously is not big enough for a Goby so anybody got some good suggestions?

As a side note, the tank only has a couple small SPS and LPS frags, GBTA, 2 Percs and a Lawnmower Blenny. Everybody is doing fine. There isn't anything terribly wrong with sand, except it turns a bit brown after a few days if I don't maintain it. My Goby kept it gleaming white and I miss that.

Thanks for the input.

Have you considered adding an inch or two sand to what you already have? That way in a month or two you could add 3 or 4 nassarius snails. The sand bed will become a breeding ground for all kinds of critters the larvae and eggs of which feed your inverts, coral and small fish. You can turbo charge your pod population in your refugium by adding live phytoplankton. Later on you can add a small goby.
The one inch sand bed you have is cosmetic and wont sustain an active population of sand critters IMO.

[walloutlet]

That's an excellent suggestion. I really haven't thought about it that way either. I wasn't planning on keeping a deep sand bed but the more the time goes by the more I am seeing the added benefit of it. I have a pretty good fuge, sustains lots of life there but that doesn't help too much for feeding a Goby when he has cleaned the sand bed out of everything.

I will add this to my list of things to try...

Originally Posted by naesco

Have you considered adding an inch or two sand to what you already have? That way in a month or two you could add 3 or 4 nassarius snails. The sand bed will become a breeding ground for all kinds of critters the larvae and eggs of which feed your inverts, coral and small fish. You can turbo charge your pod population in your refugium by adding live phytoplankton. Later on you can add a small goby.
The one inch sand bed you have is cosmetic and wont sustain an active population of sand critters IMO.

[ponokareefer]

I'd avoid sandsifting starfish altogether. As others have posted, they eat all the life in the sand bed. Nassarius snails do a decent job. If you really want to see a sand bed get turned over, get a convict blenny. I have 4 in my 125 gallon with a deep sand bed, and they turn the sand over a lot. Take a look at some pictures of the adults. Other than their head, they are very eel like, but without the issues of eating small items, and being escape artists.