Snails

[Youngster Dan]

If your sand bed is only that deep, honestly the best way to keep it clean would be manually. Just stir it up once a week, and then suction off the detritus that settles on the top when you do your water changes. If you stay on top of it, it will hopefully not get so bad.

[Aquattro]

For me, "staying on top of it" never works (4 dogs and a baby are distracting!). With an inch deep bed, I'd probably get some larger Nassarius snails (J&L has these) and maybe a sand sifting star. And maybe a conch. I just added these to mine, and they do a good job. Well, the wrasses help too, they mostly keep the entire sand bed in suspension. If you're afflicted with OCD at all, maybe skip wrasses