Sand CUC?
- Thread starter Kobin
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In my DT I have a deep sand bed getting up there in age should be about 9 years old, and with tank maturity algae seems to grow less on the sand. I have nassarius snails and they don’t do much at all, conches are my favorite for a clean sand bed in general because they “clean” the top layer just when they move only downside of conches is they are clunky and move stuff around.
I’m a fan Of tiger-tail sea cucumbers. I had one two years ago. It has split 3 times do now have 4 of them. 3 in my display and I tossed one in the sump.
The down side is during the day they pretty much hide under or in the rock work then at night they reach out from the rocks and eat up the sand. The other down side is over a few months you will start to notice that all thd sand is under or pulled up around the rock work.
Also don’t under estimate wrasses that sleep in the sand. Every night a few min before lights out my tank get pretty cloudy from the 3 large leopard wrasses I have going to bed. It’s all most instantaneously I’ll see 3 large poofs of dust coming up from the sand.
The down side is during the day they pretty much hide under or in the rock work then at night they reach out from the rocks and eat up the sand. The other down side is over a few months you will start to notice that all thd sand is under or pulled up around the rock work.
Also don’t under estimate wrasses that sleep in the sand. Every night a few min before lights out my tank get pretty cloudy from the 3 large leopard wrasses I have going to bed. It’s all most instantaneously I’ll see 3 large poofs of dust coming up from the sand.
Cucumbers are soft and mushy. Not like an eel with solid muscle to knock over rock work. Nonstop vacuums. You’re going to hear some say they don’t last long and when they die they’ll crash your tank. There’s two here that will tell you that never happened to them to counter the other two that will say thats what they “heard”. This hobby has a lot of “I heard“ hobbyists.
If your sand bed is shallow, 1” maybe a little more you can vacuum it but do it on a regular basis. If you don’t make sure to plunge vertically and remove it vertically not stir it about, and run the hose into a sock to capture possible live things you may want to keep.
On my new tank I’m running a shallower bed than normal, about two inches. I like deep beds for looks and benefits. As Emac said, there are certain fish that need it for their well being and instinctual behavior. We’re trying to replicate nature. Or some are.
If your sand bed is shallow, 1” maybe a little more you can vacuum it but do it on a regular basis. If you don’t make sure to plunge vertically and remove it vertically not stir it about, and run the hose into a sock to capture possible live things you may want to keep.
On my new tank I’m running a shallower bed than normal, about two inches. I like deep beds for looks and benefits. As Emac said, there are certain fish that need it for their well being and instinctual behavior. We’re trying to replicate nature. Or some are.
Tiger tails are awesome and one of the best sand cleaners. Skip sand sifting stars as they consume the microfauna that actually cleans and keeps your sand healthy. Fighting conchs, nassarius, bristle worms, mini brittle stars, spaghetti worms, etc all help clean your sand bed. I started with one tiger tail (like Eric) and now I have 3. Sand beds can be tricky and people's definition of them range drastically. If you really want to take the deep dive into actual DSB, then read articles by Ron Shimek. I like substrate in my display (less than 1" of sand) and an actual refugium in the sump or a remote DSB. If you have more than 3" of sand in your display, then you don't want sand sifters at all.
