how to keep sand STUPID WHITE CLEAN

[ReefDreamz]

I need some advice as to how to keep my 40 gal cube's sand pure sparkling white.....

[gulfsurfer101]

Easy, take it out and replace it with black sand. Vac with every water change.

[Fishnewbie27]

I've had really good luck with sand shifting inverts like a Nassarius Snail and a Sand Sifting Starfish these guys keep my sand pretty clean and white

[Chyendra]

Nassarius snails are great but I wouldn't recomend a sand sifting starfish for a small tank.

 

Keep your nitrates and phosphates really low... this will keep algae from growing. I tend to keep a shallow sandbed so that it's easier to siphon when I do waterchanges. My sand stays pretty white.

[Trick]

Fighting conch. Only need one and your done.

[yeast]

Syphon your sand at every water change.

[joesmoe517]

i use a tiny gravel/sand vac with each water change to take out some detritus build-up... also keeps the sandbed clean of gunk

[ry05coupe]

Fighting conch. Only need one and your done.

 

this, and syphoning/good parameters

[Quokka]

this, and syphoning/good parameters

i dont even vacuum my sand at all. if anything i stir it up with a turkey baster (only like 1/8th of it at a time) before a water change so all the debris gets sucked in my filter. low nutrients and my cuc keep it super clean.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Nassarius snails eat carrion - make sure you provide them with enough food.

 

The key to keeping sand clean naturally is to house enough detritivores to do the work for you - not only things you can see like snails or small sand sifting stars, but also the tiny things like pods, small crustaceans, worms, larvae, etc. To keep a viable sandbed ecosystem, the animals need to be fed and housed appropriately. If done correctly they should keep the sand very clean.

 

If you have a shallow bed, or use coarse sand, or have animals that disturb the sand, or are implementing a very low nutrient system, then your best bed is to regularly vacuum because the tank will then lack the capacity to keep detritivores alive and healthy long-term.

[eksblenny]

Unless you siphon it is hard because even detritivores poo and their poo does not look like sand...

[brandon429]

agreed on the accumulated wastes of the sandbed organisms, even the stirrers. some type of manual work will be required is my opinion

If you've ever owned a sandbed that was 4 or more years you'll see the brownness is imminent. good luck Sir

regularly taking off the top layer in the bad spots and a quick replace with a handfull of fresh sand is the best method I could fathom.

[Rehype]

1)Efficient sand stirrers (Fighting conch,cerith snail etc..)

2)Extremely low nutrients (very low phosphate and nitrate levels should be 0)

3)Weekly siphoning to remove detritus

[wdubosemsp]

My twin spotted goby keeps my sand nice and clean. Just cany keep too many corals on the sandbed since they occasionally get burried.

[Gigaah]

My twin spotted goby keeps my sand nice and clean. Just cany keep too many corals on the sandbed since they occasionally get burried.

 

Agreed. If you can keep your corals up a lil bit a sifting goby will keep the sand spotless. The only problem is they often like to sprinkle it where ever they please. golden headed and dragon gobies come to mind for heavy sifters. two spot being the smaller of the sifters..so is a good choice.

[adinsxq]

you could always try BB with holographic sand.

[ReefDreamz]

Funny everyone says to Sift the Sand and use a siphon during WC's...... I think I'll call myself out on this one, but i have NEVER in 3 years done this....

 

SO, with that said.... Advice on how to properly sift/siphon the sand???

[shaqdan]

Easy, take it out and replace it with black sand. Vac with every water change.

How does replacing it with black sand keep it white?

[TheWAND]

How does replacing it with black sand keep it white?

 

Well first it help you recognize when someone's trollin

[shaqdan]

And it will help you to recognize when someone is being sarcastic to the troll.

[Fluffeh]

when i try to syphon my sand, i end up sucking a bunch out. is it okay to be pulling out sand with each WC? I just purchased a new bag of live sand and I'm going to be adding about a handful every 2 days to add more now.

[nor_cal_nano]

Sure. If you don't mind replacing it.

 

I dial back the flow on my siphon hose when I go to clean the sand. That way it only picks up the lightweight detritus on top. Most of the sand stays behind.

[Fluffeh]

if i choose to remove the sand, won't that get rid of a lot of beneficial bacteria or anything in my tank?

[ReefDreamz]

do you just siphon the top layer off or do you dig down into the sand????

[Fluffeh]

well im thinking about replacing my sand completely, so if i choose to syphon on my sand will that cause any negative effects on my tank? after i remove all the sand I want to slowly add some new sand