Will Clean Up Crew Eat Detritus on Sand Bed?

jharding08 · 04/14/2014, 10:43 AM

I have sand bed that is about 2 months old. I am still getting Diatoms and Cyano that sits on the top of the sand bed. I am doing weekly water changes and am trying to vacuum up the detritus from the sand, but mostly it will go into the tube and then fall back out and mix with the sand.

I have been building my Clean Up Crew with trochus snails, nassarius snails and hermits. I also have a fancy serpent star.

I use the following gravel cleaning tube without the nozzle - http://www.thatpetplace.com/gravel-cleaner-with-nozzle

Am I doing something wrong where i can't suck up the detritus through the tube? It will stay in the gravel tube for a bit until the sand fills the gravel tube, then when I release the sand back into the bed, the detritus goes with it.

Could the CUC take care of it or should I try a different technique with the sand vacuuming?

Xavibear · 04/14/2014, 10:47 AM

When vacuuming the sand I will hover the tube maybe 1/2 inch above the sand to suck up detritus, once I get most of it out I'll lightly vacuum the sand.

EllisJuan · 04/14/2014, 10:50 AM

I had an issue with a dirty sand bed for a while. I picked up two Tiger Conch snails and they do a great job keeping it clean. They are big, but they stay off the rock work so I have not had any issues with them knock over coral.

ThisGuy12 · 04/14/2014, 10:50 AM

Yes, your CUC will clean the sand, if you have sand sifters that is. Nassarius snails, certain gobys, starfish, shrimp, even hermit crabs will pick at the junk.

Turbo snails will as well, but they tend to prefer the glass and rocks.

I tend to lightly stir the sand right before I do a major water change (20% +) this way the particles are waterbourne and can be siphoned out easier. Whatever I miss ends up getting caught in the filters or settles and the CUC eat it.

@EllisJuan, be careful of those, I've heard that if/when they die they will tank your tank with it. If you notice them burried for extended periods of time get them out and quick.

EasyEd77 · 04/14/2014, 11:44 AM

From personal experience if a conch snail dies in your tank it will not crash your system. I have had several conch snails over the years die in my aquarium and it was no different than other snail death. I recommend them for anyone looking to keep a nice white sand bed.

jun_ior50 · 04/14/2014, 11:51 AM

I had the same issues with similar CUC. They do a great job, however the clincher for me was increasing water flow in my DT. Keeps everything suspended allowing more to go down to my sump. If your flow is good I would say your maintenance regime along with CUC will eventually take care of the problem.

jharding08 · 04/14/2014, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jun_ior50

I had the same issues with similar CUC. They do a great job, however the clincher for me was increasing water flow in my DT. Keeps everything suspended allowing more to go down to my sump. If your flow is good I would say your maintenance regime along with CUC will eventually take care of the problem.

I have two Tunze 6105s and a 1000 gph return pump

EllisJuan · 04/14/2014, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyEd77

From personal experience if a conch snail dies in your tank it will not crash your system. I have had several conch snails over the years die in my aquarium and it was no different than other snail death. I recommend them for anyone looking to keep a nice white sand bed.

+1. I have lost two different Conchs over the years with no ill effect on my tank.

cloak · 04/14/2014, 12:49 PM

Most of the janitors listed above won't really "clean" your sand bed IMO. If it eats it poops... Your best bet is to just stir things up on occasion and siphon the muck out. Having a lot of flow might help things from settling, but your sand bed is still going to accumulate a lot of detritus either way. I treat my SSB in my 20 gallon tank the same way I do the gravel in my 55gallon freshwater tank. (UGF) Once a month I'll stir the whole thing up and do a water change. This has been a steady routine for almost 25 years now. I don't see why a substrate in a marine tank would be any different. GL.

saltyair · 04/14/2014, 01:25 PM

the best by far in my tank is the tiger tail cucumber ingests dirty sand and poops out clean sand.

cloak · 04/14/2014, 01:36 PM

I agree, a cucumber might be your best option when it comes down to a janitor "inside" the tank, but even the poop still has "a little something to it" per say. Once the poop/detritus/muck is in a bucket, it's gone...

jharding08 · 04/14/2014, 01:42 PM

I think I go too deep into the sand bed when siphoning out the detritus. I get alot of sand to fill the chamber, and then it starts to clog, so I take the tube out of the sand and the sand and detritus falls out. I want to get deep in the sand to clean, but def want the surface detritus (cyano, diatoms, etc)gets taken out and doesnt mix when it falls back with the sand. I'll try to just get the surface with the detritus and see if it goes up with the water

cloak · 04/14/2014, 01:47 PM

Just as an example, this is how my tank looks every 30 to 40 days once I've stirred everything up. Get that muck out!

It's kind of hard to believe that all the parameters were well within reason prior to this though.

phillrodrigo · 04/14/2014, 04:30 PM

How fine is the sand you have. I had the same issue when I had the oolite sand. If its oolite its almost impossible to siphon good. With oolite your better off keeping a extra bag on hand and taking out some wvery few weeks and replacing it

jharding08 · 04/14/2014, 04:43 PM

It is indeed oolite. the issue I am having is getting the detritus to go all the way up the tube and out of the tank. It mostly just floats around in the siphon tube then falls back down to the sand. I have some big pieces of cyano too that I am trying to suck up

shermanator · 04/14/2014, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloak

Just as an example, this is how my tank looks every 30 to 40 days once I've stirred everything up. Get that muck out!

It's kind of hard to believe that all the parameters were well within reason prior to this though.

Fish are okay in that cloudy water? Does it settle quicker than when setting up a tank? That took 3-4 days for my tank to settle / clear. I can't imagine doing that every month.

cloak · 04/14/2014, 05:36 PM

Every things cool...

Once it's been stirred up like that though, I'll siphon that $h!t out. (as much as I can) It's a 20 gallon DT, so I usually change about 5 gallons every two weeks. I've never been one for filter socks either, but when I do do this, I will put a "so called" filter sock on for a few hours to polish the water. Check this out...

Crooked Reef · 04/14/2014, 07:34 PM

Anybody ever had a tiger tail die on them? Did it nuke the tank?

saltyair · 04/15/2014, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crooked Reef

Anybody ever had a tiger tail die on them? Did it nuke the tank?

I have only hear stories iv had 2 (now 3) for over 3 years never an issue, from my research tiger tails are low on toxicity compared to other cucumbers

they have procreated

jerseygurl · 04/15/2014, 01:24 PM

Blast your sand with a turkey baster, if a cloud of detritus appears your sand needs to be cleaned stat. Suck as much out as you can, or stir it up and let the fliter get it. Then change your filter pads quick. Try stacking filter pads 50/100/200. Dirty sand and LR is why people have constantly high nitrates.

cloak · 04/15/2014, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crooked Reef

Anybody ever had a tiger tail die on them? Did it nuke the tank?

I put this one in my old 60 gallon tank. As soon as I dropped it in, that was the first and the last time I ever saw it. I'm not sure if it died or not, but I' never experienced anything out of the ordinary.

04/14/2014, 10:43 AM	#1
jharding08 BlueWorldAquatics.com Join Date: May 2012 Location: Murrieta, CA Posts: 657	Will Clean Up Crew Eat Detritus on Sand Bed? I have sand bed that is about 2 months old. I am still getting Diatoms and Cyano that sits on the top of the sand bed. I am doing weekly water changes and am trying to vacuum up the detritus from the sand, but mostly it will go into the tube and then fall back out and mix with the sand. I have been building my Clean Up Crew with trochus snails, nassarius snails and hermits. I also have a fancy serpent star. I use the following gravel cleaning tube without the nozzle - http://www.thatpetplace.com/gravel-cleaner-with-nozzle Am I doing something wrong where i can't suck up the detritus through the tube? It will stay in the gravel tube for a bit until the sand fills the gravel tube, then when I release the sand back into the bed, the detritus goes with it. Could the CUC take care of it or should I try a different technique with the sand vacuuming? __________________ Stats: 180 g Mixed SPS/LPS reef tank, 30 gallon sump, live rock, GFO\Carbon, AquaMaxx AM250 in-sump skimmer, felt filter socks, cleaning crew

04/14/2014, 10:50 AM	#3
EllisJuan Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Florida Posts: 1,366	I had an issue with a dirty sand bed for a while. I picked up two Tiger Conch snails and they do a great job keeping it clean. They are big, but they stay off the rock work so I have not had any issues with them knock over coral. __________________ 24x24x12 Rimless RR * Apex * Reeflink * Radion Pro G2 * MP10wQD * JNS CO-1 Skimmer * Advance Acrylics Custom Sump * Jebao DC2000

04/14/2014, 11:44 AM	#5
EasyEd77 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: San Ramon Posts: 437	From personal experience if a conch snail dies in your tank it will not crash your system. I have had several conch snails over the years die in my aquarium and it was no different than other snail death. I recommend them for anyone looking to keep a nice white sand bed. __________________ 75 gallon AGA with Lifereef compact refugium 2 sump, 2 T5 HO w/individual reflector and 2 175 watt MH canopy retrofit kit, GEO 612 calcium reactor with masterflex, and litermeter 3 water exchange system.

04/14/2014, 01:25 PM	#10
saltyair Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Ontario canada Posts: 871	the best by far in my tank is the tiger tail cucumber ingests dirty sand and poops out clean sand. __________________ Johnny you know what to do, you know what to do. Bye for now - Eric the actor R.I.P Current Tank Info: 180 gal

04/14/2014, 01:42 PM	#12
jharding08 BlueWorldAquatics.com Join Date: May 2012 Location: Murrieta, CA Posts: 657	I think I go too deep into the sand bed when siphoning out the detritus. I get alot of sand to fill the chamber, and then it starts to clog, so I take the tube out of the sand and the sand and detritus falls out. I want to get deep in the sand to clean, but def want the surface detritus (cyano, diatoms, etc)gets taken out and doesnt mix when it falls back with the sand. I'll try to just get the surface with the detritus and see if it goes up with the water __________________ Stats: 180 g Mixed SPS/LPS reef tank, 30 gallon sump, live rock, GFO\Carbon, AquaMaxx AM250 in-sump skimmer, felt filter socks, cleaning crew

04/14/2014, 10:47 AM	#2
Xavibear Crazy Prophet Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 1,008	When vacuuming the sand I will hover the tube maybe 1/2 inch above the sand to suck up detritus, once I get most of it out I'll lightly vacuum the sand.

04/14/2014, 10:50 AM	#4
ThisGuy12 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 822	Yes, your CUC will clean the sand, if you have sand sifters that is. Nassarius snails, certain gobys, starfish, shrimp, even hermit crabs will pick at the junk. Turbo snails will as well, but they tend to prefer the glass and rocks. I tend to lightly stir the sand right before I do a major water change (20% +) this way the particles are waterbourne and can be siphoned out easier. Whatever I miss ends up getting caught in the filters or settles and the CUC eat it. @EllisJuan, be careful of those, I've heard that if/when they die they will tank your tank with it. If you notice them burried for extended periods of time get them out and quick.

04/14/2014, 11:51 AM	#6
jun_ior50 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 15	I had the same issues with similar CUC. They do a great job, however the clincher for me was increasing water flow in my DT. Keeps everything suspended allowing more to go down to my sump. If your flow is good I would say your maintenance regime along with CUC will eventually take care of the problem.

04/14/2014, 12:49 PM	#9
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Most of the janitors listed above won't really "clean" your sand bed IMO. If it eats it poops... Your best bet is to just stir things up on occasion and siphon the muck out. Having a lot of flow might help things from settling, but your sand bed is still going to accumulate a lot of detritus either way. I treat my SSB in my 20 gallon tank the same way I do the gravel in my 55gallon freshwater tank. (UGF) Once a month I'll stir the whole thing up and do a water change. This has been a steady routine for almost 25 years now. I don't see why a substrate in a marine tank would be any different. GL.

04/14/2014, 01:36 PM	#11
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I agree, a cucumber might be your best option when it comes down to a janitor "inside" the tank, but even the poop still has "a little something to it" per say. Once the poop/detritus/muck is in a bucket, it's gone...

04/14/2014, 01:47 PM	#13
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Just as an example, this is how my tank looks every 30 to 40 days once I've stirred everything up. Get that muck out! It's kind of hard to believe that all the parameters were well within reason prior to this though.

04/14/2014, 04:30 PM	#14
phillrodrigo Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: quaker hill ct Posts: 2,433	How fine is the sand you have. I had the same issue when I had the oolite sand. If its oolite its almost impossible to siphon good. With oolite your better off keeping a extra bag on hand and taking out some wvery few weeks and replacing it

04/14/2014, 04:43 PM	#15
jharding08 BlueWorldAquatics.com Join Date: May 2012 Location: Murrieta, CA Posts: 657	It is indeed oolite. the issue I am having is getting the detritus to go all the way up the tube and out of the tank. It mostly just floats around in the siphon tube then falls back down to the sand. I have some big pieces of cyano too that I am trying to suck up __________________ Stats: 180 g Mixed SPS/LPS reef tank, 30 gallon sump, live rock, GFO\Carbon, AquaMaxx AM250 in-sump skimmer, felt filter socks, cleaning crew

04/14/2014, 05:36 PM	#17
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Every things cool... Once it's been stirred up like that though, I'll siphon that $h!t out. (as much as I can) It's a 20 gallon DT, so I usually change about 5 gallons every two weeks. I've never been one for filter socks either, but when I do do this, I will put a "so called" filter sock on for a few hours to polish the water. Check this out...

04/14/2014, 07:34 PM	#18
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	Anybody ever had a tiger tail die on them? Did it nuke the tank? __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

04/15/2014, 01:24 PM	#20
jerseygurl Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 329	Blast your sand with a turkey baster, if a cloud of detritus appears your sand needs to be cleaned stat. Suck as much out as you can, or stir it up and let the fliter get it. Then change your filter pads quick. Try stacking filter pads 50/100/200. Dirty sand and LR is why people have constantly high nitrates.