goby stirs up a real mess, thinking of going bare bottom...

PHOTOG · 03/28/2007, 10:48 AM

So I have a sand substrate, i got a diamond goby to eliminate the brown diatom carpet and he does a great job of it. The problem is that the goby sifts the sand soo much that there is always particles floating around and the water never really clears. The brown diatoms are gone from the sand but I hate the mess he makes.

I am thinking of going bare bottom and just keeping sand in the fuge, would this work?

would I have to get rid of the goby if i went bare or would it survive without substrate?

dc_909 · 03/28/2007, 10:51 AM

That is the idea of having a goby, is so that the sand gets stirred and the particles are more likely to be filtered out. If you have a lot of stuff, you need to think about how much you are feeding.

rustybucket145 · 03/28/2007, 10:56 AM

Either loose the goby, or loose both the goby and the sand.

I would say just loose the goby but BE PATIENT and live with the diatoms for a few weeks (they will most likely return). They WILL go away on their own. The fact that you jumped to get this fish to rid diatoms kinda hints at how impatient you are so if you don't want to go through any diatom bloom just loose the sand and the goby and the diatoms will just have to cover the bottom of the tank. Then you'll be back in the same boat.

Honestly diatoms should not even be considered an issue with a new tank. They will only be there for a few weeks (months at most) then they will dissapear, never to be seen again.

WaterKeeper · 03/28/2007, 11:25 AM

Agree, a Goby is not a fish that will make it in a BB tank.

BradsOcean · 03/28/2007, 11:35 AM

maybe a smaller goby

papagimp · 03/28/2007, 11:43 AM

I agree with Rusty's comment, the diatoms won't stick around. At least they don't in a mature system. New tanks go through this phase eventually so it's nothing to really get worked up about. If you are getting particulate matter floating in the tank just because of the goby, then I would take a serious look at your mechnical filtering for the system. A good mechanical filter will keep this particulate matter out of the water column. I have a yellow wrasse that loves to bury himself and kicks up craploads every time he does this, My tank returns to normal withint a few minutes, and this is with 2000gph flow in a 55g. My other gobies add a smidge to the kicked up mess, but nothing bad that would make me get rid of the sandbed.

Gdevine · 03/28/2007, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PHOTOG
So I have a sand substrate, i got a diamond goby to eliminate the brown diatom carpet and he does a great job of it. The problem is that the goby sifts the sand soo much that there is always particles floating around and the water never really clears. The brown diatoms are gone from the sand but I hate the mess he makes.

I am thinking of going bare bottom and just keeping sand in the fuge, would this work?

would I have to get rid of the goby if i went bare or would it survive without substrate?

I'd hate to be a fish in your tank

WaterKeeper · 03/28/2007, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by amoryodio
maybe a smaller goby

All Gobies are bottom dwelling fish that bury themselves in the sand. Just like you Newbies, if I closed all the singles bars, you would perish for lack of your natural habitat. So it is for a sandless Goby.

rhino509 · 03/28/2007, 12:14 PM

PHOTOG,i somewhat feel your pain, i recently added an mjmod to one of my powerheads,it was hard enough not getting flow to cause sandstorms on itn,then i have 2 twospot gobies that are very active causing more particles in the water than i would like.but they are the coolest lie fish so i guess its an even trade.

Lion_Babe · 03/28/2007, 12:50 PM

Keep the goby and the sand. the particles are coming from somewhere and that issue needs to be addressed. Just my opinion.

PHOTOG · 03/28/2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gdevine
I'd hate to be a fish in your tank

Thanks for the valuable input,...You must be a real winner

WaterKeeper · 03/28/2007, 02:33 PM

I won a "World's Sexiest Man" award once.

<--------

No fighting folks, this is not exactly a crisis situation. Well, maybe it is for the Goby.

PHOTOG · 03/28/2007, 02:48 PM

no biggie,...I was just looking for opinions, I love the goby and I am keeping him, I was just reading up on the barebottom thing and thought it would be nice to hear more. I think the particles may just be remnant dust from the sand that the goby is stirring up, maybe I should get a filter sock to catch the really fine stuff.

rhino509 · 03/28/2007, 03:07 PM

a little bit of cloudiness doesnt bother me,from some of the wild reef pictures ive seen,the ocean water isnt always crystal clear.if they are happy,im happy....

WaterKeeper · 03/28/2007, 03:26 PM

You do know that plankton are Hams and when they see those TV lights for National Geographic they turn out for the camera.

Cloudy water doesn't bother reef critters one bit. It is only the human reef hobbyists that suffers when the tank is not crystal clear.

03/28/2007, 10:48 AM	#1
PHOTOG Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Long beach CA Posts: 102	goby stirs up a real mess, thinking of going bare bottom... So I have a sand substrate, i got a diamond goby to eliminate the brown diatom carpet and he does a great job of it. The problem is that the goby sifts the sand soo much that there is always particles floating around and the water never really clears. The brown diatoms are gone from the sand but I hate the mess he makes. I am thinking of going bare bottom and just keeping sand in the fuge, would this work? would I have to get rid of the goby if i went bare or would it survive without substrate?

03/28/2007, 10:56 AM	#3
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Either loose the goby, or loose both the goby and the sand. I would say just loose the goby but BE PATIENT and live with the diatoms for a few weeks (they will most likely return). They WILL go away on their own. The fact that you jumped to get this fish to rid diatoms kinda hints at how impatient you are so if you don't want to go through any diatom bloom just loose the sand and the goby and the diatoms will just have to cover the bottom of the tank. Then you'll be back in the same boat. Honestly diatoms should not even be considered an issue with a new tank. They will only be there for a few weeks (months at most) then they will dissapear, never to be seen again. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

03/28/2007, 11:25 AM	#4
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	Agree, a Goby is not a fish that will make it in a BB tank. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29

03/28/2007, 11:35 AM	#5
BradsOcean Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The Island Posts: 1,173	maybe a smaller goby __________________ the low cost of 3 Ramen meals a day is feeding my zoa addiction Current Tank Info: had a few small reefs in the past, researching for my future 125 :)

03/28/2007, 11:43 AM	#6
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	I agree with Rusty's comment, the diatoms won't stick around. At least they don't in a mature system. New tanks go through this phase eventually so it's nothing to really get worked up about. If you are getting particulate matter floating in the tank just because of the goby, then I would take a serious look at your mechnical filtering for the system. A good mechanical filter will keep this particulate matter out of the water column. I have a yellow wrasse that loves to bury himself and kicks up craploads every time he does this, My tank returns to normal withint a few minutes, and this is with 2000gph flow in a 55g. My other gobies add a smidge to the kicked up mess, but nothing bad that would make me get rid of the sandbed. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

03/28/2007, 10:51 AM	#2
dc_909 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Murrieta, CA Posts: 3,260	That is the idea of having a goby, is so that the sand gets stirred and the particles are more likely to be filtered out. If you have a lot of stuff, you need to think about how much you are feeding.

03/28/2007, 12:14 PM	#9
rhino509 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: spokane,wa Posts: 552	PHOTOG,i somewhat feel your pain, i recently added an mjmod to one of my powerheads,it was hard enough not getting flow to cause sandstorms on itn,then i have 2 twospot gobies that are very active causing more particles in the water than i would like.but they are the coolest lie fish so i guess its an even trade.

03/28/2007, 12:50 PM	#10
Lion_Babe LionFishBabe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 309	Keep the goby and the sand. the particles are coming from somewhere and that issue needs to be addressed. Just my opinion. __________________ I am deathly allergic to almost everything in my tank, but I am addicted to sticking my hands in it...

03/28/2007, 02:33 PM	#12
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	I won a "World's Sexiest Man" award once. <-------- No fighting folks, this is not exactly a crisis situation. Well, maybe it is for the Goby. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29

03/28/2007, 02:48 PM	#13
PHOTOG Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Long beach CA Posts: 102	no biggie,...I was just looking for opinions, I love the goby and I am keeping him, I was just reading up on the barebottom thing and thought it would be nice to hear more. I think the particles may just be remnant dust from the sand that the goby is stirring up, maybe I should get a filter sock to catch the really fine stuff.

03/28/2007, 03:07 PM	#14
rhino509 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: spokane,wa Posts: 552	a little bit of cloudiness doesnt bother me,from some of the wild reef pictures ive seen,the ocean water isnt always crystal clear.if they are happy,im happy....

03/28/2007, 03:26 PM	#15
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	You do know that plankton are Hams and when they see those TV lights for National Geographic they turn out for the camera. Cloudy water doesn't bother reef critters one bit. It is only the human reef hobbyists that suffers when the tank is not crystal clear. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29