Dirty sand...how can help sand become less brown???

[celticreefer85]

hey guys,

so my sand has been progressively turning more and more brown esp in certain parts of the tank. the sand use to be a beatiful white color but is just progressively getting more brown. the tank has been running a little more than 2 months. is there anything i can do to fix this problem? any ways to help clear my sand and make it more white like it use to be??? thanks!

[BLKTANG]

start feeding less,increase flow in dead spots,& vaccume the sand.Add sand sifting nassarious snails.

Those are just a few i would try.

[robow]

My nass. snails don't do much on the other hand I have great experiance with tiger conchs and sand sifting cucumbers.

[Sohal Tang Tim]

How deep is your sandbed....

That is all part of the normal cycle and your tank is still cycling....
In all honesty a tank is not really CYCLED for about a year....
YEs we can put animals in prior to that and yes the nitrites and nitrates
etc drop sooner but the tank is still working towards becoming
what mother nature wants it to be......

Do not get disappointed in the cyno...it will disappear as fast as it showed up
eventually....

Proper water changes with RO water that is showing TDS of ZERO
and a DI 4th chamber on the Ro unit will make sure you are putting
proper water in...Those water changes being often enough but not too
often is important. Do not overfeed.....avoid flake food ...if you use it
make sure it is GONE in 30 seconds after putting it in and that it was
all 100% eaten.... Make sure you have excellent FLOW in the tank
and that there is no way that fish crap can build up anywhere on the sand bed... If your sand bed is a deep one I do not recommend you vacuum it.....meaning it if is 4 inches or more..... If it is significantly under 4inches
then yes absolutely vacuum it as often as once a week.... I recommend you vacuum 1/2 one week and the other 1/2 the next week etc.... this bad water you take out will become your water change......so do not vacuum out too much water....you have to keep dirt suspended in the python and then
move from spot to spot..using your thumb over the vacuum line....this will
control water siphon and you will remove ALOT less water to cover MORE area of vaccuum... example you can vacuum the whole tank removing 5 gallons of water instead of 20 gallons!!!!!!

So.... GOOD FLOW, REDUCE FEEDING, WATER CHANGES WITH ZERO TDS WATER ... MAKE SURE BULBS ARE NOT EXPIRED
IF OLDER THEN 6 MONTHS RED FLAGS SHOULD GO UP, VACUUM SAND BED
UNLESS IT IS A DEEP SANDBED....ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A KICK a** SKIMMER!!!!!!!!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

Adding a refugium is a great idea.....

all the above things will help but again...patience is your best weapon.....
remember..remember...remember.....the cyno is NORMAL it is part of a CYCLE
....do not panic...your gravel will NOT stay that colour and the WHITE will return!!!! GIVE IT TIME AND DO NOT OVERFEED.



GOOD LUCK

TIM

[Mattik]

Sand sifters, water changes (with thorough sand cleaning) and patience.

For sand sifters, I like nass snails and fighting conchs.

Also, every so often, even a well aged tank will go through "mini-cycles" for various reasons (a death, detritus you can't reach, missed water change(s), skimmer overflow, etc). Algae breakouts often start during one of these times. But as the cycle passes, so should the algae problem. If it persists, then I would call it a systemic problem due to over feeding, insuffucient cleaning, etc.

In your case, with a two month old tank, I would say patience is key. It will go away assuming your husbandry practices are solid. That said, adding a few conchs and nass will hurt nothing, and new critters are always a fun addition to a tank.

[Sohal Tang Tim]

I agree totally with Mattik

Tim

[dahouck]

Diamond Watchman Goby: Great at sifting sand and keeping it pretty.

[Sohal Tang Tim]

will the goby not only keep a 6 inch square area clean????


Tim

[huskysglare1]

+1 to the first guy. More flow.

[kimber45]

normal maintenance, time, and flow imo.