Keeping Nano Sand White?

[nanosteve]

I'm having trouble keeping my sand stirred & white in a 10 gal. tank. I've got pretty good current in the tank, and my clean-up crew is 7 nass. snails, 1 blue leg hermit, and a cleaner shrimp.

Any suggestions for modifying or expanding the clean-up crew? Obviously a sand sifting star or brittle star is out because of the tank size, anyone got a nano friendly 'secret weapon' for keeping their substrate stirred?

[ungp]

I use distilled water for my nano and no problem with algae on the sand.
do u use at least ro or ro/di water ?

[Ryan]

nass. snails are a great way to keep the tank stirred. What type of algea is it. If i were you i would go onto J&L and look at their clean up crews. It says what each thing does for the tank. ie turf algea and rock or whatever it is. Then identify what you need and go buy some. Butthose Nass snails are great along with cerith for the top part of your sand bed.

[nanosteve]

Yes, I use RO water (now). I had in the past mistakenly used spring water thinking it was RO, but have now switched. I'm also skimming, running carbon (weekly), poly filter, and some phosban.

Water quality is improving slowly (Cyano is now gone!!!)... and this could just be a patience thing, and my willingness to wait it out. :rolleyes:

[nanosteve]

Thanks Ryan. Am I missing the boat without having ceriths? margaritas? Turbos?

I love my nassarius snails, and given that my glass and rock never have algae issues (lots of purple & pink coraline :smile: ), I'm tempted to just add more... Again with the patience though, I think I'll wait another month to see if the improving water quality helps.

[BCOrchidGuy]

If the tank is relatively new it's going to take a while for everything to settle down. Algae and cyano are often seen in newly established aquariums. Keep good water flow, limit nutrients and keep your chin up. You can remove some stuff by hand if it's an eye sore but eventually it should settle down.

Doug

[Ryan]

You aint missing nothing with turbos. I feel they are only good in big tanks because they are notorious for nocking over corals. I realy like the margaritas. They stay small dont know over corals and eat more algea than turbos do (for their size).

You could also add a fuge and fill it with cheato (sp?) and other macro algea. This would allow the algea you want to grow, grow in a spot that is specialy made for it and not in your display tank.

[mr_alberta]

Nassisarius snails don't eat algae, so you really don't have any algae eaters in your tank besides your 1 blue leg hermit.

Magarita snails are also a cooler water snail that eventually cook and die in your aquarium (I bought 10 that are dropping like flies now that my tank stays above 80 all day).

Trochus snails are very good as they can flip themselves over if they fall on their backs. Nerite snails are also good for a nano and stay very small. By far my favorite snails though at Stomatella snails. They stay small and clean very well. They also reproduce readily in tanks!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Nano,

I don't think you can buy stomatella snails at LFS but if you're ever in Burnaby, I'll give you a couple for free since they came on my LR. Stomatellas are the snails that look like slugs with tiny flat hats (shells).
They're also super fast for a snail.

Anthony

[BCOrchidGuy]

Anthony if the offer is good for others I'd like to buy a couple from you once my tank is up and running for a week or so.

Doug

[Ryan]

Magarita snails are also a cooler water snail that eventually cook and die in your aquarium (I bought 10 that are dropping like flies now that my tank stays above 80 all day).

My margaritas are fine with 82 degrees none have died. i would throw some ceriths in there see if that helps maybe up your hermit crabs also.

[rickjames]

Magarita snails are also a cooler water snail that eventually cook and die in your aquarium (I bought 10 that are dropping like flies now that my tank stays above 80 all day).

My margaritas are fine with 82 degrees none have died. i would throw some ceriths in there see if that helps maybe up your hermit crabs also.

How long have you had the marg. snails for?

[Ryan]

when i had the first tank they were in there for over 3 months. These new ones have been in there about 3 weeks now i think.

[danny zubot]

Why not try a conch? Ever since i got mine my sand doesn't accumulate very much algae or ditritus at all.

[muck]

Why not try a conch? Ever since i got mine my sand doesn't accumulate very much algae or ditritus at all.
Not a great idea for a 10G. IMO.

[Ryan]

You could borrow a conch. or buy a realy small one and trade it off when it outgrows the tank.

[albert_dao]

I recommend SMASHING your tank with a big HAMMER.

Or trying out Cerith/Nerite snails.

[nanosteve]

I'm going to pass on the conch and big hammer, as I'm pretty sure neither are great for a nano. :razz:

The tank is 8 months old, and I think part of the issue is removing desolved organics. I added a Lee's skimmer about a month ago, and water quality is steadily improving. In fact, after writing my original question, I've found my sand looking better and better for longer periods of time.

I think my approach will be to add 1 or 2 marg. & cerith snails (each), and wait again.

Thanks for all the answers.

Steve

[Fish]

Great thread Steve. I find that even though I don't have a big algae problem, the sand in my tank does get discolored over time and needs to be stirred... kind of a biofilm or something.
What would you guys recommend as a good sifting snail for a two gal nano... the smaller the better. Two or three enough for a tank like this?
I have a few stomatella in my home tank and really like them but I dont have a sandbed in that tank so i don't know how well they would be.
Thanks for your help!
- Chad