Sand sifter

[Chad]

Ok,

I need something to sift the sand in my 20 gal. I got a couple of Blue Legged Hermits, some Astrea Snails, turbo, and Cereith (sp).. What can I put in to accomplish this?

Thanks

Chad

[Bob I]

The Cerith will help. You could add some Nassarious snails, as they will help in turning over the sand. The best thing for turning over the sand IMO is an animal called a "Ball of Yarn worm" I have lots in my tanks. They build little piles of sand ,and have many feelers sticking out. Unfortunately I have no idea where to get them. Mine just came along with the live rock. :eek:

[sumpfinfishe]

Chad,
Try one of these guy's, they sift all day long.
Since day one of reefing I have alway's had a pair.
The two Yellow Watchmen's Gobies that I have now are 3 years old.

http://www3.telus.net/sumpfinfishe/images/watchmen.jpg

[Chad]

Chad,
Try one of these guy's, they sift all day long.
Since day one of reefing I have alway's had a pair.
The two Yellow Watchmen's Gobies that I have now are 3 years old.


Will they do well with 3 damsels? and a false perc? I am trying to get rid of 2 of the damsels but no takers so far :evil: hehe... Plus I am not sure if the tank could handle another fish..

Chad

[Chad]

The best thing for turning over the sand IMO is an animal called a "Ball of Yarn worm" I have lots in my tanks. They build little piles of sand ,and have many feelers sticking out. Unfortunately I have no idea where to get them. Mine just came along with the live rock. :eek:

Got a pic? Maybe someone localy has this?

Chad

[sumpfinfishe]

Then wait, and get rid of the damsels, and then you should have room :biggrin:
You can get them when they are pretty small too.
Mine gets along with two skunks, a six line, a green chromis and a juvie perc.

[Bob I]

Chad,
Try one of these guy's, they sift all day long.
Since day one of reefing I have alway's had a pair.
The two Yellow Watchmen's Gobies that I have now are 3 years old.

http://www3.telus.net/sumpfinfishe/images/watchmen.jpg

The problem with sandsifting gobies and other sandsifters is that they are sifting sand looking for things to eat. So they are actively eating the worms and things your sandbed needs. In effect they kill your sandbed. If you look ar Dr. Ron Shimek's treatise on sanbeds you will see that he tells you in large letters not to keep such animals in yout tank if you want a live sandbed. :eek:

[Bob I]

The best thing for turning over the sand IMO is an animal called a "Ball of Yarn worm" I have lots in my tanks. They build little piles of sand ,and have many feelers sticking out. Unfortunately I have no idea where to get them. Mine just came along with the live rock. :eek:

Got a pic? Maybe someone localy has this?

Chad

That is hard to do Chad. These worms are brown or yellow about an inch long. They are covered with very long hairs. I had one crawling on the glass once, and not knowing what it was I took a picture. I will look through my files and see if it is still around. :mrgreen:

[LostMind]

they are called spaghetti worms and Jayson at saltwaterconnection sells them.

They multiply RAPIDLY in my tank, I must have 25 now and I only bought 6 a few months ago.

I'd offer to give you one or two but not sure how to properly get them out of the sand bed...

Also, I dont think they do all that GREAT of a job in keeping sand clean - they definitely eat detritus, and make little sandpiles but I still get some algae on the sand.

[Bob I]

they are called spaghetti worms and Jayson at saltwaterconnection sells them.

They multiply RAPIDLY in my tank, I must have 25 now and I only bought 6 a few months ago.

I'd offer to give you one or two but not sure how to properly get them out of the sand bed...

Also, I dont think they do all that GREAT of a job in keeping sand clean - they definitely eat detritus, and make little sandpiles but I still get some algae on the sand.

Alright, I had them identified as Ball of yarn worms, but that is how it goes with common names. As to algae, I don't think they even eat that. You probably need something else to take care of that. Their main job is to keep moving the grains of sand to avoid concretion. :biggrin:

[sumpfinfishe]

Bob wrote:The problem with sandsifting gobies and other sandsifters is that they are sifting sand looking for things to eat. So they are actively eating the worms and things your sandbed needs. In effect they kill your sandbed. If you look ar Dr. Ron Shimek's treatise on sanbeds you will see that he tells you in large letters not to keep such animals in yout tank if you want a live sandbed.


I'm sorry Bob :cry:, but I have to disagree with both you and Dr.Ron on this one!
Like I said above, I have been keeping these fish for the past 6 years.
I have never experienced any major loss that I can tell in my live sandbed. With the amount of live sand and rock, there's no way that these two can keep up to the populations within the sandbed. Not to mention the fact that they also eat "Keg size" portions of brine and spirulina everyday.
My sandbed looks healthy with tons of worms, feathers, pods, and shrimp!
The only thing I haven't noticed is any bristle worms :mrgreen:
This however is just my opinion, others may disagree:smile: