Keeping sand dollars in a mostly sand only setup

[Urchin boy]

I have been looking at possible invertebrates to add to my deep sand bed which I am trying to expand gradually until it is about 13-15 centimetres deep at least which is what is commonly cited as the most optimal sand bed depth for keeping sand dollars and also hermit crabs and other invertebrates that use deep sand beds and today I added my first batch of live sand to my empty tank and I already ordered some live rock that will be added to my sump and the rest is handled by my redsea roll filter and I am going to add food periodically to keep the filter bacteria active before I add my first invertebrates which is probably going to be a Halloween hermit crab or some snails.

I have done some research on sand dollars and I do know they need a mature system with a very deep sand bed that is rich in nutrients and as my tank is about 200 liters in size it should be more than enough but I would none the less have to wait at least 6 months or longer.

I am aware they can be challenging to keep in the long term but it would still be interesting to keep as I am mostly interested in replicating the sandy bottoms of the Carribbean keeping only sand dwelling species of fish and invertebrates like sand sifting starfish yellowhead Jawfish and specific species of sea cucumbers with some hiding spaces using coconut shells and rocks like lava rocks.

 

[shakacuz]

i kept one in a 40Gal breeder. did great and turning over the sand bed and keeping it clean.

 

[Urchin boy]

i kept one in a 40Gal breeder. did great and turning over the sand bed and keeping it clean.

Glad to know there are at least some people keeping them successfully as I have read they can be challenging to keep

 

[PharmrJohn]

When I was a kid, my Grandparents had a beach house on Puget Sound in Washington State (Southern tip of Vashon Island). We'd go routinely every summer. And I knew where the sand dollar beds were. They were most excellent! I ALMOST went back 15 years ago to see if I could get one or two to try them out. Never did though.