Keeping the sand looking nice...

[JonoB]

I am currently running a 60g Cube with no sand. Maybe I'm just bored, but honestly I think I'd much rather have sand looks wise...

The reason for trying BB this go around is that every time I have had sand before, I have issues with the sand looking dirty (algae, cyano, diatoms, Dinos). I know all of these have root issues in themselves, but what do you do to keep the sand bed clean?

I thought about a sand sifting goby, a bunch of Nassarius snails, stirring the sand bed constantly....

Just figuring out some options.

 

[jordan10]

Them snails and diamond goby. Keeps sand clean and nice. But goby can make mess of things lol but super fun to watch

 

[Copingwithpods]

I have a 29g and my sand is spotless. Uv sterilizer helps out a ton not only in keeping the sand clean but also the glass, I scrape it just once a week. Another great help is my sand sifting star although he does come with a tiny downside. Because my tank is so small I can't just let him fend for himself as he will starve so I treat him like a fish and feed the it every time my fishes get fed.

I have a nassarius snail and don't really see him stirring anything up, in fact I'll go as far as saying he doesn't put in that much work at all into keeping the sand clean.

All of this can be skipped and just having proper nutrient levels and periodic vacumming will yield a clean sandbed.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Diamond goby was the best thing I ever did for my sand bed. Yes, they can occasionally bury things, but I’ve just learned not to put small frags on the sand.

 

[ScottB]

If you keep a lot of corals on the sand bed, my method is a PITA. If not...
- Before each WC, I clamp a small (Maxjet 1200) pump to the inside glass with a soft silicone hose attached and I blast the sand until I can no longer see through the water.
- Then I pump out 30 gallons of brownish water and replace with new.
- Once the tank clears, I use the pump to blow off the rocks and colonies.
- Finally, once the tank clears again, I change out the filter socks.

I would never do this on an unmanaged sand bed. Vacuum is safer for that.