Sand bed
- Thread starter lsawchuk
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Everyone has worms in their tank, not to worry, unless they get to huge, they act as part of your clean up crew. Also looks like you have a deep sand bed there, I'd not go messing with it.
Wiz
2500 Club Member
+1 on leave it be. Stay away from sand sifting gobys and stars. Looks like a dsb. If you get time read this. Really good. 
Ron Shimek's Website...Deep Sand Beds
Ron Shimek's Website...Deep Sand Beds
What are your parameters? (nitrates in particular) How long has the tank been set up? Can you post a picture of the whole tank?
That seems like a lot of sand for such a small tank. If things aren't going so well you might want to consider removing the substrate altogether and starting a new. There's definitely more to keeping a happy healthy DSB than just the sand.
That seems like a lot of sand for such a small tank. If things aren't going so well you might want to consider removing the substrate altogether and starting a new. There's definitely more to keeping a happy healthy DSB than just the sand.
Wiz
2500 Club Member
A dsb should be 4" or more. I don't think that's too much at all. And the worms in the sand are great. There will always be some discoloring (algae) because of the light and nutrients. Its not bad. You don't want black spots which are a build up of toxic gas. This usually occurs where the sand has been disturbed. Doing so will kill the tina fauna that clean the sand. And cause decay. The reamaining fauna will usually take care of this gas over time. You will actually see the black disappear. As long as you have a variety and abundanse of sand dwelling fauna, leave it be. Thats my opinion based on a lot of scientifi. Article research as well as articles written by long time veterans of reefing and youtube vids. All put togeather. You don't have to agree. But at the very least research it and see if you don't come to the same conclusions.
A dsb should be 4" or more. I don't think that's too much at all. And the worms in the sand are great. There will always be some discoloring (algae) because of the light and nutrients. Its not bad. You don't want black spots which are a build up of toxic gas. This usually occurs where the sand has been disturbed. Doing so will kill the tina fauna that clean the sand. And cause decay. The reamaining fauna will usually take care of this gas over time. You will actually see the black disappear. As long as you have a variety and abundanse of sand dwelling fauna, leave it be. Thats my opinion based on a lot of scientifi. Article research as well as articles written by long time veterans of reefing and youtube vids. All put togeather. You don't have to agree. But at the very least research it and see if you don't come to the same conclusions.
Lol, don't worry about me, being that I've kept a successful DSB in my DT for 9+ years, it's just that I think we need an answer to those questions I posted above before we can assume that all that sand is just honky dory. You definitely did a good job on that write up above, but I think we both know that things don't always work out like that. It could very well be more of a detriment to the tank than anything else.
Like I said before, that's a lot of sand for such a small tank. (displacement) If water changes are needed to offset the accumulation of crap in that sand bed where are you going to get it from? You could very well be SOL in the long run...
Wiz
2500 Club Member
I respectfully disagree. Please don't think I'm being rude. Just discussion. I don't think the nitrates have anything to do with the sandbed being ok. It might be a source of nitrate temperarily. But as it ages and you gain more fauna it will be fine. The age of the tank is important reguarding the sandbed working properly. But only in the sense that its still maturing. If you are intent on having a dsb there is nothing to do but wait for it to mature. The size of the tank really has nothing to do with sandbed size. The 4" minimum is for the proper layers to insure a great habitat for fauna as well as the proper working of a dsb. If the sandbed I s not atleast 4" you are wasting your time and may want to ditch the idea of a dsb all together. Starting over would be a huge mistake in my opinion as you would have the same issue or worse of not enough fauna. As for crap in the sand, the entire point of a dsb is to ensure enough fauna to clean the sand. If working properly there will be enough fauna to keep the sandbed clean of buildup. The issues involved in dirty sand is usually when you dont have enough or you insist on cleaning it or you have critters that eat your awsome tank cleaning mini fauna. The idea of changing water to offset crap in the sand is a bit wierd to me. The dsb is there to clean the water. Isn't it? Why else have a dsb? But in any case. More sand less water to change. I don't see the problem. The only thing that would make a sand bed bad is if it dId not have those worms and fauna. Which would be obvious because you would see the telltale black spots of decaying matter. All this is how I understand it. Just my opinion. I enjoy this type of convo. It allows me to see other opinions and evolve my opinion. So other than making water changes smaller which I don't see an issue with. And the buildup of crap which a dsb's purpose is to prevent in the first place. What else might be the problem?
Wiz
2500 Club Member
The two larger worms under the holloween hermit molt are partially in dark grey areas of sand. They are in the process of eating the decaying matter (grey spots) as they do the sand will create gas bubbles which the movement of the worms will release. That is nitrates being turned to gas and escaping your sandbed into the air. Exactly how it should work. If the grey does not go away or worse gets darker then you might have a problem. I would suggest leaving the sandbed undisturbed unless that happens.Hello everyone. I'm just wondering if this is ok or if I need to clean it out. It looks like I have some worms in my tank. Advise???
my 2 cents
Wiz
2500 Club Member
Check these vids out too. Shows you how to care for it. And examples of its working. Very helpful.Hello everyone. I'm just wondering if this is ok or if I need to clean it out. It looks like I have some worms in my tank. Advise???
How To Deep Sand Bed Maintenance Part 1: https://youtu.be/d0mN3W_CZ9Y
How To Deep Sand Bed Maintenance Part 2: https://youtu.be/wDMkGDtD0dw
Definitely another nice write up, but I think you need to do a little bit more research as far as DSB's are concerned. You seem to be looking at everything as a best case scenario IMO, (Ron Shimek's words) which in most cases it is not. I'm not sure how many of these sites you belong to, but there's a reason why DSB are frowned upon by a large majority of hobbyists these days. (especially in smaller tanks) Don't get me wrong you'll always have your "die-hards" out there, but threads like this always seem to take a turn for the worst. Good luck to you and the OP though. I hope all the sand in that 16 gallon tank doesn't come back to bite you in the you know what later.
Just out of curiosity, do you have a DSB of your own? It's always nice to see knowledge put into action.
That's a lot of info lol. That you both very much. I'm not going to lie. I'm new. And my tank is too (feb 1, 15) not old at all. The aquarium guys says just to use the strips to check nitrates and everything. So I don't know exact numbers just that they fall in the right places.
Wiz
2500 Club Member
QUOTE=cloak;2289731]Definitely another nice write up, but I think you need to do a little bit more research as far as DSB's are concerned. You seem to be looking at everything as a best case scenario IMO, (Ron Shimek's words) which in most cases it is not. I'm not sure how many of these sites you belong to, but there's a reason why DSB are frowned upon by a large majority of hobbyists these days. (especially in smaller tanks) Don't get me wrong you'll always have your "die-hards" out there, but threads like this always seem to take a turn for the worst. Good luck to you and the OP though. I hope all the sand in that 16 gallon tank doesn't come back to bite you in the you know what later.
Just out of curiosity, do you have a DSB of your own? It's always nice to see knowledge put into action.[/QUOTE]
I am always up for more research which is why I asked what else might be wrong. I have already researched DSb's extensively and with the exception of the things I listed I can't imagine what else might go wrong. possibly if you have the wrong size sand in order to support the life. but it would appear as though there is life in that sand. I've read many articles and watched many videos, can you suggest something that might point out what I might be missing?
I had a 90 gallon reef with a 6 inch sandbed for about 7 years. Admittedly the first couple of years did not go so well. but it ran very well toward the end. unfortunately I had to leave the hobby for a couple of years due to life issues. I am now back in the hobby with a 40 breeder that does not have a DSb. the reason for this as I wanted to have a watchman goby pistol shrimp combo as well as a cucumber which are both bad for eating the fauna. my refugium on the other hand does have a four and a half inch DSb.system is a bit over a year old. it runs extremely well and is it full of life. Amphipods, copapods, isopods, skeleton shrimp, stomatella, brittle stars and more. I have videos on youtube. if you'd like to see it here are a few. I am also in the process of adding a 30g long refugium which will also have a 5" dsb.
https://youtu.be/OaI_SsCTxMU
https://youtu.be/S-MvVyO25T0
https://youtu.be/Lp0yxadRhLg
Just out of curiosity, do you have a DSB of your own? It's always nice to see knowledge put into action.[/QUOTE]
I am always up for more research which is why I asked what else might be wrong. I have already researched DSb's extensively and with the exception of the things I listed I can't imagine what else might go wrong. possibly if you have the wrong size sand in order to support the life. but it would appear as though there is life in that sand. I've read many articles and watched many videos, can you suggest something that might point out what I might be missing?
I had a 90 gallon reef with a 6 inch sandbed for about 7 years. Admittedly the first couple of years did not go so well. but it ran very well toward the end. unfortunately I had to leave the hobby for a couple of years due to life issues. I am now back in the hobby with a 40 breeder that does not have a DSb. the reason for this as I wanted to have a watchman goby pistol shrimp combo as well as a cucumber which are both bad for eating the fauna. my refugium on the other hand does have a four and a half inch DSb.system is a bit over a year old. it runs extremely well and is it full of life. Amphipods, copapods, isopods, skeleton shrimp, stomatella, brittle stars and more. I have videos on youtube. if you'd like to see it here are a few. I am also in the process of adding a 30g long refugium which will also have a 5" dsb.
https://youtu.be/OaI_SsCTxMU
https://youtu.be/S-MvVyO25T0
https://youtu.be/Lp0yxadRhLg
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Wiz
2500 Club Member
the tank looks fantastic for being so new. but I think cloak and I would both agree that test strips are no good. if you want to have a successful tank for a length of time testing is a key part. especially in the beginning. I would suggest loving Google and learning as much as you can in your free time. I would also suggest not listening to your LFS. it only takes a few minutes to look something up and it can save you a world of trouble. welcome to the best and most time consuming and money swallowing hobby there isThat's a lot of info lol. That you both very much. I'm not going to lie. I'm new. And my tank is too (feb 1, 15) not old at all. The aquarium guys says just to use the strips to check nitrates and everything. So I don't know exact numbers just that they fall in the right places.
