Best way to clean substrate?

[Tim Duncan]

Does anyone know to the best way to clean your substrate, after your tank has been setup and running for awhile? I thought that Nassarius snails would keep mine clean, but there still seems to be lots of crap down there. Do I need to get some different CUC members? Or is there something else I can do to keep it clean?

 

[clka]

My hermit crab does an amazing job on any algae on the surface of the sand. My Cerith snails are multipurpose, they clean the rocks, sand, glass, and also burrow under the sand, though I do occasionally have to flip them over if they fall off the rock or glass. (I use a long straw to do that)

Ceriths:

Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates for Marine Aquariums: Cerith Snail

Cheryl

 

[BigJay]

Besides critters eating organics, something to sift the sand and good water movement to keep stuff from settling I like to use something to siphon off the top layer of sand every now and again from different parts of the tank. Of course I make my own tool out of glass but you could easily take a length of 1/2" PVC or CPVC just a few inches longer then the depth of the tank.. 90 it over and add a barb fitting for a drain hose. It's also helpful to have something to slow the flow since you don't want to vacuum up more then 1mm or so of sand. Just start a siphon and have fun.

 

[BigJay]

Ceriths:

Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates for Marine Aquariums: Cerith Snail

Cheryl

hands down best tank employee I've ever had. At the top of my list whenever I recommend anything for tank clean up. I would recommend though checking out reefcleaners.org , site sponsor and better prices.

ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Dwarf Cerith

I prefer the dwarf species. They will also breed quite readily in the home aquarium

 

[Adalius]

+1 ^ Give John a shout over at reefcleaners, tell him what you have in there for a CUC, answer some questions he'll ask you, and he'll set you up with exactly what you need.

 

[Fishguy56]

Sand sifting gobies.....diamond gobies do a great job at cleaning the substrate!

 

[oakleyx]

This might work:

Crab Scooper

Zoo Med Hermit Crab Scooper at PETCO

 

[fruit bat]

By far the most efficient substrate cleaner I have ever had is a Blue Cheeked Gobie. He spends all day sifting the surface substrate

 

[Max250]

After a year and a half, I've started to replace my sand.

 

[Bathtub]

I have sand sifting starfish that seem to be doing a good job- I inherited some quite dirt live sand and they have been turning it over and cleaning it well for sure- but they can be tricky to keep I believe....