Clean Sand: Is it sustainable and how much care does it take?

revhtree · Jul 21, 2020

Today let's talk about a subject that has never been touched on in the aquarium hobby. Clean sand! HA!

If you're like me you love the look of sand in your aquarium. Clean sand, not dirty sand! If you have sand or have had sand you know that it can get dirty pretty quick and at times seems like an impossible task to always keep it clean. Can it stay clean with minimal maintenance? Can it be sustained? I know there have been times when I didn't touch my sand bed and it stayed very clean for long periods of times and then BAM it went down the drain and it became seemingly impossible to keep clean again. Let's talk about that today!

1. Is having a consistent clean sand bed something that is sustainable?

2. How do you keep your sand bed clean? What does your maintenance look like?

3. Any tips and tricks to keeping your sand clean?

Beautiful reef photo via @JohnnyTabasco

DeniseAndy · Jul 21, 2020

I keep sand in my 210g and my 6g. Hardest thing for me is the diatoms and cyano in/on from the sand. Before this new tank, my sand was not white clean, but I also did no maintenance on it. This new set up, I am always battling something.

I will finally get a handle on it and then brown or red comes back. I vacuumed it and sucked up top layer every water change for a while. I do not mind some dirt and color as it is part of the reef. But it can get bad.

More recently (past 4 months) I have added more clean up crew. I love nassarius, cerith, conch and cucumbers in my tank. They have been doing pretty well keeping it clean.A lot less vacuuming since they all got established.

My 6g has a lot less flow and takes months to get any green cyano build up. When it does, I just change out the sand.

Oops, forgot my haddoni tank, It obviously has sand too. That one is harder to clean as I cannot keep a large clean up crew (or have not yet). I do a lot more maintenance on that from the picking off gha that I battle in that tank.

andrewkw · Jul 21, 2020

I know there is not a lot of hard evidence but I truly believe it is not sustainable forever - or at least human lifespan forever. For 99% of reefers they will either get a new tank or give up before then IF they put in a lot of work, ie lots of vacuuming, lots of nassarious snails and other critters but personally I hope I am in that 1% that keep the tank for longer then the other 99% and future old man Andrew does not need sandbed issues when I am no longer physically able to remove 100s of lbs of sand. While that problem is hopefully many decades away from me now I don't use sand in most of my tanks because I do plan on moving them in the future and I plan on very minimal losses. I will use sand if I have to, ie garden eels, carpet anemone ect but won't use it just for looks or for filtration.

Look how gross long term deep sand beds are when they finally get removed. Look at the above tanks sand under the top. It's obviously fine now, but what about 10 years later?

jda · Jul 21, 2020

Cleaning sand has always been an important part of a successful sand reef. Dr. Ron got nearly everything right with his DSB methodology, only they do need cleaned from time to time. While the stuff in the sand ends up being inert, the detritus can gum up the works and needs removed. Starting on about year four, I vacuum out about 1/4 of my sand every three months. You need to go SLOW so that the oxic and anoxic regions in the other sections can do their jobs. Once you see the cucumbers, conchs and other stuff move to the cleaned sections, then you will see how much better this is. You also might need to replace some sand if it dissolves and stuff.

I used 3 inches of sand, which keeps my nitrate low, but detectable. I never have to worry about this. I also love the microfauna that are in the sand that will keep the uglies at bay and also become a war-zone for any fish diseases that might want to breed there (good luck to some ich tomonts on my sandbed (or rock)).

Sandbed is only a time bomb or phosphate factory if the reefer does not know what they are doing. It takes some time to develop and it needs seeded with fauna, but I will never run a tank without a good, diverse sandbed.

I voted sustainable and minimal work since and hour every four years is not a big deal.

DeniseAndy · Jul 21, 2020

I did not mention depths. Good point. I do not keep DSB. My sand for the haddoni tank is like 3" at most. In my 6g it is under 1" and in my 210g it is ranging from none (as my pumps keep moving a section) to maybe 3". When I add my ear muff, I will make a deeper section for her.

I agree a deep sand bed is not easy to keep or good long term without proper maintenance and know how.

Marc2952 · Jul 21, 2020

jda said:
Cleaning sand has always been an important part of a successful sand reef. Dr. Ron got nearly everything right with his DSB methodology, only they do need cleaned from time to time. While the stuff in the sand ends up being inert, the detritus can gum up the works and needs removed. Starting on about year four, I vacuum out about 1/4 of my sand every three months. You need to go SLOW so that the oxic and anoxic regions in the other sections can do their jobs. Once you see the cucumbers, conchs and other stuff move to the cleaned sections, then you will see how much better this is. You also might need to replace some sand if it dissolves and stuff.

I used 3 inches of sand, which keeps my nitrate low, but detectable. I never have to worry about this. I also love the microfauna that are in the sand that will keep the uglies at bay and also become a war-zone for any fish diseases that might want to breed there (good luck to some ich tomonts on my sandbed (or rock)).

Sandbed is only a time bomb or phosphate factory if the reefer does not know what they are doing. It takes some time to develop and it needs seeded with fauna, but I will never run a tank without a good, diverse sandbed.

I voted sustainable and minimal work since and hour every four years is not a big deal.

Wait so you saying a well established sandbed is good at fighting ich tomonts?

ajhudson15 · Jul 21, 2020

ive done this for 6 years and have never cleaned my sandbed. everytime ive upgraded ive scooped it out and added ot the new tank with more new sand since im going bigger. my wrasses and diamond goby keep my sand bed stirred up enough and it stays almost spotless. no cyano or anything on the sand. I also do not have any nitrate or phosphate issues as I actually have to dose nitrate

madweazl · Jul 21, 2020

1. Is having a consistent clean sand bed something that is sustainable?
a) I certainly believe it's possible and pretty easy

2. How do you keep your sand bed clean? What does your maintenance look like?
a) I employ a small group of critters to do what they naturally do. I have a diamond goby (makes this easy), tiger sand conch, and two pistol/goby pairs.

3. Any tips and tricks to keeping your sand clean?
a) Let the critters that have evolved to do this process, do it. This doesn't mean you never have to touch it but I vacuum it about once a year. Cleaning the glass below the sand remains an issue.

Bad pic but I haven't touched the sand in the year and change that it's been set up.

jda · Jul 21, 2020

Marc2952 said:
Wait so you saying a well established sandbed is good at fighting ich tomonts?

Search out some of the older posts on WWM. When the ich falls into the sand of a very diverse tank, what do you think is looking for a free meal? ...all of the stuff that lives down there from protozoa, bacteria, micro fauna, pods (tiny to large), different sizes of worms and starfish, etc. While probably never eradicating them, they have to fight for their lives and get cut back significantly to where they are not an issue. In the olden days when people said "fish will be easier when your tank matures" some used to think that this was about stability, but it was mostly about the fauna getting populated. Fenner or somebody spoke to this once at a conference (sorry, my memory is not working well) and there was some responses on WWM back in the day.

This is why so many of us with mature tanks just isolate fish until they are not skittish and eating and then they go into the tank. I keep some fish that are QT'able very easy (leopards, butterflies) and I do not have disease issues.

Bare bottom and tanks with sterile dry/dead rock just started with bacteria are ideal breeding grounds for ich. You need more than bacteria in a bottle to have this happen, so 20-40 lbs of real live rock and some live sand can get this going. Even some mud or grunge from IPSF can really help. Nobody mentions this when selling you their "pest free" products, even though they should so that people can make their own decisions.

jda · Jul 21, 2020

Also, do not forget that sand (all aragonite) will bind phosphates, sometimes in massive numbers, which can hide/mask a hobbyists poor husbandry. Eventually, the sand will get full and the phosphates start to rise quickly. Some people think that the sand leeches phosphates, but this is not anywhere near being true. The truth is that the sand is not able to pick up any more slack. Another reason why routine maintenance and good husbandry is needed, in addition to the occasional cleaning that I mentioned above.

Marc2952 · Jul 21, 2020

jda said:
Also, do not forget that sand (all aragonite) will bind phosphates, sometimes in massive numbers, which can hide/mask a hobbyists poor husbandry. Eventually, the sand will get full and the phosphates start to rise quickly. Some people think that the sand leeches phosphates, but this is not anywhere near being true. The truth is that the sand is not able to pick up any more slack. Another reason why routine maintenance and good husbandry is needed, in addition to the occasional cleaning that I mentioned above.

I was wondering about that too, so basically the sand and rocks act as a buffer to keep the phosphates stable? I had a dino issue a couple months ago and the problem has been solved. But since then ive been having to dose phosphates to keep it from hittign 0. Right now its dropping about 0.06 ppm every 24 hours.

Ippyroy · Jul 21, 2020

I love the look of sand but it needs to be kept clean. I removed my filter socks and made it into a fuge. When I harvest chaeto, every couple of weeks, I insert a sock and vacuum the sand bed very well into the sock. It takes a bit of effort but my tank looks great. My sand bed is about 2-3 inches deep.

jda · Jul 21, 2020

Stable and good at low levels, reservoir and a pain at high levels. Just keep feeding and the sand will fill up enough to get into the stable range. All that you are doing with the dosing is filling up the rocks and eventually they will bind enough to keep some in your water. The more surface area, the more that this happens - it also will depend on pH, temperature and salinity, but not enough for us to worry about.

BTW - aragonite will never truly bind to zero. You need media or chemicals to get to true zero where there is really none in the water. However, really, really low can be a problem for some. The aragonite will bind to an "equilibrium" with the water where some is always left.

If you are going to dose phosphates, then I recommend a good tool like a hannah ultra low checker. Any other test kit is a guessing game. In the end, if stuff is growing, then you are not at zero.

Doctorgori · Jul 21, 2020

Sand is worth it if your lifestyle allows: bonus is more interesting livestock choices
Tip: and as a bare bottom type, I got news before you choose barebttom:: It. doesn’t spare you from the jaws of the python

Tip: If sand: Recognize the value of a “minimalist Aquascape” :easier siphoning: access and Less chance of aquascape disasters... leave your self siphon space

Basically add about an extra few minutes per sq ft to your weekly bottom maintenance
Added: BRS just did a excellent Barebottom vs Sand vid For tips if not already mentioned

Doctorgori · Jul 21, 2020

Forgot to add: when I had sand I employed 2-3 siphon sizes.
I’ve heard of negative news with Babylon snails, but I had 2-3 for years. They do move sand

alimac122 · Jul 21, 2020

1. Is having a consistent clean sand bed something that is sustainable?

YES! I advocate in letting the tank work for itself. Proper CUC/ fish and doing a tiny bit more maintenance during vacs is all thats needed.

2. How do you keep your sand bed clean? What does your maintenance look like?

I have one sand sifting star, a ton of different sized ceriths, and plan on getting a diamond goby in the next few weeks ( i had a YWG when i first started the tank but i havent seen him in over a month). My personal maintenance is just making sure that I stick the siphon in the sand when doing my water changes. Nothing overly difficult.

3. Any tips and tricks to keeping your sand clean?

Make sure you choose CUC that works for you. Its not always gonna be something exciting to look at, but it will be helpful!
My goal in my tank is to have it as close to a fully functioning ecosystem as possible, without all the crazy expensive equipment.

92Miata · Jul 21, 2020

Marc2952 said:
I was wondering about that too, so basically the sand and rocks act as a buffer to keep the phosphates stable? I had a dino issue a couple months ago and the problem has been solved. But since then ive been having to dose phosphates to keep it from hittign 0. Right now its dropping about 0.06 ppm every 24 hours.

Yup - its a phosphate buffer - with way more surface area than your rock.

Most 'old tank syndrome' is really that the sandbed has reached its carrying capacity for phosphate and is no longer absorbing more - and the aquarist is putting in more than they're taking out. So after years of flat parameters, suddenly phosphate starts rising very quickly. Its not really that it leaches phosphate, its that it stops absorbing it. And these are hard to fix because aragonite can bind relatively huge quantities of phosphate.

Fishurama · Jul 21, 2020

I voted minimal. I have a 5 inch diamond/orange spot goby, huge guy, cleans my sand so good, it reflects and looks like its new sand.
I have a few fighting conch, turbos, bumble bee, and zombie snails as i call them(nassarius snail) but the goby is the true cleaner. The first 1/4 inch of sand is pretty much always moving because of it.

From far away it looks like this. Half my coral disappear on camera since the reflection. The Xenia, anemons,acan, etc just aren't even showing up... These are only current marine orbits LOL. Goby just likes clean sand. Must be an OCD. ;Dead

James Matthews · Jul 21, 2020

Not hard if you have good water quality, high phosphates in water make diatoms grow, if you have a sump use a gravel filter through a filter sock into your sump let it get pumped back up and you can continously clean your sand without having to stop to put water in