Does this sand-bed need maintenance?

pocillopro1 · 2026-09-07T21:48:39-0400

I’ve noticed deeper spots forming bc of goby, snails, flow, etc. and there appears to be red and brown algae forming on glass below sandline. Is this a concern?

I would not say it is “deep” anywhere, maybe an inch and half tops in some spots. I have 3 nasarious snails and a sand sifting goby constantly working it, but I never touch it otherwise. There’s also a conch and a sifting starfish in there somewhere but tbh I haven’t seen either in over a month—I think the conch is hibernating, no idea where the starfish is

Anyway, general advice on sandbed maintenance welcome—preferably an info on an approach that doesn’t involve me ever disturbing it. Thanks!

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MossyFroggyLove · 2026-09-08T06:05:18-0400

pocillopro1 said:
I’ve noticed deeper spots forming bc of goby, snails, flow, etc. and there appears to be red and brown algae forming on glass below sandline. Is this a concern?

I would not say it is “deep” anywhere, maybe an inch and half tops in some spots. I have 3 nasarious snails and a sand sifting goby constantly working it, but I never touch it otherwise. There’s also a conch and a sifting starfish in there somewhere but tbh I haven’t seen either in over a month—I think the conch is hibernating, no idea where the starfish is

Anyway, general advice on sandbed maintenance welcome—preferably an info on an approach that doesn’t involve me ever disturbing it. Thanks!

If I were you, I wouldn't touch it. I prefer to just let things be, afterall, that's how it is in nature! I guess you could change it if it starts affecting your corals/other livestock negatively.

OpposingCounsel · 2026-09-08T06:34:57-0400

I can’t see the color too well but if it’s green you should be fine. The algae is likely only growing due to its proximity to the glass’s channeled ambient light.

Sometimes anaerobic pockets can lead to H2S gas which could crash your tank (though, algae = oxygen present) but I don’t really know too much about that. I saw a post about deep sand beds and how they *could* cause such issues but take all this with a grain of salt.