Sand sifter necessary? If so... some suggestions?

[MikeD88]

Do you think sand sifters are a necessaty? I only have two strombus conches in my 75 that actualy go under the sand. Is that enough? Do you have any suggestions for sand sifters? I know about nessarius snails, however, I would probably need an ARMY of them and at $3 a snail... I'd rather not.

 

[softiegirl]

i have 2 tiger tail cukes... they're great sand sifters, take in dirty sand, poop out clean! like automatic pool cleaners on all the time lol

 

[MikeD88]

i have 2 tiger tail cukes... they're great sand sifters, take in dirty sand, poop out clean! like automatic pool cleaners on all the time lol

Are they poisonous at all? like if harmed, do the emit any poison?

 

[NotTheFace]

You don't "need" sand sifters they are just nice to have.

 

[MikeD88]

You don't "need" sand sifters they are just nice to have.

So should i waste the money on them or not? I can get a bag of 50 nassarius snails for $75 at my LFS, don't know if I should or not.

 

[Harry_Y]

i have 2 tiger tail cukes... they're great sand sifters, take in dirty sand, poop out clean! like automatic pool cleaners on all the time lol

I had one and now I have two (must have split)

 

[sprinklerdudes]

I picked up a small sand sifting star fish and my sand is pretty clean

 

[Yellowtang]

I would say they are not a cure all, but they seem to help quite a bit. I think
they are a good ting to have.

JR,

 

[Frogfish]

it depends on what the purpose of the sifters is.

A sand sifting star or dragon goby turn the sand over, but they eat the pods. This doesn't leave any for other critters to eat.

Nasarrius and other snails eat detritus but live in the sand. They will effectively stir the sand so that there is little algae or detritus buildup on it.

 

[MikeD88]

I think I am going to go with a bag of 50 small nassarius snails to keep things moving underneath and eat some crap. I definately don't want anything that will eat my pods as i am going to get a madarin goby pretty soon.

 

[Paul_N]

I think I am going to go with a bag of 50 small nassarius snails to keep things moving underneath and eat some crap. I definately don't want anything that will eat my pods as i am going to get a madarin goby pretty soon.

If you have enough live rock they won't put a dent in your pod population. The sand sifter star will devour everything in your sand bed and it won't be live sand for long. I have a barred goby that cleans my sand and also have a spotted mandarin that is fat and happy. The only downside to some of the goby is that they will cover coral on the bottom with sand.

 

[MikeD88]

Do you think 50 nassarius snails will do the job in a 75? 2" sand bed

 

[xmjxflipx]

sand sifter...just get one diamond goby.........i have one and that thing sifts alll my sand............and nassarius snails are cool sand sifters.........when u drop pellets they just come out like zombies from the ground looking for food

 

[softiegirl]

thats plenty. and im not sure about the cukes being poisonous, have heard different things. I did have one that got a rock dropped on top of it, and now it's two. crazy!

 

[MikeD88]

sand sifter...just get one diamond goby.........i have one and that thing sifts alll my sand............and nassarius snails are cool sand sifters.........when u drop pellets they just come out like zombies from the ground looking for food

The thing with the diamond goby is... don't they cover any corals on the sand bed with sand? aren't they mini dump trucks?

 

[Supreme Reefs]

The thing with the diamond goby is... don't they cover any corals on the sand bed with sand? aren't they mini dump trucks?

lol yes they are, i like the way you put it "mini dump trucks" hahaha but they dont seem to be as bad as the golden headed sleep goby since those go a bit higher in your tank while sifting sand

 

[xmjxflipx]

lol yea........but if u have a pretty big tank im sure its not gonna do too much damage...i have one in my 46 and it hangs around the back but doesnt mess around with my corals since i have them glued onto rocks on teh sand.

 

[Paul_N]

lol yea........but if u have a pretty big tank im sure its not gonna do too much damage...i have one in my 46 and it hangs around the back but doesnt mess around with my corals since i have them glued onto rocks on teh sand.

Stay away from the barred goby. It rises about half the way up in my 75 and drops sand all over the bottom half. It also eats hair algae though and covers every spot of sand in the tank.

 

[starfish]

I would not put more than 15 to 20 nassarious snails depending on the size it they are the tiny ones 20-25 at most. They can starve if you over do it.

 

[chromeguppy]

If you keep corals on your sand bed sifting gobies suck! But I love watching them go to town, keeping the sand clean white! Since loosing my last 2 twinspot gobies (thanks to my sixline) my water is now HD clear and no random piles of sand. I don't miss them... at all!

I am fanatical about having white sand at all times. With one sand sifting starfish, one fighting conch and 2 cucumbers my sand stay nice.

BTW- My spotted mandarin comes second in line to the sand. But all live well and are healthy. Did I say I like white sand?