Bigbrother
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2012
- Messages
- 141
Does the bacteria in the live sand eats the uneaten food an the fish waste aswell ?
Live sand
- Thread starter Bigbrother
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not exactly. The beneficial bacteria eat the ammonia that is a byproduct of the breakdown of uneaten food and waste. They break down the ammonia and create Nitrites (NO2). Other bacteria then consume the NO2 and create Nitrates (NO3). In a deep sand and the deep recesses of Live Rock live bacteria in anoxic (without Oxygen) areas that consume the NO3 and produce harmless Nitrogen. In the absence of a DSB, lots of LR, and/or other means of denitrification, the NO3 is removed by partial water changes.
You need a CUC (clean up crew) consisting of snails, shrimp and possibly hermit crabs to consume the uneaten food and other detritus.
You need a CUC (clean up crew) consisting of snails, shrimp and possibly hermit crabs to consume the uneaten food and other detritus.
OP
OP
Bigbrother
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2012
- Messages
- 141
Ok il get some hermits do the also eat the fish waste because really don't want to use a hose an stir up the sand bed wat u do u recommend ?
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
You may want to contact John Maloney at Reef Cleaners, or check out Reefs2Go (two of our sponsors) about getting a Clean Up Crew for your tank,
SNAILS:
Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. They fall very easily and can not right themselves up and then die unless you right them.
Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. They have a hard time picking themselves up if stranded in the middle of the sand.
Bumblebee snails- Not very hardy. Marginal algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. They can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.
Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.
Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. They are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.
Conch Snails - These are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright.They very hardy too.
Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. These may be cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active. Mine are going on two years and are huge now. I originally got them for a hair algae problem. They do tend to knock over anything that is not glued in place (corals, clams, rocks, etc.)
Nassarius Snails - They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly. They are fun to watch as they come bursting out of the sand bed at feeding time.
Nerite Snails - Nerites feed on filamentous and film-forming cyanobacteria, and filamentous green algae, but the main diet of most nerites is diatoms. These guys like to crawl out of the water some. I recently found one that "jumped ship" and was on the outside rim of the tank. These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. Mine usually end up in the sump where they can get above the water line and come back down when they want to.
Stomatella Snails - They are supposed to reproduce very well. No personal experience w/ them.
Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus )these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up to about the 1-3 inch line of rock work.
SNAILS:
Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. They fall very easily and can not right themselves up and then die unless you right them.
Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. They have a hard time picking themselves up if stranded in the middle of the sand.
Bumblebee snails- Not very hardy. Marginal algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. They can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.
Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.
Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. They are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.
Conch Snails - These are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright.They very hardy too.
Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. These may be cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active. Mine are going on two years and are huge now. I originally got them for a hair algae problem. They do tend to knock over anything that is not glued in place (corals, clams, rocks, etc.)
Nassarius Snails - They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly. They are fun to watch as they come bursting out of the sand bed at feeding time.
Nerite Snails - Nerites feed on filamentous and film-forming cyanobacteria, and filamentous green algae, but the main diet of most nerites is diatoms. These guys like to crawl out of the water some. I recently found one that "jumped ship" and was on the outside rim of the tank. These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. Mine usually end up in the sump where they can get above the water line and come back down when they want to.
Stomatella Snails - They are supposed to reproduce very well. No personal experience w/ them.
Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus )these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up to about the 1-3 inch line of rock work.
Similar threads
