Any species that keeps sand substrate clean?

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e30 gangsta

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
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miami
Hey guys, ive been trying to keep my white sand as clean as possible with no luck. Ive been vaccuming, and doing water changes as much as I can but the sand is no where as clean as id like it to be.

Is there any species that helps keep the sand clean?

Any product, or tool that you guys recommend to clean the sand? Thanks.
 
Hi shrimps are pretty good at keeping a tank clean? Also one trick is to create an area where the sand is shallowest and then the muck tends to congregate there so therefore easier to syphon out?
 
You could try earth eater cichlids. They do get to 25 cm tho. Not sure how big your tank is. I have 3 and they do a fantastic job of keeping my sand immaculate. Fun fish to watch too.
 
Malaysian trumpet snails aka MTS. They burrow and move the sand around keeping it looking great.
 
Corys are pretty good at sifting sand around. Also the trumpet snails as mentioned. Despite having those in my tank, it still takes quite some work to keep the white sand clean IME. Even so it looks great over gravel, I still find gravel easier to maintain. I honestly don't know why people in these forums say sand is easier. Anyway, aside from siphoning I use the most bizarre tool for maintenance, but it works. After I siphon out as much of the larger gunk I can, I switch over to my Turkey baster. I use it to blow jets of water to round up gunk (like a gardening leaf blower) and then use it to suck it up. I also use it to break up the sand that gets all compacted. Once I pour in new water, sand is all over the place on the leaves and decor. I again use the baster to shoot jets of water to blow the sand off and back on to the sand bed. Its a bit tedious but it gets my tanks looking pristine again.
 
Not bizarre at all. If I need to do touch-up's in between PWC's I use a turkey baster to suck up debris. ;)
 
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