Substrate Stirrers

[JpNuss]

I'm trying to find the best option for stirring up my substrate without having to do it manually. So, I've been researching many different opinions and options. Now, it seems I need to bring it to this forum. I'm getting so many different answers, I don't know who is right or if they are just opinions. Everyone seems to stand so solidly next to their choice. Are they all right? I'm getting responses of a wide assortment. Everything from, Nassarius Snails (1 per gallon), Twin Spot Gobies, Pistol Shrimp with Goby pairing, Starfish and crabs... So on and so forth!

 

I need some help! I have a 120 gallon mixed reef with a mix of live sand and crushed coral. Does anyone have any opinions? Proof of why their opinion is best? Thank you in advance!

 

- Jon

 

 

 

[jason the filter freak]

nassarius snails are great and you should DEFINITELY get some, 1 per gallon is excessive imo for a 120 Im assuming we're talking about a 4 foot by 2 foot foot print I'd say 60-80 (70-90 for a 6 foot tank) would be plenty as they can and will certainly starve when they deplete you're food sources. Sand sifting stars are another simple, really neat, and pretty cheap solution 2 or 3 tops for a 4 foot long tank 3-4 in a 6 foot tank. If you're brave a cucumber is a really neat addation but they can be disastrous to a system if harassed or they die (search cuke nuke) shrimp gobies won't do a darn thing to stir your sand bed they're going to stick to a very small space on your sand be under your rock and call it a day (they're really neat and an awesome addition but might not even been seen in a tank your size), bigger gobies like the diamond gobies can be a good sand sifters (and super neat to boot, interesting personality and a fairly "non shy" fish) but if you have a very high flow tank and or a lot of corals on your sand bed they're a nightmare waiting to happen as they will bury stuff with out qualm, in a high flow tank you're at risk for having them cause a sand storm. Fighting conches are another neat addition 2 in a 4 foot tank 3 in a 6 foot tank. They have an undeserved reputation for doing poorly in captivity, my first hand experience 1 year and a few months now in a 75 gal is all the proof i need.

 

Of course on everything you'll get varying opinions but i'm doing the best with the above to give an informed and unbiased input. and importantly informed (as in from research, first hand experiences, and trusted third party experiences)

 

If you're going to get multiple different sand sifters make sure not to over populate as they will starve each other out and you'll have die off and the problems associated with that.

 

For instance maybe 2 sand sifting stars, a fighting conch, 40 nassarius snails, and a diamond/sleeper goby or cucumber might be good

Edited August 1, 2010 by jason the filter freak

[Jon Lazar]

I'm getting so many different answers, I don't know who is right or if they are just opinions.

 

Almost everything you read about this hobby is based on opinions or very limited sampling...including my post here!

[daharley]

Dragon goby suggested by wet web media. I just got one and it has rearranged my 60 gallon dsb pretty well. Only had him a couple weeks for what its worth

[Coral Hind]

If you want something that will really stir up the sand then get an engineer goby.

 

What fish do you have? Some fish will eat inverts so knowing what you have in the tank helps us give you our opinions.

[JpNuss]

Here is the list.

 

1 Yellow Tang

1 Hippo Tang

1 Sailfin Tang

4 Percula Clowns

1 Mandarin Dragonet

1 Sixline Wrasse

3 Blue Damsels

1 Coral Banded Shrimp

2 Emerald Crabs

15 Blue Legged Hermits

3-4 Nassarius Snails

15 Turbo Snails

2 Mexican Snails

[JpNuss]

I just looked up the Engineer Goby. This is a very useful fish. I see that it works hard. But, is it a better option than the others?

[mogurnda]

I just looked up the Engineer Goby. This is a very useful fish. I see that it works hard. But, is it a better option than the others?

They are great fish, and I love mine, but you will never be able to keep corals near the bottom without fear that they will be buried. They will turn the sandbed upside down, then do it all over again the next week.

[silverspringnano]

If you can stand the constant (and I do mean constant) sandscaping, I recommend the pistol shrimp. They are tireless sand stirrers..but they are mini bulldozers and if you haven't created stable live rock structures, they can and will compromise their structural integrity. That being said, they will turn over every bit of your substrate within a month and then start all over again. For some reason I have not been able to figure out, they don't just create one burrow and live there happily ever after..maybe because they need to always be in motion or maybe because its a way they are always foraging for food, they are constantly creating new burrows and multiple entrance/exit tunnels. They and their goby partners have a fascinating symbiotic relationship that's really cool to watch.

[zantwin]

FWIW, I have a diamond goby for my 6' 120g reef tank. However, they are jumpers; I'm on my third* - and hopefully last - one doing an excellent job of churning the sandbed. I also have 4 nassarius snails doing some of the night-time skimming and all seems well. I haven't had a green or red tinge to the crushed coral when they're at work.

 

* - I can't stand the glass lids for several reasons, so I accepted the risk of a suicidal fish by keeping the tank open. Lessons learned, I built some vinyl covered mesh screens that fit perfectly into the lid slots.

http://www.wamas.org/forums/topic/36236-zantwins-55-125-build/

[Oleg]

It seems like I always had green algae on my sand until I got diamond gody. He cleaned sandbed within a week and now even ventures to watchman goby territory once in a while. The only problem is that I have very fine sand so it is flying everywhere along with micro pieces of detritus that goby lifts from the bottom. The only time when water is crystal clear now is in early morning when he's still asleep.

And I guess there could be an issue if rock is placed on a sand since goby digs holes everywhere under it.

 

I also have some nassarius (and other) snails and sand sifting starfish. They did not really resolve the algae issue. But startfish it looks like cleaned the sand off anything that was alive in it. I do not see any worms or pods on the sand anymore. Which I think is not really a good thing. I even thought about taking starfish to LFS for a credit. But then I am upgrading to 175G so I kept it for now thinking it will have more room to play in 175 and maybe my sand will not be as dead over there as it is now.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

My favorite has always been a diamond goby. Beautiful fish, constantly sifting sand...sand is always pure white...they have always eaten PE mysis to supplement for me.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

Here is my old guy:

 

 

[Oleg]

Hey extreme_tooth_decay, what kind of sand is that? It looks like a mix of something. Obviously those large grains are not a problem for goby. Right?

 

I use CaribSea Dry Aragonite Fiji Pink Reef sand. I enjoy clean white sand now, but it really bugs me that it is everywhere in water column. So I am considering something with larger grains.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I think the larger pieces are chunks of LR that broke off over time. That tank had all southdown in it (300 lbs), plus 1 or 2 bags of that araga-live stuff

[davelin315]

You mentioned crushed coral, how big are the pieces? That may post a problem for many of the sifters that have been mentioned so far. I had a pair of gold headed sleeper gobies in my tank and the female died over a year ago and I just recently lost the male, but they did a fantastic job of stirring up the sand and eating detritus out of it, but they are notoriously difficult to get to survive, especially if they are not paired up, and they also make a mess out of the tank if you have any silt in the sand.

[mchippo]

My favorite has always been a diamond goby. Beautiful fish, constantly sifting sand...sand is always pure white...they have always eaten PE mysis to supplement for me.

 

+1 for the Diamond Goby. My guy works all day every day from one end of my tank to the other. I have had mine for a couple of years now...

[sachabballi reef]

have 2 engineer gobies in our 92....industrious little buggers....cant recommend them enough...plus they swim like an eel which is pretty cool...

[lowsingle]

I have a free sand sifting star if you want him.....I've recently switched to a bare bottom and he needs a new home....

 

cheers,

Darren