Sand turning brown!

[jap1]

Hello All. I've had everything going for about 2 months now and about 2 weeks ago transfered all my sand and live rock to my new 12 gallon Current Aquapod. I have CaribSea aragonite sand which is about 3-4 inches deep and I have 24 lbs of LR. The left side of the tank is facing the windows of my living room, although I leave the blinds close most of the time. The sand on that side of the tank is turning kind of brown and dirty looking. This is algae I presume? I have about 6 hermits (scarlets, red legged, and a dwarf zebra), a mexican turbo snail, an Astraea snail, a Margarita snail, and friday put in a sand sifting star. I was wondering if my critters are supposed to clean the sand up and make it white again or am I supposed to clean it up every once in a while?

[GaryP]

My guess is that the brown is caused by diatoms. Diatoms can bloom when there is an excess of silicates in the tank. They normally bloom in a new tank and are part of cycling. If you used sand from another tank, you probably just released some silicates and other nutrients that were trapped in the sand bed and this is the cause.

I wouldn't panic over it. I would just watch it and see what develops. You can try siphoning them out when doing a water change and see if that helps.

[JimD]

Also, whenever you move an established sandbed, youre going to get some die-off and possibly a small cycle, Check for traces of ammonia and continue with regular water changes. Why did you add a sand sifting star?

[hobogato]

what's wrong with a sand sifting star?

[cbianco]

Why did you add a sand sifting star?

Good catch Jim. A sand sifting star will be too large for a 12 gallon tank. Even if it is small now it will quickly get larger. They grow up to 12 inches in size.

Resource: (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=572&N=0)

I wouldn't worry about the algea at this point. It looks unsightly but it will pass if you give it time :) ! Trust me, we have ALL been there :lol !

Christopher

[hobogato]

oh. i thought he was saying there was something wrong with having them in general - i have 3. whew! minor panic there :wacko

[jap1]

Woh! I didn't know they got that big! It's small right now, but when it gets much bigger I wouldn't mind giving him away to a loving home. I'll put him up on the for sale forum and I'll probably just give him away for free. Thanks for everyones help. It is much appreciated.

[JimD]

I wasnt really asking because of the potential size,,,,....
www.wetwebmedia.com/sndsftstrfaqs.htm
Decide for yourself. They can and will dessimate a live sand bed. A far better choice to maintain a sandbed would be Nassarious snails and Fighting conches. For all of you that have had them for years with no problems, congratulations. lol

[hobogato]

thanks for the link jim. lots to think about now. :blink

[fishcrazy]

I'll take him for my 135 gal if you give him away! Just send me a PM.

[hobogato]

well, i have three right now in the 240 gal. more than likely i will get rid of two of them in the near future, once my tank finishes settling in (cyano and diatoms right now that the stars are really helping with). will probably try to trade em for something. ill let you know.

[cbianco]

I currently have 4 nassarius snails in my tank. They are good at moving sand around but become stagnent if the tank is not fed (every once in a while). However, if you have fish that you feed regularly they will come out and greet you at every feeding! :)

Jim, wouldn't a fighting conch be a bit large for the 12 gallon tank? From my expereinces conches tend to redecorate the tank (re: move stuff around by bumping into stuff) since they are so large. I have to admitt that I have never owned a this particular conch. On a different note it was interesting reading Wet Web Media RE: sand sifting stars. I did not realize that they deplete the sand's fauna so easily, it was a good read.

Christopher

[JimD]

I think youre thinking about the Queen conch, Queens have long protruding spikes at the large end of its shell, the Fighters are more smooth, they tend to get much larger than the Fighting conch and will in fact 'redecorate' Fighting conches on the other hand will hardly ever venture out of the sand and dont tend to get nearly as large. For a 12 gallon with a sandbed, one small Fighting conch and four or five of the small green Nassarious, or two of the larger ones shoud be fine as long as the tank is being fed.

[jap1]

Thanks for the link. I had no idea about the sand sifters. I should've done my research first. I was at Aquatic Warehouse and just bought it on a whim. I know I shouldn't do that. I guess I'll leave him in there a couple more weeks and then maybe give him away. I'll let you know if I do, Fishcrazy.