kindasleepy Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Hi! I haven't been here in a while! So I set up the 35 gallon saltie in May and it's doing very well. Had a few hiccups with random ammonia spikes but that seems to be under control now. One of the first fish I added was a so-called dragon goby/brown barred goby and I hate him! All he does is spit sand on my coral and knock over any frags not cemented down. He's trying to push my firefish out of her territory so I'm taking him in to Aquarium Illusions tonight for trade in. So now I'm looking for somebody else to cruise around the bottom of the tank. Preferably someone who isn't a giant jerk. I've got a few hermits, and 2 emerald crabs (I think- they were hitchhikers and I've only caught glimpses of them briefly) and a butt load of assorted snails (I had a huge amount of hitch hikers). I'm not necessarily looking for someone to clean up detritus since the hermies are doing a decent job of it. I've got a fair amount of pod activity finally (yay!) but I know the tank can't support anything like a mandarin goby (which makes me sad). Do you guys have any suggestions? Current stock: 1 firefish 4 blue-green chromis 4 scarlet hermits 2 mysterious emerald-looking crabs 2 enormous turbo snails 2 sand snails several astrea snails that hitchhiked in a bazillion cap snails that also hitched Coral- Green star polyp branching xenia golden hammer frogspawn pipe organ several mushrooms a couple zoanthids a couple flower pots one struggling favia frag that I can't seem to make happy blue sympodium polyp The other question I've got is about the sand bed in particular. When I set it up I was hearing lots of different things about sand thickness so I decided to make my bed fairly thick. I figured that a thick bed would make a better environment for pod activity etc. So one of the LFS told me that my bed is too thick and that if I (or a fish) disturbs it too much I'm likely to release gasses that will kill the tank. This is why I had the big goby of doom in the first place. The guy that told me this is not into saltwater and I'm not entirely sure he wasn't full of crap. I've never heard this from anyone else so I'm not entirely sure if there's truth to it. Thoughts? My bed is about 3-4 inches deep. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senroc Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 If your looking for a fun addition to the tank, I always had a strong affinity for the Coral Banded Shrimp. I've had 4 different sizes of tank ranging from 10gal up to about 120gal and they were always a staple addition. Until they get bigger they're a bit shy and you may only see his long feelers at first but once he gets comfortable enough he's absolutely hilarious at feeding time. Filling every one of his hands with whatever food your feeding. I typically fed mysis shrimp, which was kind of ironic I also had a concontion of shrimp and clam that seemed to go over well. Plus they also graze on algae so they're somewhat helpful in the tank too. However I'm not sure if you can have multiple shrimp in the tank. As far as the sand goes I always felt that a thicker layer of sand was better to be able to give the live rock a better chance of getting down inside it snuggly so it wouldn't fall over. I was always paranoid of those bigger pieces not having a strong enough base to hold them and falling against the tank and breaking it. Wasn't such an issue when I had my 10gal, but as my tanks grew, so did the size of the rock, and my sand base as well. I think I would agree about potential funk being released if the sand gets really disturbed. My last forray into a salt tank ended pretty badly when I cheaped out on a suction powerhead. I woke up one morning to find that it had come off the side of the glass and dug a massive hole in the sand and I lost everything. But I suppose as with everything you get what you pay for. If you do add a powerhead, be sure to find one that can hook securely to the tank. With a 30gal I'm not sure you'd need one, I didn't on my 25gal, since the filter might be able to create enough current to keep everything happy. The guys at AI should be able to guide you better on that one. Another suggestion that my Dad was given for his tank was to make a frame with some mosquito netting across it. Once it's covered with the sand it creates a cavity that apparently makes a zone for bacteria to break down whatever waste ends up filtering through the sand. Not sure if it was a benefit, but it didn't have any adverse effects on my Dad's tank. Good luck! When I had the right balance in my salt water tank there was nothing like it. The fish looked like they were swimming through air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewherebeyondthesea Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I would try twin spot goby, they sift sand but only a little :-) Also the danger of having too thick of sand is that as detritus and organic material make its way down you can get pockets of hydrogen sulphide, or H2S, it is extremely poisonous and would crash a tank within a day or two. I would argue max 2 inches (or 2 finger rule) of sand to be on the safe side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Are there ways to prevent H2S from forming? I bought a few more sand snails today but are they enough to prevent gas pockets? Would stirring the sand help or be detrimental? Would removing some sand be risky in that I could release this gas? I'd be horrified if something happened to my tank, I love it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 For FW, a batch of mts in the tank would work well. I'd think if those sand snails would do it for you. (but no SW guru) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 The tank's only 35 gal so I'm thinking that the snails, crabs, and all the assorted bugs living in there it would be enough, but if I can do something like sand stirring to prevent it I'll be all over it. :P Don't want to kill all my coral! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 My 75 gal FW planted has substrate ranging from 4" to almost 6" in a valley effect. Have 100's of mts and have no problems with gas buildup. The SW pro's will chime in about sand stirring. in my noob SW thinking...perhaps too much movement with sand can cause suspended sand particles more than typical in the water column...settle and fine layer your coral and what not. dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Purewater Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 (edited) [/img]The deep sand bed should never be disturbed in order for it to be effective.I run one in my 85 gallon sumpless system along the back 1/3 of the tank behind a rock wall barrier so sand sifters can't access it(4"deep ).The sand I have in the front is only 3/4 to 1 inch thick and gets syphoned regularily,It's just for looks.A deep sand bed is not for growing pods its for creating an anoxic zone for nitrate reduction. Edited January 13, 2013 by 11Purewater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I know the sand bed isn't specifically for the pods, but doesn't the pod and snail activity stir it up a bit? I'm not sure how deep all those critters go. The sand isn't being disturbed nearly as much now that my goby is out of there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senroc Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 They won't bury themselves so deep that a sudden release of nasty gasses will come out. They're smart enough not to bury themselves into something that would kill them before a gas pocket was to be released to begin with. They're fairly small after all and only move so much sand at a time anyway. Even the snorkel snails only bury themselves just deep enough to disappear. Your far better off loading up on snails and crabs, than worrying about the potential for any gasses to be released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 That's what I was thinking but you know how it is, you hear so many things. I have to brag about the most awesome emerald crab we picked up the other day. He's got some serious attitude. We named him Claus. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senroc Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Yeah I hear ya. Add things slow and you'll be fine. Hard to not jump at everything you see though...lol. I liked the Emerald Crabs. They're a cool addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 It's been up since May and I'm really careful not to throw things in there quick. I've been building it up slowly and it's been going really well thus far. Just got worried about the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Purewater Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Sand sifting diamond goby would be the ticket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 Do they have better personalities than the dragons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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