Coraline Algae & Substrate

[Rugid]

I have two questions. First off, my coralline algae look as if it is dying off. Parts of it are turning a dark brown and gray. But other parts are going strong. My set-up is about a year and a half old. Is this normal? The other question I have, is is it wise to put a different type of substrate on top of a existing substrate? Right now I have sugar sand and I want to put medium size aragonite on top of it. My sugar sand is alive.

[Reefland]

Hi Rugid,

Coralline algae will come and go, the best things to do for it is ensure proper calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels. As for your substrate, I would not do anything to disrupt a 1.5 year old sand bed.

[Rugid]

Hi Rugid,

Coralline algae will come and go, the best things to do for it is ensure proper calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels. As for your substrate, I would not do anything to disrupt a 1.5 year old sand bed.

The thing is that I hate the sugar sand. It gets too dirty with no way to clean it. And now it being so dirty, it is taking away from the appearance of my set-up. Any solutions?

[kevinpo]

Hello,
A Tonga sand conch will help keep the substrate clean. They are inexpensive ($6-10 USD) and interesting to watch.

Regards,
Kevin

[Ninong]

The thing is that I hate the sugar sand. It gets too dirty with no way to clean it. And now it being so dirty, it is taking away from the appearance of my set-up. Any solutions?

What size is your tank?

How deep is your sandbed?

Unless your tank is at least 750 gallons, your two sand-sifting seastars have decimated the sandbed's infauna. This could explain why it looks "dirty." There's nothing in there to keep the particles in motion (bioturbation).

I don't think adding a top layer of larger particle aragonite sand will improve anything. If you want to add to the depth of your sandbed, you might be better off mixing the larger particle stuff with more sugar sand in maybe a 50-50 ratio and then don't add more than 1/2" layer at a time, waiting at least a couple of weeks between additions. I don't know what you mean by larger aragonite but if you mean "crushed coral," then I definitely wouldn't do it!

I would suggest removing both of the sand-sifting seastars and adding a few Nassarius vibex snails and a few Cerith snails (how many depends on the size of your tank) because both of those will provide natural bioturbation of the top sandbed layer. My other recommendation would be a few baby bristleworms Eurythoe complanata unless you already have a nice bristleworm population. If your tank is large enough (at least 150 gallons), you could add a fighting conch (Strombus alatus) and a nice sand cucumber (Holothurian spp.). Another thing that would help would be a few of the so-called spaghetti worms (they multiply like crazy in DSBs).

[Rugid]

Thanks, everybody for your tips. I'll try your suggestions, and get back you on how it goes.