I have made to jump to a LSB from crushed coral substrate. How do I clean up the little molted exoskeletons, sponge fragments, bits of LR which break off and other non-edible pieces of detritus which accumulate on the sand over time? I previously vacuumed my crushed coral with a siphon, but obviously, I can't do that with sand.

there are NO stupid questions.

dont disturb the DSB in any way.Get your tank a clean up crew with, sea cucumbers,snails NO hermits
Http://www.ipsf.com this is for your detrivore kit(go with the 9 for 99.00) http://www.premiumaquatics.com for clean up crew

*who has Dr.Rons article on DSB?

hth

joe




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My Reef Tank
:fish:

Joeychitwood,

Ditto.

Just let this “reef rubble” accumulate. Vacuuming a DBS is a big no-no. (Also sand sifting stars, and fish that eat sand bed fauna.)

My links to Dr. Ron’s “Muddy Waters” are broken, I will try to find the current links.

However these articles can also be found in the articles section at Reefs.org.

Finally, as ReefHead said, there are no stupid questions, just “questionable” answers.

Regards,

Scott

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The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/

Hey all~

Well, I know that Dr Ron isn't a fan of hermits, but I find them very good, and more desirable, than emerald crabs at eating nuisance algae.

I think taking little chunks/chips of rock and stuff like that off the sandis a good idea. Anything smaller than say a pencil eraser is nothing really I bother with though, as it won't really impede the movement of the sand fauna.

I second the recommendation for the detrivore kits. I have used IA and was happy, and I hav heard nothing but good about IPSF. IMO they are both good sources.

Here's Dr. Rons "Whys and Hows of Sand Beds" http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...ek_090698.html

-Perry


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Some call it evolution,
And others call it God.
Each In His Own Tongue (1908)
William Herbert Carruth 1859-1924

Besides the link that Perry provided to Dr. Ron's talk on #reefs, here is the link to his article on sand beds: http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp The reason it doesn't work right now is because the Aquarium Fish site is down. It should work once they bring their site back up. (P.S. - Well, that was fast! It's back up now. [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img])

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

No Hermit Crabs? Now I'm confused. Everything I've read up until now talked about hermit crabs being an essential part of the eco-system of the reef tank. What gives?

Originally posted by joeychitwood:

No Hermit Crabs? Now I'm confused. Everything I've read up until now talked about hermit crabs being an essential part of the eco-system of the reef tank. What gives?

OK, here's the deal. Hermit crabs have good points and bad points. Hermit crabs are not essential to a reef tank. Snails, on the other hand, ARE essential to a reef tank, IMHO.

Most of the hermit crabs that are sold in the hobby are intertidal species that are picked up off the beach at low tide. These are the cheap ones. They are also the more aggressive ones, too.

The Red Scarlet Reef hermits (with yellow eyestalks) are found at depth, and this is why they are more expensive than Blue Legs that are simply picked up off the sand. If you would like to try some hermit crabs, I would suggest a moderate number of these guys as the safest way to go.

All hermit crabs might attack and eat your snails... especially the Blue Leg guys. The larger the hermit crab, the larger the risk. Some hermit crabs might even eat polyps and other stuff you paid good money for. They might also eat algae. Only problem here is that they might even eat algae that would be better left uneaten. Also, all those pointy little feet scampering over your other stuff doesn't really help anything.

So, the bottom line is that hermit crabs are not found on most reefs and are not essential. They are quite popular with many hobbyists. In most cases they do little damage... but they always do some. They also eat some of the beneficial sand bed infauna that would be better left uneaten. If you would like to try a few, get a dozen Scarlet Reef hermits and see how things work out. But it's not like you really have to get any at all.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

Thanks for the great info. I learn more here at Reefland than I do from any book or magazine.

Really you do need hermit like creatue in your tank so its best to go for a snail called a nassurias(sp) snail they are small but work! they wil bury themselves in the sand(kind like earthworms) and when you feed they will survice and eat the left over food, I think soon you will her more about these guys even though they are really popular now

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Mikeman

"When I was lost as a baby 2 clownfish found me and raised me in an anenome, I still can't keep them"