Sandsifting star....

[mikeguerrero]

Okay,

So there is all this hype on how to keep you sand bed nice and white. I get all this slack from Dragon that my sand bed is in real need of a cleaning, red slime algae all over.

So I start to look into the sandsifting star since my brother has one in his 6 gallon cube and says they are great at stirring up the sand. But his tank hasn't gone through the stage of red slime algae on top of the gravel.

Had this been the case I would see that his sandsifting star cleared it up, but this is not the case.

So anyway, I decide to purchase 3 really small stars, the size of a 50 cent piece. I drop two of the smallest ones in one cube and one in the other.

They have helped some but it's not like they do it overnight. I'm still seeing the work being done so I'm happy, but heres the concern.

I've read a lot of posts regarding that they eat and eat all the nutrients out of the sand bed, they look for the fauna and then when it's all depleted, they starve to death. Some reefers post 4 months of life and some 6 months of life.

Dragon has had his maybe 3 months, I believe. So are these sand sifters bad for the live sand bed, will the depletion of the bed cause my mini ecosystem to want to crash?

Just thought I'd get some ideas on nanotank....

Mike

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

According to Ron Shimek, who does not recommend them for ANY system, let alone a nano, they are bad for your sand bed, and will starve after wiping out your microfauna. I've seen him address this issue for years over in his forum at RC. He actually prefers cucumbers, but those get too large for nanos. Sand sifting stars, even if it does live, have the potenial to reach 12" across.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Incysor,

What is your opinion on the matter?

Mike

 

[dragon79]

that's for putting the arrow on me. LOL

I orginally purchased one for the sake it was going to get eaten back when I got these Tiger Shrimps that were echinoderm predators. It never hit, and I lost the shrimps. The star ended up being a part of my tank ever since. I plan on getting a larger tank in the future, so it should be fine for another 3 months or so, then I can always throw it in Sandra's tank, to give me the extra time to get a larger tank setup.

If I wanted to really own one, I guess those really small blue ones or a orange one would be cool to have.

 

[djconn]

What ever you decide, do not put a serpentine star in your nano. I learned that the hard way.

 

[mikeguerrero]

DJ,

Can you please tell me if a sand sifting star is a serpentine star? I'm a little worried that my LFS would sell me a predator star and not warn me about my two nano cubes...

Mike

 

[incysor]

Weird...I thought I'd posted a response to this right after you posted it yesterday.

I think you should pass on the sandsifter. I don't think they're suitable for nanos. Period. I've had one in my larger tanks, the one in the 55 was fine for two years, and I gave it back to the LFS when I moved tanks. About two months after I had the 75 setup I put another on in, and it's still running around fine ten months later.

I think in a large tank the sandbed recovers enough for them to continue to graze, but in a smaller system they're just gonna deplete it and then starve.

Sandsifters are not serpent stars and it's unlikely anyone would make that mistake.

I seem to remember Dragon posting a pic of his when he got it. That's what they all look like.

Try a single nassarius snail, or some more hermits.

B

 

[mikeguerrero]

Incysor,

Thanks for your response, I'll have to catch them when I see them next and trade them in. They are very small stars, the size of a fifty sent piece.

Mike

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Hmmm, Mike? Have I done something to put you off? I gave the same advice as Incysor earlier on and it seems you blew me off?

 

[mikeguerrero]

Sugar Magnolia,

Not at all, you have been and still are extremely informative on nano reefing. I just was so BLOWN AWAY FROM YOUR RESPONSE I ALMOST FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR!!!

Seriously, I felt like my LFS did me wrong in not telling me the facts about sand sifting stars and my little brother has had one in his tank, much much larger than mine and it hasn't done any harm.

So my first instinct was, that just maybe, just maybe Sugar Magnolia is off key with her response, so I asked my guru Incysor to step in, it's almost as if my son or daughter was diagnosed with an illness and I wanted and needed a second professional opinion.

I hope you understand this, and remember that because we are bound by text, you don't always express yourself in simple posts.

But you need to know that your name is high on the list for do's and don'ts

Mike

 

[dragon79]

Hmmm, Mike? Have I done something to put you off? I gave the same advice as Incysor earlier on and it seems you blew me off?

ahahaha, mike you blow off!! lol!! Don't mind him Sugar, he has no manners, lol.

I've read the same thing you spoke of from ol doc rimshek. He was just hoping for a reassuring response. The truth apparently was more than he could bare. haha.

to mike: You addressed the dirty diatoms/algae on your sandbed before mike, and I believe you blew off Sugar's recommendation of a Fighting conch. That's two, one more strike and I think Sugar will put you out!! lol om

all in all, I think Incysor and Sugar put in great effort in responding and I do remember sugars post in memory without having to restort back to searching the threads. I also do remember she knows how to grow really good coraline algae. Keep the good advice coming :gcool

 

[djconn]

Yeah, I think we've all learned to listen to what SM has to say...always very informative.
:award:

 

[incysor]

:lol:

It's usually a very tight race to see which one of us will answer any given question first. I also don't think we've disagreed about much. We also often supplement each others answers. I'm actually looking forward to johnanddawn being on a lot as well, cause I think he's a good source of info and for the most part we seem to agree on things. On a couple threads it sorta seemed like we were arguing, but it was more of a matter of differences in philosophies. Trying to communicate via text is always difficult, and can be problematic when there's a difference of opinion. But overall I think he knows his stuff.

B

 

[Anonymous]

wow hey incysor thanks - I was about to say the same thing about you yesterday when dj locked up that thread. I realized after reading mikes comment that I really didn't introduce myself very well before jumping into your threads. I had been in afghanistan for 16 months and just got home in may. And although I do read many of the other forums and advice pages, I really didn't get into them, till I found this site. I really liked how small and close knit this group seemed to be and liked what I saw as far as the comments and info that was being put out by yourself as well as so many others. I've been reefing for almost 15 years now - my first tank was a 20 but back then they didn't call them nanos they just referred to them as "tanks way too small to keep corals in" since then I have had a countless number of setups with my 125 operating for 12 years now. Before I left I had to shut down all my tanks but the 125 to make it easier on my wife, but as soon as I got home I started a 12 gal JBJ and went looking for opinions on them and thats how I found this site. Sorry for the life history but as I said it seems like you all know each other in here and thats really cool!

 

[mikeguerrero]

Johnanddawn,

Welcome to our site, you have have tapped into a market full of valueable information regarding nano tanks. As a matter of fact I'm what you might call an expert regarding the JBJ 12 gallon cube. I have two of them modded out and have lots and lots of pictures and data on them. I've had one running since March 04.

You have also stumbled across our Guru, Incysor. He's what you might refer to as the go to person when something is in need of checking. If he doesn't have the answer he'll find it for you via other links or threads, he is really inciteful.

We are lucky to have him here. But with that said, you'll see that we have other olympics worth mentioning: Sugar Magnolia, Phischy, Dragon79, DJ conn, Rbaby just to mention a few...

Keep reefing.... and welcome once again....

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

hey mike I did see your site and mods and I really like what you've done - the stock version has many probs and I was starting to wish I hadn't spent the 170$ on mine but rather sunk that money into a DIY setup. But now, I may not give up on it yet.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Wow, thanks! I've been spending too much time over in the NR forum at RC and dealing with the countless teenagers that that place seems to have attracted lately. It's been very frustrating recently to have them ask for advice with a problem, only to blatantly ignore it and repost a few days later pleading for help again. It's gotten so I only post in a few threads, and avoid the ones I know will irritate me. :wlift :lol:

 

[loki]

I was in our local LFS and they had what they call "sandsifting snails" their shells were were really neat, they were long in size and most of them were a white and brown color. Has anyone ever heard about these?

 

[incysor]

loki,

Were they sort of orange and cream stripes?

If so I've had them before and they don't seem to do well. I can't for the life of me remember the name now. I'll see if I can find what I'm talking about.

B

 

[loki]

Yes that is them, the shells are quite large and the bury in the sand. They do not clean the surface of the sand and need quite a deep sand bed. If you find the name or picture post it.

loki