Sand Storm

Hello all,

My 65 gallon RSM 250 is running extremely well for the last several months since break in. About a month ago, I decided to get 2 Watchman Goby's along with 2 pistol shrimp. Each Goby and Pistol shrimp have paired up on separate sides of the tank and the shrimp are doing their digging to China routine! ;D Great for turning over my sand bed, BUT with my strong currents they are whipping up lots of fine sand throughout the day which get sent through my skimmer and the sand particles can be seen on my filter sponges in a big way the last time I rinsed them. Want to know if the tiny particles blowing around all day will hurt any of the soft corals such as my Torch and Ausie Elegance? I really like these guys, but the sand storm they can sometimes produce is crazy. I have adjusted my outtakes to minimize the effect, but there is only so much I can do with the strong currents in the tank. I guess the debris they do churn up can help the corals with detritus and other possible food sources? Thanks!

Vic

 

I have a chalk goby and 2 pistol shrimp, my tank was occasionally cloudy for the first few months but has been clear for about a 18 months now. It should be OK for the corals, aslong as it isn't cloudy all the time. I try to avoid using sponge in my marine tanks and just siphon the detritus out of my sump once every couple of weeks where it settles. Some people just use a pump in the sump to periodically stir up the sediment which will feed corals, sponges and tube worms etc.