Tiger tail cucumber

I bought 2 cucumbers (one tiger tail, one yellow spinny) a few nights back. One was put in my refugium the other was put up in my 90 gal reef tank. The tank has been up for about 8 months and Things are looking good. I tested my water last night and they are all in the norm. For some reason both cukes have not been sifting through the sand. In fact, the one in the show tank climbed up on a rock and hasn't moved. The one in my refugium climbed up in my calurpa and hasn't climbed out since. I acclimated them for an hour using the drip method when I introduced them. The only reason I can figure that they haven't started sifting sand is because they don't like the kind of sand I've put in there. I used sand I bought from Lowe's. Haven't had any other problems with it yet. Anybody heard of this? Or should I just be more patient and they will eventually climb down? Both are still alive. I can see them move their bodies a fraction of an inch here and there. 

I can only guess that the sand from Lowes is silica sand.

Silica sand at eight months old or even eight years is not the best choice for a reef tank. Actually if I can be frank and I always am , it's a pretty lousy choice. Sorry.

Though this may not be the reason for the cukes moving away from the sand. It may be that there is nothing to eat in the sand and there is more to eat in the algae and on the rock!

Why did you buy the cukes? If it was to clean the sand, that is okay but not really that necessary. (Crudy looking substrate is usually healthy substrate.) The size and shape of silica sand does not allow much detritus to fall between the particles.

If your sand is not silica, do you know what it is?

The Tigertail cuke may come down after a while, when it gets used to the tank, but please tell us more about the sand and please describe the detritus in it.

Edited by Mark Peterson

Silica sand will slowly leach silica into the water.  Silica is food for diatoms, sponges, some mollusks, and I'm sure others.  Excessive silica can lead to excessive diatom "algae".  Is your cyano a red/purple mat that covers everything or is it brownish and stringy?  It could be dinoflagellates which are a diatom requiring silica.  That is the reason I wouldn't use silica sand in my tank (oh, also it scratches the glass more then aragonite).

jfinch wrote: Silica sand will slowly leach silica into the water.  Silica is food for diatoms, sponges, some mollusks, and I'm sure others.  Excessive silica can lead to excessive diatom "algae".  Is your cyano a red/purple mat that covers everything or is it brownish and stringy?  It could be dinoflagellates which are a diatom requiring silica.  That is the reason I wouldn't use silica sand in my tank (oh, also it scratches the glass more then aragonite).

Is this true?

How fast could silica sand actually leach out silica into the water?

Glass is made out of silica sand.  Does that mean that the glass on our aquariums will leach silica into the water?

 

I'll post more when I have time, in a few days, but I think NSW is undersaturated in SiO2.  The equalibrium amount is very small, but I think some would dissolve.

Glass also has stabilizing atoms incorporated in the matrix such as sodium (green soda lime glass) which make it insoluble.

I'm not saying that if you use silica sand you'll have diatom problems.  I've seen a tank reef tank using beach sand from Galvaston Island that looked great.  I just wouldn't use it. 

Another reason for a cyano problem, even if your phosphates read "0", is the lower levels of alk (8dkh) and higher calcium(500+). This is due to poor precip of the phosphates that begin to bind and coat the substrates. My first suggestion is to stablize your alk at a 9-11 dkh and calcium at 425-475...I believe I gave both you and Shane H. the 2 part treatments I no longer need due to my calcium reactor. Try removing the top 1/2" of your sand bed and trash it. Then replace with a clean south down or your preference of sand... I prefer aragonite. Try also to reduce your frequency/amount feeding until the problem begins to recede. And finally, be sure your skimmer is adaquate for your system and functioning properly. The cukes will begin feeding when they get hungry. The silicate sand should have no effect on preference of their sifting to feed... Could also be due to the stress caused from the change from my system to yours, and ensurance of a sp. includes reproduction(or in this case...splitting). Not to say this is what is happening, but it is very possible and somewhat probable.

     Good luck and pm me if you want a hand... I will be pretty busy Friday building my new stand and modifying my canopy for the lighting upgrade.

      Laters, Jason

Edited by reptoreef

doberman wrote: I have one of those little yellow cukes. In fact, a few weeks ago it split so now I have two. They are filter feeders and they haven't move an inch from where they were placed -- well, where the one was placed before it split.

Adam Blundell wrote: I'm not sure if those cukes will divide like that.  I don't believe they do.  I would be interested to see if that is really what happened.  I guess it is possible, but I don't know of them ever splitting like that. Adam

In the mouth of two or more . . . .anecdotal or scientific, I dunno if it matters!

I think that the best solution to cyano is lights out.  We left our lights out for an entire week to get rid of our and that worked.

OK: No more food no more lights more power heads...GOT IT!

Shane, What is Saint Kitts?

And about work......shhhhhh don't tell my boss!