corrosionjerry Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Is there a trick to vacuming sand? I have always had gravel on the bottom of my tanks... I put sand in my latest tank but I find it very hard to vacume it up completly.. Its a great looking tank the fish love the substrate and you hardly see any spoil.. problem is I know it is there... would like any advice possible to make it better... Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 (edited) You should be able to use your gravel syphon to vacuum with. However you may have to restrict the flow some what. And if you have fine sand the waste that you see is all there is as it stays on top. Edited February 9, 2007 by Sam Chicklets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murminator Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I find with my salt tanks I just "wave" the water at the sand and just kicks the detris up into the water column and suck it out or just let it go through whatever filter you have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 My sand is quite fine and most of everything just stays right on top for easy clean up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 MTS snails do a great job for you and keep it loose too. (in FW anyway)Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Thank You for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2manytanks Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I find though that in my FW tanks with playsand that a significant amount does make it down through the lower layers with time, especially where there are fish that love to dig. The deeper sand does seem to go anaerobic, discolours and can develop quite a gas build up. So nowadays I always stir the sand up completely to the bottom with my syphon to release the gas, pick up the deep waste and just generally mix things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I've been considering changing from gravel to sand....... but I'm worried about sand in the plumbing when I use the Python for water changes. Hubby would not be impressed if I clogged up the pipes with sand. :pff: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 The little bit that would be sucked up is light enough to be flushed straight through the pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd3x Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hi, I'm new to this site hence the late reply. I do have some experience with sand substrate. I use a water python to vacuum it but put a 3 gal pail under the discharge in the sink. I can vacuum aggressively and suck a fair bit of sand through the python without it plugging. The sand falls into the pail and settles out while the watertrickles out over the top. Make sure your drain is clear!! When I'm done I can just dump the 2 or 3 cups of sand back into my tank. I also removed the 2.5" tube from the suction end and replaced it with a 1.5" tube and it helps separate sand and gunk better. I finally took my sand out after a few years because I kept scratching the glass when using an algae scrubber (a grain of sand always gets into the scrubber!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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