help me with substrate

any good substrate for american cichlids except for typical gravel? i love sand and i was planning on an all sand substrate so i practiced with my 26 gallon tank, i put all sand (aquarium bought for fresh and marine) it looks great and the fish seem to enjoy it but its a little difficult to siphon. i learned to keep the siphon about an inch above the sand and let all the debri get sucked up gently. now i used a manual low suck siphon but for the 220 with adult cichlids i have to use the python. im worried the python will suck up all the sand in the tank lol
is there anyway around this? can i still use sand in the 220 with the python?
or is there something else that is really close to a sandy look but easier to siphon?

funny you mention earth eaters, i was just trying to find a store who had some decent sized ones in stock. seems like they are very usefull in tanks with sand because they stir the sand releasing toxic gases (or something like that lol)
i have white sand in my 26g and it almost gives it a saltwater look, the only thing is that all the fishes poop just sits on the surface of the sand and its very noticable
im really torn on this :hang: