Cleaning sand substrate.

[Nepherael]

I've been doing some searching on this as I am planning a SW tank and also considering switching my FW to sand down the line. The general consensus is to just hold the gravel vac over the top of the sand so you suck the poo sitting on it but don't suck sand. Is that how you do it? Do you know any better ways? As of yet I don't really plan on having many burrowers but if I did that would make more of the gunk get down into the sand instead of sitting on top so what do you do in that situation?

Just wanted to get this clarified a bit better and help anyone else out that might be considering a switch to sand or SW.

 

[AaronMB]

I can't comment on the SW.

When I tend to my sand, I make a swirling or back-and-forth motion with the tube which helps to lift the gunk up and into the water column (and into the tube so it's siphoned out). Sometimes you just suck a little sand; a pinch or three in the bucket isn't much to worry about, IMO. If you can see it coming and the timing is right, you can pull up on the tube and shake it a little and the sand will settle back down rather than being sucked through.
Burrowers are welcomed for the minor disturbances they cause; they may push some organic waste down slightly--technically--but this also suggests they'll help loosen it up and what doesn't break down will get sucked up next time. For tight spots, you can use a turkey baster or something similar to squirt water at the sand and bring the gunk into the water column so you can grab it with the vac'. When I had a Pleco, I would spot clean the sand daily by using the turkey baster (with a length of longer tubing attached at the end) to squirt the sand and suck up the poop along with a shot of water. It then went to the houseplants.

 

[stormywendyann]

I agree that you need to get all the poop off the surface of the sand, but there is also the issue of the mulm that is created below the surface of the sand by decaying matter. It is important that this mulm gets cleaned out because it is the largest contributor to "bad" water with high nitrates and algae growth. You need to put the python all the way to the bottom of the glass and watch the cloud of filth rise into the python. This process must be done over and over again until no mulm cloud rises from the substrate whether it be sand, gravel, or rock.

 

[Nepherael]

I agree that you need to get all the poop off the surface of the sand, but there is also the issue of the mulm that is created below the surface of the sand by decaying matter. It is important that this mulm gets cleaned out because it is the largest contributor to "bad" water with high nitrates and algae growth. You need to put the python all the way to the bottom of the glass and watch the cloud of filth rise into the python. This process must be done over and over again until no mulm cloud rises from the substrate whether it be sand, gravel, or rock.

Yeah I definitely get that that's why I was asking of there was some sort of trick to it besides jst kind of hoping you don't end up with too much sand. I see a lot of people say to just stir the sand up and see what the filter sucks in (it was a lfs employee doing a YouTube video that showed this) but I wasn't sure that that was the best way

 

[xDetroitMetalx]

I just let my clean up crew do it... Or buy a suitable sand sifter.

 

[RNeiswander]

My 100g cichlid tank was pretty heavily stocked, I had Tahitian moon sand, it was heavy enough to be able vacuum up without sucking out too much sand.

But in a sw tank, I don't touch it, I have enough flow to keep the sand fairly clean. And you'll be doing pretty large water changes if you try to vac the sand, which isn't really necessary if you have a skimmer.


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