What to use to clean sand

sykes_33 · 09-02-2007, 01:45 AM

ok. I am not sure how you guys do it. but I bought a gravel cleaner but the problem is that i have a live sand bed and LR. How do I clean the sand. The tube thing I have now is sucking up the sand. I would have nothing in less than a week if I keep this up. LOL. What do you guys use and recommend? Thank you.

lunatik_69 · 09-02-2007, 05:54 AM

Hey sykes, when performing the water changes with the syphon tube, you will notice that the tube picks up alot of sand. at this point you should do one of the two ways. one, you could slant the tube and watch the sand start to drift back down and all the sludge up through the tube or when you see the sand coming up to fast, bend the hose a little and that will stop the flow a little. hope this has helped.

Tangster · 09-02-2007, 06:08 AM

What type of filtration do you use for this tank ? I ask this because with cleaning the sand you are stripping the denitryfing bacteria as well , you could be doing more harm then good .I have tanks that ran 10 yrs with no sand cleaning required in fact i never touch the sand or rocks .. This oe here is almost a yr old now and the sand has never been cleaned ...

sykes_33 · 09-02-2007, 06:04 PM

Really. Man thats a B*&^^%. I remember that I use to do it that way. What about taking grandmas knee high stalking and putting it over the top with a rubberband to hold it on and then sucking that way.. I know it won't put the sand inside the tube but, better then sucking then crimmping, sucking then crimmping. etc.. Anybody ever try this method?

Otty · 09-02-2007, 06:25 PM

If your sand is that dirty, are you sure your not feeding too much?? You should have enough flow in the tank to keep most of that suspended in the water column so the OF picks it up.

nemo79 · 09-02-2007, 11:44 PM

Does this apply with all substrate, DSB, SSB, crushed coral?

lunatik_69 · 09-03-2007, 02:41 AM

Hey nemo, I was always told for years to clean out ALL substrates. Some ppl do it and some dont. The bad aspect of being a " reefer " is that, what might work for you, might not work for me and visa versa. Theres no one bible thats " one size fits all " if you know what I mean. If it works in your application, then do it. Having a reef tank or any other type of tank is a trial and error process. I know some ppl that you cant even see the sand from all of the sludge on top of it, but yet, their nitrates, ammonia and nitrites are at zero. Go figure!!!

BaxterS80 · 09-10-2007, 01:11 PM

If you get a long vacum, picked one up at Petsmart for about 20 bucks, this should not be a problem. The simple law of gravity will not allow the sand to move that far up the tube allowing you to clean the sand without losing any. I had the same problem sucking up a handful of sand each time I vacumed, plus it is long enough that I do not have to put my hand into the water.