Vacuum Sand?

[iridude]

I am curious do you vacuum sand or just the top of sand? I notice some algae in between sand should I clean this or will I do more harm?

[ColbyWade]

I personally keep my sand pretty clean because I like my tank to keep clean looking. My tank is thriving, but I'm only vacing all the sand every other water change. Hope this helps.

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[HumbleFish]

I vacuum the sand as best I can, but I also only like 1-2" of sand to avoid having sulfur pockets. And I'm a big nassarius snail fan to keep the substrate aerated.

[ColbyWade]

I have two conch in my tank... they do a great job keeping my sand clean too.

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[AlSimmons]

I use a small powerhead and stir up my SSB once every month right before a water change. It's amazing what can accumulate UNDER those rocks.

[billdogg]

Python Siphon for me. I got it in 1988 when I started my tank and have used it for every water change. I try not to clean more than 1/4 - 1/3 of the tank at a time. I cannot imagine doing it any other way.

It's also way easier than schlepping buckets of nasty water around the house.

[gprdypoo04]

I was curious if you have a sand bed and if u are able to clean the sand without sucking it up.

[HumbleFish]

Originally Posted by gprdypoo04

I was curious if you have a sand bed and if u are able to clean the sand without sucking it up.

If you use a long enough vacuum:

[billdogg]

Originally Posted by HumbleFish

If you use a long enough vacuum:

I use the one with the hookup to your water supply - it creates the siphon through the use of a venturi and drains the waste water directly to the sink/tub/etc

[Timfish]

Most of the time I leave sand alone. But I will occasionally use a "gravel" siphon to clean sand or directly siphon out sand into a bucket and soak in a quart of H2O2 and return it to the tank. Large diameter stainless steel straws work good for removing sand around aquascaping where a large diameter "gravel" is more difficult.

https://youtu.be/QkABhAFhGKQ

[drs2140]

I do a small section in every water change. That way after a month of weekly water changes I’ve vacuumed all the sand

[gprdypoo04]

That's what I'm going to do. Bought a 30 lb bag of sand and will be sucking up half or so. I know in my previous water changes i take the sand out at times and even though not too much, it's just filthy. I'll have to get into the habit of taking a little out during every water change.

[coralcruze2020]

I use the new fluval vac and siphon my sand every so often. however i dont do the entire sand bed at one time. hope that helps.

[Mcgeezer]

As long as you don’t have a deep sand bed then it’s fine to vacuum the sand bed occasionally.

I wouldn’t recommend doing it at every water change, but a light cleaning at every other change is ok.

[billdogg]

Originally Posted by gprdypoo04

That's what I'm going to do. Bought a 30 lb bag of sand and will be sucking up half or so. I know in my previous water changes i take the sand out at times and even though not too much, it's just filthy. I'll have to get into the habit of taking a little out during every water change.

I think you might be misunderstanding the purpose of a siphon like the Python. Yes, the sand will be pulled partway up the large tube, but it is heavy enough to fall back down while the detritus gets removed. If you are pulling sand too decrease the the flow out (simply pinching the tubing will work) so that the sand can fall.

[gprdypoo04]

You misunderstood. As i already did i siphoned out some of my sand along with my water change. I didn't say anything about using the python or any other device as such.