Cleaning sand substrate

[Byron]

And experiment till u find plants that will grow with your lighting and water. Add a small amount of ferts to see if that helps.

Yes, this is so very true. Many fail with plants because they see pictures of high-tech planted tanks and go out and buy difficult plants, which naturally don't survive without all the bright light and daily nutrients--which incidentally are both detrimental to fish. Tom Barr once said you start with your lighting, at whatever intensity you want it, then you balance the nutrients accordingly for the plants that will grow under your lighting. I have stayed with plants that do well under my low to moderate lighting, so I can use plant supplements less. All the plants in my tanks are either originals or (more correctly) daughter plants of the originals, which were acquired in the 1990's. I toss out plants every water change. It might seem boring to some having a limited variety, but the fish are my first concern and the plants have to play second fiddle.

 

[Lilyann]

I only use sand substrates- dont like the look of gravel, at all. But, that is an aesthetic choice.

I have never had any issues leaving sand in for 3, 4, and 5 years at a time because I keep it clean with vacuuming.
Periodically, I do push the hard plastic of my python down to work on deeper layers of the sand substrate where plants are not rooted; but, for the most part, I just "hover and swirl" over the sand and the debris is taken up by the hose.
You also need to make sure you have good circulating action from your filters so that waste and plant debris do not sit at the substrate and stagnate in the first place. That is why I often over-filter my tanks-- use the filter to keep that stuff moving to get it to the mechanical filtration.