Cleaning sand

[e999sam]

Whats the best way to clean sand? I have tried using a tube to siphon and a vacuem that runs off a pump but both ways just pick up the sand as well as the waste products. Can anyone help.

 

[adeyc]

I haven't the foggiest Idea. All I can think of is to take a section of sand out and wash it( put it in a bucket and run some water through it) the grains of sand should be heavier than the waste so if the flows not to stong it should seperate. Just don't do it all at once as all the good bacteria will be killed off. I do know, as you've found out the grains are to small for conventional cleaning methods.I'll go and see what I can find out though.
Maybe one of the others will know in the meantime

 

[William]

I think... that using a manual gravel vac u can pinch the tube when the sand gets near the top being heavier it will fall to the bottom. Might take a bit of practise to get it perfect- Good Luck!

William

 

[adeyc]

Sorry So far I haven't been able to find out much. well anything really. I've even asked someone with a marine tank as to how they clean their sand and they said they've never cleaned it as the water is constantly going through a series of filters etc to keep it clean.I'll keep looking though.
William might be on to an idea though. by reducing the water flow from the vacum you should reduce the suction. You'll still lose some of the sand but not as much as you have been using.
Have you asked your lfs? they might be able to help.

 

[William]

I don't have sand and I haev heard that it is an 'art' or skill!! to get it right. Good luck!

William

 

[Davy Reynolds]

I've never found sand to colect much dirt due to it's fineness. So all I ever used to to do was put my hand into the top 1inch or so and just stried it up a bit. The only reason I did this was to stop the sand compacting

 

[AndyT]

I tried sand about 8 months ago and everything was fine for about 2 months. After this time the ph dropped to 6/6.5 and despite regular cleaning, water changes and ph treatments I could not stabilise the tank for more than a few days.
Eventually I gave up and changed to gravel but I lost 4 fish in the process.
Unless someone knows how to clean sand properly and without a massive amount of effort, I can't see me trying it again.

 

[adeyc]

I'm inclined to think that it all comes down to what type of filteration you have in the tank. Preferably an external filter?

 

[e999sam]

Thanks for the info I will try different ways over the next few weeks and I'll post the results.

 

[e999sam]

I have tied a couple of methods. First I attached a small pop bottle to the end of the pipe I use for water changes this was a bit wider than the normal attachments you can get so it picked up the sand and waste but the sand was to heavy to be drawn up the pipe so only the waste was removed. I allso tried the pump operated vacuum put reduced the lift by clamping the air line this also worked but not as well as the first method.

 

[adeyc]

Glad you've solved your problem.

If you feel up to it write a few instructions and if you can put in a diagram or two (quality doesn't matter). Send it to Davy and get it published on the web site or the newsletter, H'es always looking for stuff to add and I cant think of anything else.

 

[FancyFins]

Hi guys,
I am just getting around to adding sand for my loaches and had a few comments.

PH dropping: this is possibly because of a buildup of anaerobic bacteria. If the sand if too tightly packed or too deep and it gets little oxygen this will happen.

Cleaning: someone on another forum just gave me a good idea - use a wooden dowel and stir the sand slightly when doing a water change - use the siphon cleaner about an inch above it to catch residual debris. Since I do small water changes each week - I think this will work well - the trick is to get oxygen through it so it doesn't develop harmful bacteria.

General: Make the sand no more than an inch deep and be sure if not doing a water change to at least stir and suck up the sediment once a week. Most problems come from having it too deep to manage!

Hope this helps!
{FancyFins}