Cleaning Sand

[Jamnog]

oops my fish are allways digging the sand about i stir it sometimes one thing that worries me allot is that i have allmost 3" of sand

 

[CFC]

If i were you i would remove 2" of the sand and place any plants in small pots hidden behind strategicaly placed rocks/wood.
When i set my new tank up im going to silicon a 4"strip of perspex all along the back and sides so i have shelves of gravel for my plants but i can have a sand substrate in the front.

 

[teknikz]

suckin in fish water

hahahahahahaha

if u just put the syphon tube into the tank and let it fill up with water b4 u pull 1 end out to put in the bucket u dont need to suck on it hahahaha

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee fishy water in ur mouth

hahahahahahahaha

 

[Dave]

Hey theres nothing like a bit of Aquarium water to wash your mouth out, its just the chewy bit you have to watch for

Anyway I think Ill try your method. So you just submerse the whole thing do you?

 

[Jamnog]

If i were you i would remove 2" of the sand and place any plants in small pots hidden behind strategicaly placed rocks/wood.
When i set my new tank up im going to silicon a 4"strip of perspex all along the back and sides so i have shelves of gravel for my plants but i can have a sand substrate in the front.

im going to introduce gravel to mix with the sand this will defy the dead spots i think

 

[Tanked]

the gravel will help Jam, but it is still a good idea to stick your hand all the way to the bottom of the sand a turn it a bit. I do this about once a month.

 

[Jamnog]

i do turn it once in a while but i cant turn the sand in my other tank as fish are keeping fry in it.

 

[CFC]

Constant turning of the substrate will upset the balance of bacteria and could send the tank into a mini cycle,even when vacuming gravel you should not go any deeper than 1" to prevent mixing anerobic and aerobic bacterias.