Cleaning tank with sand

[Tyler777]

Hi, in the past I posted the question bout how to clean up a tank that has sand as substrate but I don't remember anybody answering me so I'm gonna ask again.
I have 2 tanks with sand, how do you clean it up without getting sandvbeing sucked up along with the water ?
I always had gravel which is easy to clean it up but I'm lost bout cleaning sand. Any info n advice bout how yo do it n tools to use will b very appreciated it

 

[fishorama]

It's a kind of shallow vacuum while swirling the vac intake. It depends on the size of your sand & if you have plants in the substrate. It's just really a matter of practice. Big pleco poo is more difficult to vacuum up. But if you suck up a lot of sand, you can rinse it out in the bucket & return it to the tank (after some dechlor).

I don't use more than 2+ inches in most sand tanks. If you don't have plant's roots to worry about it's not hard to do. A quick plunge of the vacuum intake & lift it up fast. Most sand will drop down but you might lose a little bit. With practice, you can go down as far as the bottom glass for a really good cleaning. With plants' roots you need to be more slow, shallow & gentle, but it's still not super difficult. Practice makes, not perfect, but not hard either.

Like most things, do the best you can & work toward better techniques. A bit of root damage isn't fatal to most plants, they will recover almost always.

 

[Magnum Man]

I’m not opposed to “making” stuff… a wide, bigger diameter gravel vac part, will reduce the suction velocity… getting the right size in relation to your hose, may take a few tries… I was going to make one for my black sand tank, and while the Cory’s are not there to eat poop, I have a pretty large group, and I think they work over the sand enough, that by products gets stirred up, and end up sucked into the filter, as the sand always looks spotless…

My white sand tank does look like it needs help… but I have a good group of Cory’s coming for that tank in 2 days… if the results aren’t the same, I’ll have to make a vacuum for that tank…

 

[Colin_T]

Sand is usually fine enough to settle and not allow too much stuff through so you normally gravel clean the top 1/2 inch and leave the rest. however, you should do a deep clean about once a month whereby you push the gravel cleaner right down and let the sand circulate in the gravel cleaner tube.

If you suck up sand, kink the hose a bit so the flow isn't as strong and the sand should sink back down.

 

[Tyler777]

It's a kind of shallow vacuum while swirling the vac intake. It depends on the size of your sand & if you have plants in the substrate. It's just really a matter of practice. Big pleco poo is more difficult to vacuum up. But if you suck up a lot of sand, you can rinse it out in the bucket & return it to the tank (after some dechlor).

I don't use more than 2+ inches in most sand tanks. If you don't have plant's roots to worry about it's not hard to do. A quick plunge of the vacuum intake & lift it up fast. Most sand will drop down but you might lose a little bit. With practice, you can go down as far as the bottom glass for a really good cleaning. With plants' roots you need to be more slow, shallow & gentle, but it's still not super difficult. Practice makes, not perfect, but not hard either.

Like most things, do the best you can & work toward better techniques. A bit of root damage isn't fatal to most plants, they will recover almost always.

Thank you. Is there any special vacuum I need or the normal one with the tube n the hose would do it ?

 

[Tyler777]

I’m not opposed to “making” stuff… a wide, bigger diameter gravel vac part, will reduce the suction velocity… getting the right size in relation to your hose, may take a few tries… I was going to make one for my black sand tank, and while the Cory’s are not there to eat poop, I have a pretty large group, and I think they work over the sand enough, that by products gets stirred up, and end up sucked into the filter, as the sand always looks spotless…

My white sand tank does look like it needs help… but I have a good group of Cory’s coming for that tank in 2 days… if the results aren’t the same, I’ll have to make a vacuum for that tank…

I have 7 corys in my angels tank with black sand n they seem to b working good. I have some invasive snails too so I got 2 big youo loaches to take care of them but 1 died the same day dunno why. The other one hopefully is eating the snails

 

[Colin_T]

Thank you. Is there any special vacuum I need or the normal one with the tube n the hose would do it ?

Just use a basic model gravel cleaner (tube and hose) like the one in the following link. There's a picture of one about half way down the page.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

 

[Tyler777]

Just use a basic model gravel cleaner (tube and hose) like the one in the following link. There's a picture of one about half way down the page.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

Thank you

 

[fishorama]

Yes, I just use a basic gravel vac. They come in 2 vac usual sizes; an inch or so & a 3 or 4 inch x 1inch wide 1 with pretty much the same size hose. Instead of crimping the hose I keep my thumb or finger near the hose output into the bucket to stop the flow & allow sand to drift down. It's the same idea.

I'm a bit concerned about your sole yoyo loach. They & almost all loaches are social. They need to be in a group of 5 or 6 as a minimum. But they get pretty big (5-6 inches) & can be semi-aggressive. Having just 1 to eat snails might lead to behavioral problems with both corys & angels. Loaches like to have a territory that corys don't understand or respect. Angels have tempting fins...Think hard about a solo yoyo.

 

[Death by Fish Tanks]

Is there any special vacuum I need or the normal one with the tube n the hose would do it ?

You don't siphon into the sand. Just siphon up the water. Though if there are unsightly bits on top of the sand you don't like, you just go over them carefully to suck up whatever you see.

 

[Tyler777]

Yes, I just use a basic gravel vac. They come in 2 vac usual sizes; an inch or so & a 3 or 4 inch x 1inch wide 1 with pretty much the same size hose. Instead of crimping the hose I keep my thumb or finger near the hose output into the bucket to stop the flow & allow sand to drift down. It's the same idea.

I'm a bit concerned about your sole yoyo loach. They & almost all loaches are social. They need to be in a group of 5 or 6 as a minimum. But they get pretty big (5-6 inches) & can be semi-aggressive. Having just 1 to eat snails might lead to behavioral problems with both corys & angels. Loaches like to have a territory that corys don't understand or respect. Angels have tempting fins...Think hard about a solo yoyo.

I got 2 yoyos but 1 died right away . The loner is doing fine. I haven't seen him fighting or Harrisonburg anybody. The angels don't give a thing bout him or the corys. They keep bullying each other

 

[fishorama]

I'm pretty sure your yoyo is a juvenile & will grow larger & likely more aggressive alone. Keep a close eye on it.

I'm not sure what Harrisonburg might be. Maybe a spellchecker thing? Harassing?

 

[Tyler777]

I'm pretty sure your yoyo is a juvenile & will grow larger & likely more aggressive alone. Keep a close eye on it.

I'm not sure what Harrisonburg might be. Maybe a spellchecker thing? Harassing?

I meant " harassing " chubby fingers, small cellphone keyboard

 

[fishorama]

See, us old folks without smartphones don't have those problems, lol. But we might not spell any better...

Did you say what sizes your tanks are? I did a quick scroll & didn't see.

I would not keep a yoyo in less than a 4ft tank...& with 4 or 5 friends at a minimum. They grow to 5-6 inches. What other fish do you have or plan to keep? Smallish fish might be loach lunch eventually. There might be loaches or other fish we can suggest to better fit your tanks.

Tell us all about your plans! I'm a loach nut, so I will try to enable you to get a species suited to your tank(s) & maybe help with snails. loach long & prosper, lol