Fighting A Loosing Battle?

[CrystalClear16]

This is driving me crazy - I would be grateful for any tips!

I have a light coloured (but speckled) sand. Once a week I use tubing to hoover up all the muck on the floor - which to do properly usually means I end up with a 50% water change. I hoover it beautifully - being sure to get everything - and then half an hour later there will be muck all over the sand again

I think the problem is that although I try to keep as still as possible, the fish moving around stir up the water. Then when I finish all the dirt settles again.

It drives me crazy. I want my sand to be nice and clean (at least for the first couple of days)!! I am cleaning well enough to ensure the parameters are perfect so this is just an aestetic thing, but I need to balance my desire to have a perfect tank with the potential risks of doing lots of big water changes.

I have tried using a battery vac which doesn't require a water change to clean the floor, but it was useless.

So am I fighting a loosing battle? Should I just accept that a healthy tank will always have a bit of dirt on the floor? Or is there something else I could try?

Thanks!

 

[WILDER]

That's the problem with sand I'm afraid.
You could remove the fish waste with a net.

If you are fussy gravel is a better option than sand. I do like sand substrates but there alot of work.

 

[CrystalClear16]

Unfortunatley gravel isn't an option as I have bottom feeders. I would rather have a little dirt than hurt barbels!

Al least it doesn't show on photos

 

[Jamepsss]

You could try increasing the circulation with a powerhead so less debris reraches the bottom.

It happens in my small tank too and you're right, it's annoying. My larger tank has an external filter and a small powerhead and the sand stays pretty clean.

 

[BigIan]

i have the same problem, i used to do water changes twice a week to keep on top of it, the good news it a little muck certainly wont do any harm.

 

[pauly]

It could also be debris from your filter/piping that comes out once you switch your filter back on after cleaning. It might be worth adding some floss if you don't have any already.

Pauly.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I dont think I ever have to clean my sand?!

Thats a pic i took yesterday. I did have to clean up some moss ball that one of my fish tore apart, but thats about it. How much current/filtration are you running in the tank?

 

[Twinklecaz]

OPs situation isn't unusual, my tank's the same (maybe not as quick as half an hour but certianly by the next day). I think when you have sand in a tank that isn't huge (mine's 60L) and fish that poop a lot (Platys in my case) then this is going to happen.

Though that's interesting about that external and powerhead. Worth thinking about.

 

[CrystalClear16]

It could also be debris from your filter/piping that comes out once you switch your filter back on after cleaning. It might be worth adding some floss if you don't have any already.

Pauly.

Yes stuff does come out when I switch it back on. If it is a week I am cleaning a filter I usually do half the water change, clean the filter, then switch it back on and do the rest of the water change in order to get as much as I can.

Not sure I have come across floss though.

I have a Fluval 205, but no other powerheads or currents. I was thinking of having one as I believe my clown loaches would like it.

 

[tahneen]

get a small powerhead to stir up the dirt so the filters can pick it up, also if you can, trumpet snails are known to be good for eating the crap in the sand and what not

 

[Vin Swords]

i never clean my sand.. its usually bit dirty after meaty food days but clear up in few hours...


if you set your flows towords the intakes with right speed and angle. you dont have to clean the sand

 

[CrystalClear16]

get a small powerhead to stir up the dirt so the filters can pick it up, also if you can, trumpet snails are known to be good for eating the crap in the sand and what not

Clown loaches - no snail would survive them!

Hmm so how do you place the powerheads to push the dirt around but not cloud the water with sand?

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Hmm so how do you place the powerheads to push the dirt around but not cloud the water with sand?

In my Trigon, i run a small power head pointing down from the back corner towards the front right corner, and this seems to give the floor a really good flow down to the external pickup in the bottom back corner

 

[AstonN24vantage]

is it bad to keep catfish with gravel? every catfish i have ever owned lived in gravel. oops!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

is it bad to keep catfish with gravel? every catfish i have ever owned lived in gravel. oops!

It depends on the species, but the ones with little barbels can get them damaged between the stones when nosing about in the gravel.

Sand stops these issues.