Is Sand Hard To Clean?

[marieukxx]

I'm thinking of getting sand for my new tank. Is it hard to syphon? I can imagine sucking loads up when I clean it.

 

[StandbySetting]

I don't clean mine, it doesn't require cleaning, if a tank has good circulation detritus shouldn't accumulate, but detritus is generally less dense than the sand so will be picked up before the sand, there is a technique but it isn't hard to clean.

 

[marieukxx]

Don't you siphon the poop?

 

[StandbySetting]

I don't really get any, the circulation doesn't allow it to settle, so it finds its way into the filter.

 

[fluttermoth]

I find that with sand, that the poop can't sink down into the sand to decompose, so instead the filter can swoosh it round and suck it up.

You may find one or two spots behind or beside an ormnament or plant where odd bits of mulm tend to lodge, so you can syphon there. You do get a little bit of sand up, but that's no trouble; you either wash it in the bucket and pour it back in with your clean water, or top it up with new every so often; playsand is cheap, you can keep a spare bag somewhere.

 

[elisew]

I do get poop settling on the sand, despite having a powerhead in both big tanks

I have to say though that I personally find sand much easier to clean than I did when I`ve had gravel in my tanks previously. Just swirl the end of the gravel vac/hosepipe over the surface of the sand and it gets sucked up no problem

 

[marieukxx]

Thanks I'm gonna go for the sand option.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Im gonna start a members log soon and i have a pic of my new tank a quarter full after removing the previous owners gravel, trust me i will never have gravel, ever! Lol. So much dirtttt

 

[Tizer]

my tank has sand and like Standby said, the circulation of the water should keep things moving on the bottom and eventually find its way to the filter intake. However, i get dead spots near bogwood where the odd bits of dirt build up so they get a bit of a swirl and suck when i do a water change at weekends.

 

[marieukxx]

Thanks I do find loads of poop in my tank with gravel that I have to vac up. I'm defo going for sand in my new one.

 

[mattbleasby]

Now i have sand in all my tanks. Used to only have gravel under the thought that sand was a nightmare, I find it easier than gravel. As said above in one of my tanks the circulation never gives dirt chance. But on my 60ltr the sand does gather some dirt, But its easy too clean, Just Syphon above the sand and boom your done

 

[Twinklecaz]

I like sand coz it's easy to see. On my 20l I have black gravel and I'm never sure if it's clean or not. Also the gravel gets stuck in the syphone cap thing. But with sand in my 60L I know it's clean and I just top the sand up every now and then.

 

[jcdj]

Just buy a fine net and run it through the sand where you see poo it's what I've done for my 70l tank it does cloud up for an hour or so after but then it's fine, check your impeller more often just to make sure there is no sand stuck in there

 

[Randi]

When I changed a tank from gravel to sand i found out how NOT clean the gravel was. There was so much muck under there!! I am sticking to sand from now on.

 

[Randomitity]

After switching I have had less poop cleaning and water changes and just water changes and when I pour out the water it doesn't look like I put a muddy boot in the bucket