Sand Substrate

[UK_Dave]

I dont know if its a case of people cleaning the tank just before they take pictures or something, but since I have changed to sand it always seems dirty!

I clean it regularly as normal, but it just seems that if I clean it 1 day, by the next its covered in fish waste again! It just never looks clean, apart from the couple of hours after I have cleaned it!

What do people use to clean their sand? Are the cleaners from Argos any good?
http/www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002201&langId=-1&searchTerms=GRAVEL+CLEANER

I need to find something or some way to keep it better looking, makes me realise just how much rubbish the gravel used to harbour, and could of been the reasons that my chemical levels were always all over the place after I managed to get them all down low!

I have found keeping the chemical levels down low easier with sand, but its always looking dirty...Do people use other types of fish in there tank to help?

 

[Floyds mum]

Ive got sand to as a substrate and the sides of the tank are getting dirty to and i clean it every week ritually.

 

[Bebobb]

I forget what it is called, but another member on this forum reported the same problem, and truck reccomended this product. It was like a fan that moved the water abound at the bottom of the tank.

 

[dave_oddballs]

theres no point in getting something to move it around, it will just end up hidden, in which case the crap is still there, so still a problem, i have my 1000 litre tank with sand as substrate, i had problems cleaning it, if you use a normal gravel cleaner it sucks up the sand, i did it for the first couple of weeks, cleaned the sand and put it back in, got fed up so now i just use the siphon tube without the gravel cleaner and hold it a couple of cm above the sand and it lifts all the crap up without sucking up the sand, it takes a bit of time and patience, trust me i do it every morning! but it does work, if you start swirling the water around the crap will be in plants and rocks and other ornaments or just floating in the water, but its still in there until you take it out.

i know what you mean though, i spend about an hour a day cleaning it and about 10 minutes later there is a bit of crap floating around, thats because it is in plants etc, soon as its disturbed it floats around, now i move the plants around as they are on wood and rocks and clean all under them etc.

you can see it all the time more than on gravel because of the colour, and with gravel poo and other rubbish gets trapped in the graven, with sand it can't so it sits on top of it.

 

[UK_Dave]

So basically, deal with it yeah? hahaha!

I dont mind doing it, its not a majorly hard job...Just irritating when you get it all nice and clean, then the plac leaves a huge piece for me! I swear he holds onto it till im finished! Although I have a plan for him, when he is having a massive crap, I use the net or something to cut it, then syphon it up! Ive never known a fish to crap so much!

Good job he is worth clearing up after...I knew waht I was getting myself into with him, but I cant help but love plecs!

 

[dave_oddballs]

you don't have to just 'deal with it' lol, just keep on top of it and thats all you can do, i think sand looks better in most case's so to me its worth the extra time and effort!!

 

[Bebobb]

Maybe you could lower the filter intake so it is closer to the sand?

 

[Harlequins]

I have sand,and it keeps pretty clean,i do have lots of corys messing around in it digging away ,which in a sense is quite good for me,has when the corys kick up the poo etc,it tends to gather in the corners where i assume the filter intakes sucks alot up

The only time i notice the dirt is when i do the weekly w/c,when i lift or move some of the ornaments,there's muck underneath so out it comes with the vacuuming

 

[dave_oddballs]

if you lower filter intakes too close to the sand every time the sand gets stirred the intake will suck it up, then you get knackered impellers and basically break your filter.