Tell Me About Sand...

[comocrayfish5]

how do people keep thier sand sooo clean? i rinsed and used play sand in my 5gal.
how do you clean it? i just got a mini gravel vac....

thanks!

 

[puffcandy]

Just use the hose pipe bit of your vac and syphon the detris out keeping the end of the tube about an inch away from the sand. You soon get the hang of it.

 

[matt_storey]

my filter gets alot of it, for the larger pieces i scoop it up in the net, shake the excess sand out the net and VOILA! im left with a net full of poo

 

[Athena]

As mentioned on another similar thread...I use a turkey baster to suck it up. Found it easier than the gravel vac.

Athena

 

[fluttermoth]

I just use the gravel vac and tip any sand I've sucked up back in as I re-fill.

 

[Rynofasho]

Ya, you don't have to get RIGHT on the sand. If you swirl the vac around by the substrate, it will kick up the poo and detritus which will float for a bit and the sand settles right back down so you can get it that way too.

 

[Jen]

I do the swirl above the surface trick most of the time. Every now and then i do stick the syphon in the sand to mix it up a bit, but I've got it down pat and never suck any sand up. Just keep it in long enough to bring it up a bit.

 

[minnnt]

Ya, you don't have to get RIGHT on the sand. If you swirl the vac around by the substrate, it will kick up the poo and detritus which will float for a bit and the sand settles right back down so you can get it that way too.

Yep, works very well doing it this way.

 

[comocrayfish5]

thats how i thought you cleaned it. does anything ever get below the sand line (like in the middle of the sand)??

thanks!!

 

[minnnt]

Not really no. The less you can disturb the substrate the better. It clouds your water and can also cause ammoniaproblems which can be harmful to your fish and cause algae.