How To Clean Sand

[aly2k9]

Hi, I have sand in as the substrate for my tank and i just wanted to know how i was supposed to clean it.

help would be appreciated.

 

[Harlequins]

A gravel vac would be handy,although i think theres a knack to it,you need to hold it just above the sand to pick up debris

 

[saltynay]

Just use a hose pipe into a bucket start the suction through sucking the end or filling with water then releasing once the bucket end is lower then tank (suction) end. Control suction with your finger on either end/ Spin the hose in the water until you get a cyclone effect then move around the tank continuing to spin and this will lift the debris off the heavier sand particles, there is a knack to it to not suck out sand and loads of water but you get the hang of it quite quickly.

 

[KingOfTheSea]

I use an aquarium syphon. I have sand about the grain size of granulated sugar. I dig the end into the sand and start the syphon, this pulls all the dirt up out of the sand and some sand with it, when the sand bits are about halfway up the bottom of the tube before it gets into the hose type part I cut it off with my finger. The sand then falls back to the floor and you can start it over again. If you are fully stocked you will find alot of dirt under the sand and also it helps cut down on any dead spots in the sand if you do it once a week.

 

[ellena]

You can most of the stuff up by hovering over the sand, but sometimes I just suck the sand up. Just chuck it back in with the new water