Best Siphon for Sand?

[JackBinimbul]

Howdy, everyone. I've run into an annoying snag while my tank is still cycling. I have a fairly straight forward siphon with an extendable tube. Or should I say, had.

I use black diamond blasting sand substrate and it's light enough to get drawn up into my siphon. I know that a more narrow siphon tube will have stronger suction, but I only have a 20 gallon and it's fairly well planted with a lot of rock, so it can be tricky to get around with a larger tube.

Unfortunately, sand got drawn into the tube and then got trapped between the outer portion and the extendable portion. Now I can't extend or collapse it because it's completely stuck with sand.

Does anyone have a siphon suggestion for my situation?

Also, are their techniques to better siphon gunk out? It seems like I have enough suction to annoyingly suck up all of my sand, but not enough to pull gunk off of decor or out of the water column.

 

[King Fisher]

I'd use a turkey baster to pull up anything on the sand. Then use your siphon to remove the water. I have the same problem in my Betta tanks with sand.

 

[JackBinimbul]

I actually got a turkey baster and tried that, but it's a tedious process. I have a lot of gunk in there from using fish food for ammonia.

 

[King Fisher]

Yes its tedious but maybe not as much once you get the accumulated gunk out?? Only other thought is to place your siphon just over the substrate but not into it. Make a swirling motion as you go. See if you can kick up some of the stuff and suck it up.

 

[Fresh2o]

Use can use the turkey baster to shoot a jet of water at the sand to stir up the debris and increase its chances of getting sucked up by the filter.
I have pool filter sand plus a lot of debris in there from periodically tossing in leaves (maple, almond, oak, sycamore). It’s been running for almost 9 months and I cant say I’ve ever vacuumed the sand. It’s a blackwater tank and the leaves/debris are part of the setup.
Next time you do a fishless cycle, put the fish flakes (or raw shrimp) in a nylon sock. It will help with cleanup when it is time to take it out.

 

[okapizebra]

You can always pinch the hose to slow down the suction.

 

[King Fisher]

If you get a Python siphon you can turn down the suction with the built in valve.

 

[JackBinimbul]

I actually found an amazing solution. 1 This guy is a genius. I tried this today and it worked marvelously! It also allows me to stir around for any gas pockets while I'm at it.

 

[King Fisher]

Good idea. I agree with the guy in the first comment of the video.....the head of a plastic fork would stir up more surface and essentially be faster....like a rake?? Maybe good for your 20g long????

 

[JackBinimbul]

I thought of doing that, but it's pretty thoroughly planted, especially with the dwarf hair grass. I actually don't have a lot of space to rake!

 

[King Fisher]

Ahh.... gotcha.

 

[eternal_irony]

I just hold my siphon a little bit above the sand and move it in little circular motions to stir up the debris lying on the top without moving the sand