cleaning sand

[bigmac1878]

i'm thinking about changing to sand as a substrate, but i'm concerned that cleaning it might be a problem. i currently siphon the gravel that i have and small bits of that find their way into my bucket. i'm convinced that all sand that i siphoned would find it's way into the bucket.
how exactly do you clean sand without too much loss? loss is inevitable, but i don't want to be doing weekly sand changes as well as water changes.

 

[Guest]

i hold the vac an inch or two over the sand to suck up nasties and spot vac stubborn spots. i get some sand in the bucket, but its not enough to worry about.

 

[MSU Fan]

i use a python, whose strength is derived from the faucet pressure. I also have pfs. For mine, I do the "hover" method for most of my tank, but occasionally i pick up sand. the pfs is too heavy for the suction and will mostly dance in the tube and then fall back out...

 

[Zagz]

I too have a python and have all my tanks with sand but one. I hover it above the sand as well as do deeper vacs by sticking it in the sand. By lifting it out of the sand quickly the sand falls back out of the syphon.

 

[MattAquaBio]

Just keep the end of hte syphon about an inch or two above the sand and let it pick up the waste, if there is a stubborn something you can use the end to flip it up out of the sand and suck it up, if you pull the syphon upward quickly the sand will mostly fall back out.

 

[Guest]

i use the valve control on my python to regulate the flow when cleaning my sand. I also do the "hover sweep" and hand stir gunk up. I use a cup to "catch" heavy deterius that can't be "sucked" up

 

[DeFeKt]

Hey, I just did my every-other-monthly sand vac and found it better to use a 1.25L Coca cola bottle on the end of a hose. Allows you to dig right down without sucking any sand up.
I just drill the lid out and use a lighter to heat it up so the hose seals perfectly into the lid.

 

[Sicklid]

I posted this somewhere else, but what I do is jam the gravel vac into the sand just like it is gravel, and pinch the hose with my fingers to control the flow to where the dirt is sucked out, but the sand drops back down. By the end of your first tank vaccumming you will be a pro at it. Works Like a charm unless you have REALLY fne, lightweight sand. (mine is small sized silica, not powdery sand)