Went out and bought a sand scoop-er for terrariums and removed the plastic around the handle, stuffed the end in a 1/2" pvc pipe and WALLAH! Rigid, long, and sifts so well
^ Puffers can have some pretty big poops, but in my case, i found that this tool really helped to dig out all the little bits of shells that were left in the tank after feeding if you have a fine sand substrate...
Lol I actually fashioned this based on what you posted about, so I went to petco and grabbed a extra pvc pipe and boom the long arm of the fishy tank law