Cleaning tiny (sandlike) substrate

[lukeyn]

Hello all,

I have had the same substrate in my aquarium for quite some time and I think its time for a change. I use a vacuum system that connects to the faucet to suck the water along with the waste out of the gravel in the bottom of the tank.

My question is, if I switch to a substrate that is very thin, almost sand like, will I have any issues with the substrate being sucked up in the vacuum or will it remain below while the waste is sucked away like my current gavel setup?




The green rocks were added by my kids because they glow.

 

[backpack]

When using sand substrate you have to tilt the tube so it drops all of the sand out.
I end up with about a cup worth of sand in my buckets after dumping 100 gals of water.
But black florite tends to be a little more.