Gravel Vaccuming Sand?

[EvilKid]

well it depends on your sand too i guess if its really fine like mine you would have a problem with a gravel vacuum cuz it will just siphon all your sand out honestly i ditched the vacuum and just use the hose directly like a vacuum it worked better for me really isolating the spot i want to clean. the circular motion is for added suction it creates a lil vortex in the sand allowing you to penetrate it deeper

oh yeah and the deeper the sand the more offten you will have to stir mines only about an inch but my cichlids stir it up on a regular so once a year seems like enough to me

 

[gomezladdams]

Its just a matter of adjusting the flow rate on the vac so you arent sucking the sand all the way up.Pythons have a valve.Or you can just pinch the hose a bit.

 

[G-Code]

I find it interesting that people only stir their sand once a year. I turn off my filters and stir my sand with every water change. I do 2 a week. After stirring, I let all the poop and planaria settle for about 30 minutes and then vacuum with the python. I just put the end of my hose in a bucket, outside and let it over-flow. This way, I can catch any sand that I accidentally vacuum up. I also use the water in the bucket to rinse my filters. So do you guys think I stir my sand too often?

 

[xdragonxb0i]

i vaccum 3m t-grade sand, just like gravel, but i just play with hose. By adjusting the angle of the vaccum, and i can avoid vaccuming the sand out. unless its the finer particles

 

[gazelle]

I find it interesting that people only stir their sand once a year. I turn off my filters and stir my sand with every water change. I do 2 a week. After stirring, I let all the poop and planaria settle for about 30 minutes and then vacuum with the python. I just put the end of my hose in a bucket, outside and let it over-flow. This way, I can catch any sand that I accidentally vacuum up. I also use the water in the bucket to rinse my filters. So do you guys think I stir my sand too often?

Overflow idea is good

 

[Deaths Sting]

If u keep the sand bed extremely thin, i.e. below 1'' and have bottom dwellers that dig; u should never have to do a sand vac. since the bed is thin and being moved around by fish, this will turn it over almost everyday!

also, having sufficient current in the tank will eliminate dead spots where material builds up. sufficient current in collaboration with the bottom dwellers will keep the material build up suspended in the water column, allowing the filters to do their job.

having heavy sand like pool filter sand is also very helpful. since the material is being suspended u can keep the intakes high, eliminating the chance of sand being sucked up. not only that, but it will make the tank look more aesthetic since u don't have such long intakes cluttering up the tank.

 

[gazelle]

If u keep the sand bed extremely thin, i.e. below 1'' and have bottom dwellers that dig; u should never have to do a sand vac. since the bed is thin and being moved around by fish, this will turn it over almost everyday!

also, having sufficient current in the tank will eliminate dead spots where material builds up. sufficient current in collaboration with the bottom dwellers will keep the material build up suspended in the water column, allowing the filters to do their job.

having heavy sand like pool filter sand is also very helpful. since the material is being suspended u can keep the intakes high, eliminating the chance of sand being sucked up. not only that, but it will make the tank look more aesthetic since u don't have such long intakes cluttering up the tank.

good info i have an endli that digs for some reason but i was wondering about picking up debris frmo on top of the sand mostly

 

[slednex11]

i have a 18" vac andit wont lift all the poop to the top and into the bucket which is below the tank and my tank is 32" high i think i need a better vac mine dont SUCK enough whata a good one???? thanks

 

[Westie]

I have a 135g with sand. I have a pair of Jurupari that do an excelent job of cleaning the sand. Shrimp, crab and, crayfish are helpful and bischir food. I used to syphon, let it get to the top of the syphon and stop the flow and let it settle and move on. The Jurupari's are much simpler.

 

[jclyde13]

Place empty bucket beneath your fish tank, the gravel cleaner is gravity powered and water only goes down hill.

Switch off your heater and depending on whether you will get wet if you don't your filter.

Stick the end that is just a pipe over or ideally in said bucket.

Stick the end with the funnel into fish tank water.

Prime the vacuum. Different models have different techniques.

Suck end in bucket and hope you don't get a mouthful of fish crap.

At this point water is now flowing from tank to bucket, so stick funnel in gravel vertically.

The lift and dunk method gets right into a particular area, the hover and suck covers a greater area, but doesn't lift as much crap.

Remember your bucket is a finite resource; stop sucking before it overflows. (ie:Take funnel out of water).

Replace water removed from fish tank with fresh, switch on heater and filter.

Take bucket of dirty water and feed your roses, (it's full of nitrogen).

Clean funnel end of vacuum under tap as it will have fish crap stuck on it

You don't need to suck on it to prime it, all you have to do is fully submerse the entire siphon in the tank with the ends pointing upward to let all the air out. Then (while still holding it under water) you seal the opening on the tube end with your thumb and hold the tube down to the bucket. Then you lift your thumb and like magic, you have a vacuum.