the pool filter sand are fine sand im talking about. it's easy to clean in my opinion cuz everything stays on top. you just have to be careful not to suck in the sand while you're siphoning.
Does sand get sucked up in gravel vac?
- Thread starter ewurm
- Start date
I've got Tahitian sand in one of my tanks and I just keep the vac appr. 1" above the substrate. I dont seem to pick up much sand at all, if any.
I used to keep axolotls at one stage and I used sand as a substrate for them cause the silly things would eat gravel then have a hard time passing it!!!
I was told by others that by using a turkey baster you can pick up most of the waste from the sand easy.....
Not sure myself as I just used the vacuum
I was told by others that by using a turkey baster you can pick up most of the waste from the sand easy.....
Not sure myself as I just used the vacuum
just wondering 2 things how long do u rinse it out before u add it to a new tank? and could i just dump some in a tank that up a running with gravel???
Rinse rinse and then rinse some more.
Then when you think its clean rinse it again.
The method I used was a square tub about 6 inches deep. I filled it halfway with sand and filled it up with water. Dumped the water out and repeated a few times. Then i just filled it up and let the water run until it was clear, letting it over flow the tub a few more times. Then I took a piece of 2x4 and put it under one side so it had a bit of tilt and again let the water run thru it and overflow till clear. I added 2x4s 2 more times while repeating the same steps. Every 5 minutes or so while doing the overflow I'd also dump the water out and refill. It took about an hour per 50 lb bag and it still clouded my water for the 1st day. After day 1 of sand I did a 90% waterchange and had no probs since.
Then when you think its clean rinse it again.
The method I used was a square tub about 6 inches deep. I filled it halfway with sand and filled it up with water. Dumped the water out and repeated a few times. Then i just filled it up and let the water run until it was clear, letting it over flow the tub a few more times. Then I took a piece of 2x4 and put it under one side so it had a bit of tilt and again let the water run thru it and overflow till clear. I added 2x4s 2 more times while repeating the same steps. Every 5 minutes or so while doing the overflow I'd also dump the water out and refill. It took about an hour per 50 lb bag and it still clouded my water for the 1st day. After day 1 of sand I did a 90% waterchange and had no probs since.
I did it in my bathtub by the bucketful. I'd fill a bucket say a third with sand then run some water in and fill it up swish the sand around in the bucket and keep repeating until the water was clear. Once it was clear, i'd dump the sand at one end of the bathtub and keep going with the rest.
I used riversand so it was pretty easy to tell when it was clean cause the water went from being almost muddy to clear.
I didn't have much of a problem with cloudy water but I found that having a big 1200ltr / hr canister filter on only a 145 litre (38 gal) tank helped to keep this under wraps.
Good luck!
I used riversand so it was pretty easy to tell when it was clean cause the water went from being almost muddy to clear.
I didn't have much of a problem with cloudy water but I found that having a big 1200ltr / hr canister filter on only a 145 litre (38 gal) tank helped to keep this under wraps.
Good luck!
I have found that the most effective way of cleaning sand (IMO), is to use a manual siphon to litterally suck out the substrate, and have a large bucket for it to flow into. Once the bucket is full, I will usually dump out the excess water, then continue until I have removed the majority of the sand. Most of the time, no matter how many times I dump the excess water while doing this, I usually need 2 or 3 buckets to hold all of it. Once I have the sand out, I usually do a visual check to make sure none of my sneaky crustaceans have managed to hitch a ride down the tubes and into the buckets (it's almost as if they have come to recognize my technique, and take advantage of it as a free ticket out!) Once all is clear, I move onto the actuall cleaning. Typically on my lazy days, I will use water from the hose or tub to rinse, though this isn't the best idea for saltwater, I know I know, lol. But when I am not as lazy, and have the time and patients, I will usually mix a batch of synthetic sea water, and flush it that way, as this tends to save the beneficial bacteria within. I usually only do this about once every eight to ten weeks. About every two weeks, sometimes more, I simply stir the sand, and use a modified gravel filter/siphon, hovering over the top layer about and inch or so. Either way you choose to do it, it's important reguardless of how, to ocassionaly stir up the substrate. It can collect decaying matter, and gasses that can be dangerous to your livestock if left alone. Having burrowing livestock also helps as they continuously move around the sand. But as a double edged sword, it also makes it worse to a degree, as bits of uneaten food, and waste get shifted to the bottom layers, which is why cycling it is needed. It's really up to you on which method to use, but in the end, it's important none the less.
--EMI
--EMI
