Cleaning Substrate

[Pixelated_Pirate]

Hey guys,

Just wondering the best way to clean sand? I've never had sand as my substrate before... is there any special method or tips for me?

Thanks guys,

~ Jeffrey

[Diana]

With a regular gravel vac the secret is to run the water slower, perhaps by sitting the waste bucket on a chair so the water does not fall so far. It also helps to keep your hand wrapped around the outlet tubing so that if the sand does not drop back out of the big tube you can quickly pinch off the flow. When the sand drops open your hand to begin siphoning again.
You can use a gravel vac to rearrange the sand, too. Carefully pick up a tube of sand, maybe 3/4 full and move it to where you want it.

[Pixelated_Pirate]

Good suggestions... I have a clamp that adjusts the flow rate of the siphon on my buckets... I can also keep my hand on the tube if I need to pinch ot stop the flow.

So here's part 2 to the question... whats the best way to get the new water back in without too much disturbance?

[Emma Turner]

You don't even really need a gravel vac. I just use a length of flexible hosing and start a siphon into a bucket. There is never too much crap to siphon out anyway, as all my tanks have a high flow rate and most is stirred up and taken out by the filtration. With most grades of aquatic sand, any rubbish sits on top, unlike gravel, where it tends to sink down between the pieces and easily go unnoticed. Of course there will always be a few bits that are missed by the filter, and this is easily siphoned out when you do your water changes. You just need to hold the hose a few cm above the substrate (you will get to be able to judge the required distance the more you do it) so that it sucks up the crap and not the sand. Even if you do suck up a bit of sand, this will be minimal.

When I add water to the tank at water change time, I usually pour it onto a solid piece of decor like a lump of bogwood so that it displaces the flow and the sand stays where it should.

Emma

[Dutch]

That's interesting, I was just thinking about the same thing.
My new tank has been running for over three weeks now and I have a problem with some brown stuff on the sand. I guess it's algae, but I don't know for sure. Looks awful so I want to clean the sand before the first fish arrive. I was already thinking about getting a gravel cleaner, but I might try with the siphon-method I use for water changes first.

[Dutch]

Oh, about getting water back in. I use a garden hose and put it in my internal filter. Works really well, but if you have no internal filter like mine an option might be a spray bar/head normally used for the garden. Will make it seem like rain.

[Diana]

If you are refilling from a bucket or hose you can put your hand at just about the level of the water and allow the water to hit your hand first. This will diffuse the force of the water enough to minimize problems with the sand getting blown around the tank. You can also aim your hand at some spot that might need the sand moved a little, too.
If the tank has decorations such as rocks or wood then these will work as well.
If the level is pretty high (such as a 25% WC) then you can use a hose aimed horizontally along the front of the tank. The water still in the tank will slow down the incoming water.
For initial filling (Or any time you have taken the water level WAY down) put a plate or a piece of plastic, like the bags fish come in, and lay that on the sand. Begin filling slower, an as the level rises you can increase the flow.

[jones57742]

Folks:

Plato, IMHO, was way off base as the Mother of Invention is laziness (an excellent example is Ron).

I have not yet hauled a bucket of water associated with fish keeping.


PP:

Do you have a faucet and a yard lower than like 50' from your tank?

TR

[bullisbm]

The think I have used for years to put water back into a tank without disturbing things is just a simple bowl.

Pour the water into it and it spreads out the force.. works great.

I recently did my first sand tank also and just hover the cleaner hose over the top about 1/2 and inch and it seems to work fine, there is not normally much picked up as it doesn't settle 'into' it much.

Bret

[zmo63]

To pour water back into my tanks, I have a small pitcher that I use to scoop water from the bucket. On the smaller tanks, I pour into the back of the HOB filter, and on the larger tank, I can usually just dip the pitcher straight into the tank and release the water with virtually no turbulence.

[Tinman]

Dutch said

My new tank has been running for over three weeks now and I have a problem with some brown stuff on the sand.

You need more flow over the sand ,it may be too deep also. I had this issue at first,The sand should be fluid and moving in the high current on the bottom,always flowing like a sand dune. This takes practice and possibly more pumps but when accomplished very little is left to vac and the sand stays clean and white..or black..or .....whatever color you choose. Mine moves all around but not so much it flies up into the intakes of the pumps..that damages the pumps....I received this advice here myself and it worked great. My sand was a bit to deep and my flow not on the substrate enough. Minor adjustments stopped the algea growth on the sand particles ....

[Dutch]

Thanks Tinman. I don't understand it yet, though. Have a look in my "Loach project"-thread, you can see that there's plenty of flow through the tank. The sand is also just two inch high. I had a lot of wood debri on top of the sand, so maybe it had to do with that.

I did change the tank yesterday, maybe it will help the flow. (It looks a bit stronger anyway.)

Let's hope that when the Loches come they will move the sand enough to avoid this problem. Doesn't look very nice.

[Pixelated_Pirate]

How are you guys adding water directly from a hose? How do you monitor the water temp if it is straight from a garden hose... and how do you remove the chlorine from it?

Up until now in my 32gal freshwater tank I've always filled up buckets... use Aqua Plus in it... then slowly added the buckets to to tank... I made sure the water temp was as close to the tank as I could get it.

[Diana]

I cannot add tap water directly to the tanks. Too much dissolved gas in the water.
I prepare water ahead of time, mixing hot and cold tap water in a garbage can with whatever additives I need. Dechlor in all the mixes, but the bracksih water tank gets Coralife salt mix, the Discus tank is circulated with peat for a couple of hours or overnight, the lake Tang tank gets certain minerals...
Then a pump from the garbage can to the tank via a hose. Small pump for small tanks, to move the water slowly, bigger pump for the large tanks. The big pump could really tear up the substrate if it is not aimed just right.

[jones57742]

PP:

Where I was trying to get to is that a Python would solve or at least help with each problem which you have set forth.

TR