poop problem

[DrwHem]

i i do some light vacuuming at least once a week to primarily get up this poop but it seems to be just as bad a day later.

any tips on how to handle this? or any low/moderate light plants that would help hide all this poop?

[Griznatch]

 I've had pretty good results with some bigger airline tubing zip tied to a skewer. I didn't have more tubing or I'd have made mine longer but it works really good on my 10 and 20L aquariums. The skewer lets me direct the suction closer to the area I want to clean without sucking all the gravel/sand up. The volume is low enough I can get the gunk out without losing half the tanks water before I get it cleaned up.
I have a bigger one with a turkey baster zipped to a larger diameter hose that lets me "puff" the debris up a bit before sucking it out of there. I got the idea from some of the threads in here, Just can't find the one I was looking for, wanted to link it..
 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Griznatch
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[Fonske]

I have a fine-ish black substrate like yours that shows any poop and debris really well. My approach to the issue is twofold. First, plants. Crypts, small anubias varieties and mosses require little light and hide a lot of debris. Second, water flow. I tried different orientations for my filter outflow and some positions resulted in almost no poop at the front of the tank. If you have an adjustable filtration in the tank, increasing the flow and playing with the direction might help to corral the unsightly stuff to the places where it's not so noticeable. 

[Mmiller2001]

Increase your turnover rate in the tank or add a power head to increase flow through the tank.

[Patrick_G]

My method is exactly the same as @Fonske. Crypts, and other low plants plus well directed flow works wonder. 

[Keeg]

I do what @Mmiller2001 said, I have strong water flow so all the poop ends up in one spot, then I use a modified syringe with an airline tube hooked up to suck it out before gravel vacuuming the whole tank. 

[Randall from Texas]

I have tons of snails that process the poop. Yes I have snails. But I don't have to try to vacuum poop off of sand. And then tons of plants to consume the nitrates.