Do you guys vacuum your sand? How often? Why?

[Gannon]

I personally find it tiresome to do this. I can never get my siphon to pick up much of anything without sticking it right into the sand where it of course sucks up way too much of my sand. I typically have good flow and don't see too much on the substrate, but I know if I lift a rock or piece of driftwood there is surely a lot of bad gunk under there. Is it good to let that gunk get buried under the substrate for nutrients for plants? Or are they just excess and unhelpful pollutants. I've never gone too deep on this topic and would like to know you're thoughts. 

[Ken Burke]

@Gannon that’s one of the reasons I abandoned sand as a substrate.  

[Gannon]

On 9/13/2022 at 9:42 AM, Ken Burke said:

@Gannon that’s one of the reasons I abandoned sand as a substrate.  

Makes sense. I just can't stand the look of gravel. I also prefer bottom dweller behavior on sand. On gravel I'm sure they are fine, but don't act the same. 

[Tanked]

Cutting the business end of the syphon at a sharp angle will allow you to pick up more surface gunk than sand.  I can envision one or two ways to deep clean a sand substrate, but don't see the point, as it would actually create more work.

[Gannon]

On 9/13/2022 at 10:01 AM, Tanked said:

Cutting the business end of the syphon at a sharp angle will allow you to pick up more surface gunk than sand.  I can envision one or two ways to deep clean a sand substrate, but don't see the point, as it would actually create more work.

Do you just not see deep cleaning sand as necessary? Additionally I've done the whole thing with pinching the siphon tube and it doesn't help much. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it just makes it even harder to pick up anything. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Gannon

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

It's beneficial to let it be.  Sand has an aerobic layer and an anerobic layer, and different bacteria reside in each layer to break down waste. Further, accumulated waste in the sand does provide food for plants.  You can angle the gravel siphon to suck the detritus from the top of the sand.  Then you can "turn" the sand by using a turkey baster to suck some sand up and put it back down.  That will refresh the layer and make it look less dingy.

I do vacuum my sand with the hose pinching method as well, but I believe the practicality of this depends on the type of sand.  I use pool filter sand which is heavier and doesn't usually make it all the way up the siphon anyway.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[face]

I us to vacuum my sand every week I kept cichlids (and no plants) so it was always dirty, I just siphoned into a bucket and when it got too much sand in it I would just rinse it out and dump it back in, I also specify chose sand that was heavy and kept it very thin 1/2 inch or so to make it easier to clean. 

[JettsPapa]

Like @Chick-In-Of-TheSea, I rarely if ever vacuum mine, and when I do the pool filter sand or Black Diamond sandblasting sand is heavy enough that it falls back down, even if I stick the end of the siphon tube an inch or so down into the substrate.

[anewbie]

I rarely vacuum the substrate since most of my aquariums have dense plantings with *lots and lots* of roots. There are a few open spots where i will lightly disturb the edge or top but going deep will break a lot of roots.

[macdaddy36]

I have aquasoil capped with sand so I don’t gravel vac, I just use the siphon to stir gunk up into the water column, and then vacuum it up. I propably do this every week or so.

[Odd Duck]

I will skim my siphon over the sand if there’s more visible mulm than I like, but I mostly depend on inhabitants to keep the sand stirred and “clean”.  I leave the back of the tank mostly alone and just tidy up the front when needed.  Mulm is free plant fertilizer as far as I’m concerned.

[Scapexghost]

I never gravel/sand vac. I mean theres no one going aroubd vacuuming the bottom of rivers or lakes.

[Bev C]

I use to clean once a week  when i did not have plants or snails

but now i have snails and plants  and I cut from feeding everyday to every other day and now i do not vac as often  

now i vac as needed. or when i have company coming seems like i keep adding plants and that helps allot hiding the sand 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Bev C

[Tanked]

On 9/13/2022 at 11:07 AM, Gannon said:

Do you just not see deep cleaning sand as necessary? Additionally I've done the whole thing with pinching the siphon tube and it doesn't help much. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it just makes it even harder to pick up anything. 

I don't see it as being necessary.  the majority of waste products remain on the surface.  The plants will handle anything that sinks in.  I usually hold a finger over the hose end.  It's easier than pinching for me.  I also use only the syphon hose, just above the sand., and I'm considering trying a valve.  I believe cutting the tip at an angle allows the hose to suck up more water and debris, and less sand.  You will still pick up some of the really fine grains, but that is a good thing.

[TOtrees]

I clean excess mulm if it gets so thick that it starts getting lifted into the water column, which I see as a visual detractor. But I don’t vacuum in the sand substrate itself.

Most of my tanks are breeding setups or grow out tanks, so those that have a sand bottom are more for allowing or enhancing natural behaviors. I find around half an inch to an inch of sand works well for that, which doesn’t leave space for an anaerobic layer, and generally allows the critters in the tank to keep things cycling. Some of those tanks haven’t seen a siphon in a year or more (of course water is getting changed regularly).

[Cowrabbit]

I had to vacuum gas out when I was farming snails in an overstocked tank. Have 2" of sand, and vacuumed by jamming the tube all the way down to the base of the aquarium. Then jostle around to loosen gases & pinch the hose to let the sand go down. Would not recommend, it was tedious and had to be done several times a week. 

I don't vacuum my balanced tanks, gunk/mulm is dual purpose as fry food and shelter.

[JettsPapa]

On 9/14/2022 at 11:18 AM, Cowrabbit said:

I had to vacuum gas out when I was farming snails in an overstocked tank. Have 2" of sand, and vacuumed by jamming the tube all the way down to the base of the aquarium. Then jostle around to loosen gases & pinch the hose to let the sand go down. Would not recommend, it was tedious and had to be done several times a week. 

I don't vacuum my balanced tanks, gunk/mulm is dual purpose as fry food and shelter.

Malaysian trumpet snails will take care of that for you.

[Bev C]

 I usually like my sand to look good  when company comes  since i have black sand  i vac then,,,mostly   sand to me is easier to clean then gravel sand everything lays on top you just need to do the top 

but like i said in my last post above  i usually clean  as needed lmy plants and snails  and other bottom feeders  take real good care of my sand

 plus i keep trying different plants to see what plants are working for me without killing them trying I am going jungle look one day ,, 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Bev C

[Martin]

I vacuum as needed.  My RCS tank population is getting up there and the amount of poop is impressive.  I'd rather just leave everything alone for the same reasons you mentioned, but I get nervous after a point and feel the need to at least get the large collections.  But I agree with you on all counts; it is a pain and even when removing the acrylic tube, using the flexible plastic tubing just doesn't get where and what I want.

Edited September 15, 2022 by Martin

[tolstoy21]

When I had a planted tank I never ever vacuumed the sand substrate. Not even once.

Now I have Oscars in the tank and I still have the same substrate. I vacuum routinely now cause Oscars poop like labradors and I don't like looking at it. 

When I siphon, I hold the siphon at an angle and crimp the tube to slow the rate of flow and let the sand fall back to the bottom while still getting the gunk up. Takes some practice, but after a while its second nature.  Sure you'll lose some sand,  but I find it to be a negligible amount if done right.

Edited September 16, 2022 by tolstoy21