Loaches Online Forum

i recently upgraded my tank and thought it was a good opportunity to change the substrate, so i went with black sand. yesterday was the first time i vacuumed it using a siphon to clean it and it all got sucked up so after tipping all the old water out of the bucket i had to return the sand. is there anything i can buy to clean the bottom but that wont suck up the sand.
all suggestions are welcome
thanks

With practice you will be able to vacuum your substrate without collecting the sand, usually by holding your tube above the sand without making contact. There's usually no need to deep vacuum sand as any detritus settles on top, and not in-between. My tool of choice is an external filter intake pipe connected to some flexible filter pipe. It has a smaller diameter than most substrate vacuums on the market, and is ideal for sand.

Here's a quick vid on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-yUhK7U--o

Swirl the end of the tubing a inch or so above the sand and any debris will be picked up. There is no need to put the end of the vac tube into the sand.

ok great thanks for the help i didnt know the dirt would only settle on top that will actually make things easier and faster when cleaning
cheers

I find it depends on the fineness of the sand. Pool filter sand I vacuum almost like small gravel, tiny particulates work their way into it. Very tiny grains I kind of swirl the vac to lift detritus but lose a small amount of sand each vac.

as per Nancy D, I find that if you move the end of the vacuum fast across above the the sand you lift the debris which both highlights it and makes it easier to suck away.