Keeping aquarium sand clean - any good solutions?

[Kwyet]

I should think if you simply place a siphon in to a bucket and vacuum up the sand the sand will mostly settle in the bottom of the bucket…. You can pour off a fair amount of the water and continue vacuuming…

That’s what I’ve been doing, with a small siphon and a 5 gallon bucket, but it’s annoying how fast the bucket fills up and there’s always the risk of overflowing if I don’t pay close attention. That, and I’ve been stirring up the sand. It takes forever too. Once I switch to a larger siphon, the bucket is going to fill up even faster. I think this Python/paint strainer idea might be a good solution for me.

 

[Koan]

siphon and a 5 gallon bucket,

Maybe up your bucket game?



15 gallons, with sturdy handles and narrow enough to tuck away when not being used

 

[Kwyet]

Maybe up your bucket game?

View attachment 8449

15 gallons, with sturdy handles and narrow enough to tuck away when not being used

Thanks! I’ll keep it in mind. I want to try what I already bought first though. You have no idea how much stuff is already tucked away, lol!

 

[Jeff Miotke]

Yep, sand works as a great filter media...Ive found that a thin layer that can be quickly stirred up with your hand during a water change.. Somewhere around 3 to 10mm. This way it stays clean with just a hint of algae which is a nice look. I can't even comprehend the photo you posted art. Something is very wrong and bums me out to see. Let me know if you have any questions. Here to help.

 

[Kwyet]

Is that sand though? It looks larger. Do you keep deeper substrate contained behind the rocks to plant in?

 

[Tim Harrison]

I've given up with the whole sand thing. Keeping it clean is simply far too much hassle for me, and I like a full carpet.

However, when I did do it, I tended to just use a very thin layer, like @Jeff Miotke above, which I periodically syphoned out and replaced with fresh or washed sand. Alternatively if it was a little deeper I'd disturb it just before weekly water change and keep it clean that way.

Obviously a vacuum helps keep larger grained material clean; smaller grains tend to get sucked up. But sand can get to the stage where it's so clogged and congealed it's not particularly effective.

 

[Jeff Miotke]

Is that sand though? It looks larger. Do you keep deeper substrate contained behind the rocks to plant in?

yep it is sand. I have a video featuring it releasing in a couple weeks. And yep I use hardscape strategically to place planting beds of aquasoil.

 

[Kwyet]

yep it is sand. I have a video featuring it releasing in a couple weeks. And yep I use hardscape strategically to place planting beds of aquasoil.

I’ll watch for it! I just watched your latest video, and it was just awesome!

 

[Kwyet]

Just reporting back—
Using a 2 inch wide Python siphon with @Mr.Shenanagins technique and a 100 mesh paint strainer worked well for Aqua Naturals Delta Sand (a coarse sand) and Palmetto Pool Filter Sand (fine sand), but didn’t capture all of the Aqua Naturals Galaxy Sand that made it through the siphon. There was a fine silt that made it through. I’m going to try a 200 mesh next Monday, and I think that’ll fix it.

I also put a thin sponge with large holes inside the siphon to stop any critters getting through. I just needed to put a small filter sock over the opening when I lifted it out of the water, otherwise junk that got caught in the sponge fell back into the tank. I can’t get into all the nooks and crannies with this, but it’s a vast improvement. I’ll just have to keep using the turkey baster on those spots. It felt good to get so much crud out, lol!

 

[Pepere]

I have a video featuring it releasing in a couple weeks

I find it amazing that I get so much out of your videos despite the relative scarcity of dialogue.

Between editing and music I find your videos relaxing and meditative as well as informative.

Favorite aquarium content.

I have been subscribed for a while, but today after reading your post I did something I have never done before with any other channel I am subscribed to. I clicked on the bell icon to get notifications…

I watch youtube on my TV through a kindle fire stick, so commenting on videos on youtube just doesnt ever happen, so, here the comments appear…. Maybe these comments will prompt other people to go watch your videos Jeff.

 

[Pepere]

@Jeff Miotke , could you comment on the white trays you utilize to hold plants while you scape in your videos? Do they have a special feature under them to hold them inplace on the tank rim? Are they specially designed for aquascaping?

Where do you get them from?

 

[Jeff Miotke]

I find it amazing that I get so much out of your videos despite the relative scarcity of dialogue.

Between editing and music I find your videos relaxing and meditative as well as informative.

Favorite aquarium content.

I have been subscribed for a while, but today after reading your post I did something I have never done before with any other channel I am subscribed to. I clicked on the bell icon to get notifications…

I watch youtube on my TV through a kindle fire stick, so commenting on videos on youtube just doesnt ever happen, so, here the comments appear…. Maybe these comments will prompt other people to go watch your videos Jeff.

Thank you. I am very happy to hear that you are enjoying my films! They are a passion project as financially Im very upside down on them. Ive been mentoring the best aquascapers in North America over the last several years and I always fall short in explaining to them how to do some of the techniques. From that the YouTube channel was born. Show don’t tell.

To reward you for subscribing and dropping this comment I have pushed up the sand video to release June 7th!

 

[Pepere]

They are a passion project as financially Im very upside down on them.

That is a crying shame…

I went and posted links to a few of your videos on another forum to introduce your work to other people…

Now. About those white plant trays…. Where can I find some of those?

 

[Jeff Miotke]

That is a crying shame…

I went and posted links to a few of your videos on another forum to introduce your work to other people…

Now. About those white plant trays…. Where can I find some of those?

Thanks! The holder on the tank is 3d printed by Tim Christianson. You could try reaching out to him on IG or FB. He gave me one at a convention to give him feedback. I then put velcro tape on it and also on a white plastic tray I picked up. This way i can set it on top of the holder and it stays put.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Dollar store Tupperware is also very handy as plant trays, and a bargain.

 

[Kwyet]

Just reporting back—
Using a 2 inch wide Python siphon with @Mr.Shenanagins technique and a 100 mesh paint strainer worked well for Aqua Naturals Delta Sand (a coarse sand) and Palmetto Pool Filter Sand (fine sand), but didn’t capture all of the Aqua Naturals Galaxy Sand that made it through the siphon. There was a fine silt that made it through. I’m going to try a 200 mesh next Monday, and I think that’ll fix it.

I also put a thin sponge with large holes inside the siphon to stop any critters getting through. I just needed to put a small filter sock over the opening when I lifted it out of the water, otherwise junk that got caught in the sponge fell back into the tank. I can’t get into all the nooks and crannies with this, but it’s a vast improvement. I’ll just have to keep using the turkey baster on those spots. It felt good to get so much crud out, lol!

Reporting back again. The 200 mesh works perfectly on every sand that I have. There’s no silt getting through at all. This is the sieve I’m using:

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Just to add to the conversation, I know there are arguments for both sides of the “silicate” dilemma.

I’ve read in the past that sand doesn’t break down enough to add silicates to the water, to in turn cause a bloom a in diatoms. I’ve seen many people argue otherwise, and I’m here to be on the side that says that sand does in fact feed diatoms in some way. Without fail, every time I add fresh sand or even sand I’ve rinsed clean, I will get an uptick in diatoms when there ceased to be any visible diatoms prior. Anyone else get this effect?

 

[Kwyet]

Yes, almost always. I did have a 75 gallon tank though, that I moved all of the contents of a 20 gallon into and used an already cycled filter, and then added 100 pounds of new pool filter sand. It only got a light dusting of diatoms on the side panel which received a little extra ambient light from a window. I cleaned that panel and it never came back, so it seemed like cycling had a lot to do with whether it showed up or not.

 

[ElleDee]

Yeah, but is that not because it is not colonized with tank bacteria (or the bacteria has been disrupted with rinsed sand)? I thought that was why it is typically a new tank problem that resolves without intervention. It's a early succession species in the tank, but can't hack it when other stuff moves in.

 

[Kwyet]

I don’t know, but now that I think of it, when arrived here and set up the 125 and the 68, using filter sponges that had been kept wet for the trip and completely new sand, I didn’t get diatoms either. Neither tank is near a window either.

The 7 gallon did get some diatoms on the pane facing the window, which it sits next to. It has just a little bit of sand under the gravel. Do you think it has to do with a combination of new substrate (of any kind) and excess light, or the wavelength of sunlight?