cameron Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 i have just bought pure white fine sand and i can only just clean the top little lay any tips on how i can easily clean the sand is there a special attactment i can buy to put on my gravel vac:confused:. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cameron Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 anyone? i would appreciate any help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasman Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 best you will do is clean off the top with a standard hose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gollum Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 very fine sand is very hard to vac I always ended up losing some every water change started getting low on the sand so I changed to a slightly larger grain sand I got some really nice black sand its perfect ... stays down like Kasman says you could try using just the straight hose and try to suck up waste but it doesnt get it clean properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott95 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 the longer the hose the slower the flow that will help get the debris off. otherwise switch to a smaller diameter hose for less flow. i usually stir it up when i wc, so then the debris is free floating and then gets sucked into my canister or out the out the window when i drain 1/4 of my water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CAV__ Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 cleaning sand is pice of piss, cause its so fine most of the particles sit on top, so u just need to skim about the sand with a hose to remove this, and every month or so turn you filters off and give the sand a stir up and when it settles clean the **** of the top of it. easy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasman Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 the longer the hose the slower the flow ummm, I wouldnt be so sure about bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CAV__ Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 (edited) ummm, I wouldnt be so sure about bro i think scott might be right here. i'll see what i can find and tell you whos right/wrong http://www.isb.ac.th/HS/JoP/vol5iss2/Papers/3TubeFlow.pdf i think scotts right. Edited August 8, 2012 by __CAV__ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasman Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 i would think it would depend on cross sectional area of the pipe and amount of gravity you can generate for the siphon irrespective of pipe length. but hey, I might be wrong- would be happy to learn something new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CAV__ Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 cross sectional dia makes a difference with it, you need a larger dia at a longer length to maintain the same flow you achieve over a lower distance with a smaller cross sectional dia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott95 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 but my point is two pipes of the same dia, but one being 1 meter, and the other being 5, there will be a significantly slower flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloydashton Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Fine sand is very easy to clear, you dont need to clean down into the sand, fine sand compacts together very well so not alot of waste can get in. Most of the waste will just sit on the top. I have fine sand in all my tanks and i just run the hose over the top about 1cm away from the sand to pick up the waste while changing the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott95 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Fine sand is very easy to clear, you dont need to clean down into the sand, fine sand compacts together very well so not alot of waste can get in. Most of the waste will just sit on the top. I have fine sand in all my tanks and i just run the hose over the top about 1cm away from the sand to pick up the waste while changing the water. unless the sand bed is partly deep, then you can get toxic gas buildup, not good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Train Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 unless the sand bed is partly deep, then you can get toxic gas buildup, not good! i understand this to be an issue in marine aquaria, not so much in freshwater, im not saying its not, just never come across this issue in freshwater, but yes there are diferrent bacteria that live at different depths in the sand bed, and if these deeper living bacteria are disturbed they certainly will give off toxic gas....many marine/reef tanks have been lost to this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott95 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 i have heard of it happen in freshwater, never had it happen to myself, cichlids like to stir it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
