Cleaning sand

[Hufferpuffer]

I have just moved over from gravel to sand for my Corydoras tank and they are very happy fishies. However, how do I vacuum the sand without sucking it up? I always syphoned the gravel before but will loose half my sand if I do that now! Apologies for my ignorance

[JRC3]

Just hold the siphon hose above the sand just close enough to suck up the debris but far enough away as not to suck up the sand. Like about 1". Then just stir the sand a little bit afterwards.

[Tim]

I guess it would depend a bit on the strength of the vacuumpump thing, I can keep mine about 1cm above aragonite sand, then sway it back and forth to stirr up the poo and other dirt on top of the sand, it then gets sucked in easier.

[Pufferpunk]

Just hold the siphon hose above the sand just close enough to suck up the debris but far enough away as not to suck up the sand. Like about 1". Then just stir the sand a little bit afterwards.

Actually--stir the sand 1st, then when the detritus falls back on top of the sand, lightly skim over the top of the sand with your Python tube, to suck it off the top.

[Hufferpuffer]

Thanks guys, much appreciated

[JRC3]

Youtube is a great place to look. I remember seeing stuff there when I switched to sand.