The Puffer Forum

Ok, so i know when we do water changes the objective here is to use our gravel siphons to clean up as much of the detritus from the substrate as we can manage, therefor overall preventing them from decomposing and turning into ammonia/nitrates/nitrites. (I am using sand as substrate FYI.) The problem i am having is that when i go to siphon up all the feces/uneaten food from the bottom, it will start to pick it up, it will kind of swirl around in the tube of the siphon...but only a very small percentage of it actually gets siphoned out of the tank. I typically end up pulling more of my sand than anything. Its frustrating because im trying to do everything I can to "follow the rules" so to speak, but i just cant really seem to get it out of there...Does anyone have any home remedies or suggestions for removing these pieces that the siphon wont pull up? Ive tried using my net but thats not all that effective either, as a lot of times i just end up burying it in the sand or end up scooping up too much sand along with the detritus. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

There is a learning process to learning to siphon sand. How many and what kind of fish are in it?

What size is the tank?

How deep is the sand? Howe fine is it?

What kind of siphon are you using?

What are the water parameters?

Try manually stirring up the sand first, then siphoning crud off the surface of the sand?

If you're just skimming the surface of the sand after stirring & letting the detritus settle, take the gravel cleaner off the hose.

Currently there are just 2 damsels and one GSP. It is a 55 gal and I am not using "real sand" I believe it is fine crushed aragonite. About a 1/4 in. To a 1/2 in.deep. Not sure the "type" of siphon I'm using I just know it is one of the bigger models with the wide mouth. I could post a pic if that would help

Yep--just stir, let settle & syphon off the top.

Pufferpunk wrote:If you're just skimming the surface of the sand after stirring & letting the detritus settle, take the gravel cleaner off the hose.

So you are suggesting that I just use the hose?

Yep.

Just FYI, "sand" is a particle size range, not a material description. There are many materials available in that size range. Aragonite sand is IMHO and IME one of the best for hobby tanks, so you made a good choice. Your shallow sand bed will do well with stirring and light vacuuming as suggested.

I did exactly what you suggested pufferpunk about using just the hose, it worked perfectly! I can't believe I've never thought of that...it makes perfect sense. It decreases the surface area therefore increasing suction power and making it much easier to "spot clean". Problem solved, thanks!

Yay!