[Discus]

alright i have this black sand gravel... that i baught from king ed about 2 months ago... I have not been able to clean it.... I have a 72 gal bow front with a sump and rena xp3.... my current gravel cleaner suction is to high.... way to high... if i wanted to i could suck every last peace up... and i phoned big als and aparently I need a special gravel cleaner specialy disigned for sand which he did not have in stock.... does king ed have this or anywhere else... please help me out....

 

[Adz1]

you don't need a speacil cleaner.
as the waste should be on top of the sand any way.
just skim the surface of the sand with your gravel cleaner.
so as not to suck up sand.

 

[2wheelsx2]

^ What Adrian said. Just use your gravel vac, leave it an inch or so off the sand and swirl it around to get the detritus off the bottom.

 

[darb]

I vacuum my sand regularly with a normal gravel vac. Sand is still porous and detritus and feces still breaks down and works its way into the sand.

Try reducing your syphon strength by putting your bucket on a chair to raise it up and use the gravel vac at about a 45 degree angle. That way the sand will sink to the lower side and slide down and out. It also helps to stop the initial water flow when you such up a new chunk of sand with your finger on the outlet end of the hose to allow most of the sand to slide out and then resume the siphon.

You will still end up siphoning off some of the sand, but it is simple enough to carefully pour the water out and recover the sand.

 

[Discus]

thank you darb... that helps alot... it will take practice it seems.... alot of the waste is getting sucked up into the sump which i know very little about to... baught this tank off my buddy.... but your way darb seems will be the most efective... should be able to master this over time... thanks