Will a Water Changer/ Siphon hose suck poop out of your sandbed? (1 Viewer)

[Reefahholic]

Like one of those Python's or Aqueon's that you hook to the sink.

The last time I used one which was yearrrrrs ago....It never seemed to really suck anything up. It appeared to be swirling around in the cylinder, but not getting much. I may need lessons. Does anybody know if they work well.

I just wanna suck the poop out of the sandbed to get my NO3 back down. I haven't really added any critters so it's not alive at all.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Im able to get alot out of my sandbed by just disturbing the top 1/4" of my sandbed with my hose during water changes.

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[Tangs]

I HAD a 2 inch sand bed for many years. I would suck up lots of debris so much the water in the bucket would be a very dark brown. Doing this once a month at 10% of water volume was not enough. Now I have just a sprinkle of crushed coral at the bottom and look forward to a healthier tank for my corals. I just used an aquarium syphon .. no tap to slap.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

The sink siphon units are fairly weak. I always found that if you use a 3/8" hose siphon kit with one of those bulb starters and set the bucket on the floor, it will create a much stronger suction and pull up a lot more schmutz. So much so that I usually have to kink the hose to slow it down. Otherwise it you risk sucking out all the sand or stopping up siphon.

 

[Reefahholic]

Thanks for the help guys. I either need to get the right critters in there or ditch the sand.

I saw a video where WWC was cleaning that display with Casper in it. They used a smaller cylinder than I’ve ever seen. I wonder if that makes a difference.?

I wanna suck up the poop, but leave the sand. Not sure if that’s possible.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Thanks for the help guys. I either need to get the right critters in there or ditch the sand.

I saw a video where WWC was cleaning that display with Casper in it. They used a smaller cylinder than I’ve ever seen. I wonder if that makes a difference.?

I wanna suck up the poop, but leave the sand. Not sure if that’s possible.

When I use my hose it does pick up sand, but it just falls right back out. Never makes it more than an inch or so up the tube.

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[Reefahholic]

When I use my hose it does pick up sand, but it just falls right back out. Never makes it more than an inch or so up the tube.

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I experienced the same thing. So I bought the Aqueon with the sink attachment only because it had a ball valve control on the cylinder. I probably could have easily rigged that, but just didn’t want to mess with it.

I gotta say that at first it seemed like it did 10 years prior when I tried one, but then the more I played with the flow and technique I was able to do some heavy damage. This would not be good for a live sandbed, but mine is currently lifeless so it doesn’t matter. I gotta say that I was very impressed with what I was able to get out in one cleaning.

I did not use their hose. I cut a 10’ piece of flexible silicone tubing and attached one end to the cylinder and the other end down to the sump in a filter sock. Once I got the siphon going and figured things out it was great. There is a learning curve, but as you go you will figure that out. I lost maybe a cup of sand max. I was running it into a 100 micron felt sock. The amount of gunk and poo I pulled out was insane. Especially for a tank that’s under 3 months old. I think my nitrates will start coming down now.