How to clean aquarium sand

As the caretaker of the aquarium and its’ inhabitants, the care and maintenance of the biome is up to you.

For most aquarists the periodic maintenance of the aquarium is just part of the enjoyment that comes with aquarium ownership.  Maintenance is a facet of the perpetual tinkering aspect of this field.  Active involvement in the aquarium health is a challenge and the rewards are abundant.

Most aquarium maintenance tasks don’t show immediate results.  However some do show results and vacuuming the tank floor is one of them.  In this process biological waste is removed as is a portion of the aquarium unhealthy water.

The aquarium floor, also known as the substrate, can accumulate uneaten food, fish waste, and debris over time. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to clean the aquarium floor:

Prepare: Before you start cleaning the aquarium floor, gather all the necessary equipment, including a gravel vacuum or siphon, a bucket for water removal, a clean scrubbing brush or sponge, and clean water for refilling the tank.

Turn off Equipment: Turn off any equipment that might interfere with the cleaning process, such as the filter and heater. Unplug electrical equipment for safety.

Partial Water Change: Cleaning the aquarium floor is usually done in conjunction with a partial water change. Use the gravel vacuum or siphon to remove about 20-25% of the water from the tank. Insert the vacuum into the substrate and gently agitate the gravel to lift any debris and waste into the siphon. Transfer the removed water and debris to the bucket.

Clean the Substrate: If you have a fine gravel substrate or sand, avoid vacuuming too deeply, as you may remove beneficial bacteria living in the substrate. Instead, focus on removing debris from the top layer of the substrate. For larger gravel, you can gently vacuum deeper to remove waste.

Remove Algae: If there’s any algae growth on the substrate or decorations, use a clean scrubbing brush or sponge to gently remove it. Be careful not to scratch the aquarium glass or decorations.

Turn on Equipment: Once the cleaning is done and the water exchange is complete, turn on the filter, heater, and any other electrical equipment.

Monitor Water Parameters: After cleaning, closely monitor the water parameters for the next few days. Water changes and substrate cleaning can disturb the nitrogen cycle, so keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels to ensure they remain within safe limits for your fish.

Frequency: The frequency of cleaning the aquarium floor will depend on the size of your tank, the number of fish, and the type of substrate. Generally, it’s recommended to clean the substrate every two to four weeks during regular partial water changes. However, you can adjust the cleaning schedule based on your specific aquarium’s needs.

There are really only three tools needed for the job.  The siphon, a bucket, and a long wooden spoon or salad fork.  The wooden utensil to to adjust the tank floor visually after or during the vacuuming process.  Wood is desirable because it floats.  Your grip on the spoon will, at some point, let loose.  A metal or high density plastic spoon would normally fall to the aquarium floor, but a wooden spoon will float to the surface.  This helps to keep your aquarium occupants out of harms way.

The siphon and bucket should be self explanatory.  When selecting the vacuum cylinder be certain to select one with a valve to adjust water flow out of the aquarium as it is in use.

To sttart the siphon submerge the vacuum cylinder and tubing in the tank.  The length of tubing should be long enough to reach over the aquarium wall and to a point below the level of the water in the tank.  Using your thumb block the open end of the tubing (opposite end from the vacuum cylinder) and raise the end of the tubing out of the water and down to the bucket.  Releasing your thumb will cause the siphon to start and begin the process of removing water from the tank into the bucket.

While keeping the vacuum cylinder under water begin to nose around the gravel with the open end of the cylinder.  This process will dislodge sediment and the siphon of the water will remove it out of the tank.  If the water level is going down too fast  adjust the valve on the back end of the vacuum cylinder to slow down the amount of water moving through the hose.

The first time this is done you will discover the water level of the tank goes down too fast and there isn’t enough time to vacuum the entire aquarium floor.  This is normal and you will soon learn to adjust the flow rate of water using the valve at the start.

It is helpful to use a piece of tape to mark the water level at 1/4 of the distance below the aquarium surface before you start.  When the water level reaches the tape mark it is time to stop vacuuming and stop the siphon.  To do this just raise the vacuum cylinder above the water level and  the siphon will stop.

Don’t be too concerned if you didn’t get to all the floor sand with the vacuum cylinder.  If you were able to turn over half of the aquarium floor you were successful in removing the bulk of the biological waste that was causing water chemistry problems.  In a few weeks time the balance of the aquarium floor can be vacuumed and the rest of the biological waste can be removed.

Technique is something that will be developed over time.  The first few times it will become apparent that there is a large amount of sediment depositing on the aquarium decor.  The sediment can be brushed away or blown away if you use powerheads in your aquarium.  Just angle the powerhead towards the surfaces in need of cleaning.

If there are no powerheads available then waft the areas with the spoon or similar device to initiate some water turbulence to lift the material into the waterflow.

Some manufacturers have opted to create a canister-like vacuum for the aquarium floor.  This style is for when the aquarist is not intending to perform a water exchange.  The canister-like vacuum is a closed loop system which returns water removed from the aquarium back into the aquarium.

Prior to using this system the aquarist should clean and install new filter media into the canister body.  Be certain to return the volume of water that is removed when priming the canister.  This system can be a useful addition to to aquarists tool set allowing cleaning to take place between water exchanges.

Since the canister vacuum is self powered, the output from the canister can be used to “dust off” the decor surfaces in the aquarium.

Once the vacuuming process is complete, the water will need to be replaced that was removed.  Using a bucket or hose add fresh water to the aquarium to fill it back to full.

Be certain to perform water chemistry tests right away and then an hour later.  Depending on the volume of water in the aquarium there might be a large swing in number or not.  Larger aquariums tend to have more buffering capabilities and will lessen the wide change in water chemistry numbers.

If after 2 hours the water chemistry is still  not normal, then go ahead and modify with small amounts of buffering solution to bring the numbers back to normal