If I put sand on the bottom of my tank how do I clean it?

Cichlid kid,,,,I will try to help you out here a bit...but there are more people that use/used sand here than I did. But I will tell you what I have seen done.

Depending on what kind of sand you are using I guess. idunno

Put the sand in a 5 gallon bucket first, add water and keep adding water as you sift through to help the water "do its job". You will probably see cloudy/dusty looking water now,,,,keep adding water so it falls out over the bucket, and keep doing this until it's clear. Tres Bien!

Some people just add the sand to the tank,,,fill VERY carefully by putting a small bowl in the tank,,,letting the water flow through the bowl as not to make "waves" and cause cloudiness in the water.

Whatever you choose to do,,,you still may see cloudiness/dusty water,,,,,thats ok,,,your filter will do the job clearing it up for ya. May take a little longer.

And,,,I believe there is some kind of solution you can put into the water to help that along as well. I may be wrong on this tho.

HTH

AP.

Initially, I clean the sand much like AP describes it. Lots and Lots of rinsing by the bucketful, until the water is very clear.

Cleaning it after it's set up in the tank is pretty easy because the waste stays on top of the sand. I know that a lot of people take the large tube attachment off of their vacuums and siphon off the poop and other debris by holding the hose a little above the substrate so it suctions the poop and not the sand.

I leave the attachment on and just vacuum the same way that I would gravel. I use pool filter sand which is heavy enough that it doesn't get sucked up too far. If it does start to come up farther than I'd like, I just bend the hose a little to slow down the flow and it falls back into the tank.

A little bit of experimenting and you'll find a method that works best for you. Tres Bien!

ck, just one more thing to add...

When you're cleaning the sand as described above (before putting it in the tank) make sure you use water to rinse it set at a temp very close to the tank temp if the tank already has fish in it. Or, if you can't do that and have to do it outside with a hose, let it sit overnight and come to room temp before adding to the tank. Sand holds both heat and cold, so it could be a major shock to your fish and the tank temp.

i think hes asking how you clean the sand in the tank.
but i clean it just like any substrate. just suck all the poop and stuff out. pinch the hose so less water is being sucked so less sand gets sucked.

attach a peice of wooden dowl rod 4 or 5 inches below your vacuum tube so you can stir up the sand without sucking it into your pail