cleaning new tank

[spider2928]

My tank has just cycled and is ready for its first cleaning. I have had a freshwater tank and used a gravel vac to clean the substrate. I feel that the sand in my new tank will be too fine and will get sucked up as well if I use the gravel vac. Are there other ways to clean sand?

[uscharalph]

Gravel vac.

[Wett Hands]

Is it a deep sand bed?

If so you wont need to take a vac to it as long as you have a decent CUC.

If not you should be able to just barely graze the surface, keeping the vac just close enough so that the suction can pull the junk causing only slight sand storms.

I suggest making the tank DSB and getting a good clean up crew and maybe a fish thats good at sifting sand like a diamond goby perhaps. That way there's no substrate cleaning needed.

OKAY I've babbled on long enough to give the real experts a chance to chime in. :p

[spider2928]

The sand bed is about 2 inches deep. Im not familiar with the abbreviation DSB can you spell that out? and CUC is clean up crew right? Its a 55 gallon tank with 5lbs of live rock and 25lbs of base rock. Currently I have 5 turbo snails and 2 damsels that were used to help the cycle. I plan on taking the damsels back to the lfs and replacing them with a lionfish and an eel.

[jvr1102]

DSB=Deep sand bed 4" deep sand about

[poppin_fresh]

First off... good luck catching those Damsels. I might provide for hours of fun! :D

Dont bother to vacuum the the sand. Unlike the gravel in a FW tank, sand doesn't trap nearly the crud. There is probably nothing bad to vacuum up in it yet in such a young tank.