Vaccuuming your tank

[Gluestick]

Since live sand is lighter in weight than aquarium gravel, can i still use any old siphon/vaccuum for cleaning and use it just like i do with my freshwater tanks? What kind do you have and how do you use it?

[pepe.king.prawn]

I have live sand in one of my tanks and vacuum it occasionally. I still use the siphon tubes that diffuse the siphon a little bit. I siphon into a bucket and then dump the water down the drain when doing changes. This way I can reclaim any sand that finds its way into the bucket and put it back in the tank. However, some people prefer not to siphon live sand beds much to allow microfauna to proliferate, using snails, stars and fish to stir the sand bed. Good Luck.

[Gluestick]

So i just use a vacuum to siphon out water for changes, and i just don't nose around in the sand with it, right? Has anyone ever used a battery powered self start vacuum?

[markandkristen]

i agree im going to get some more snails and hermits this spring. im not into vacuuming the bed