No matter the substrate in your aquarium, maintaining cleanliness is key to the wellbeing of its inhabitants. Sand substrate can be challenging due to its lighter weight; any discolorations is most noticeable to humans but is generally ignored by fish and invertebrates. Cleaning routinely sand substrate is therefore an essential task that must be accomplished on a regular basis.
Here’s exactly how to clean aquarium sand and why its importance should not be underrated in maintaining an aquarium.
“Clear” aquarium sand may not look exactly how you expect. Though you may have started off with white or tan sand, over time it may turn brown or green due to normal algae growth in your ecosystem. Your fish and invertebrates may scoop up some sand for cleaning themselves before spitting it back out again to clean – an effective strategy but more needs to be done if your substrate remains tidy.
Reducing Compaction
Sandy substrate can become compacted quickly. This happens as it settles without being disturbed for extended periods, whether due to lack of substrate cleaner fish, lack of invertebrates or no access due to overdecorating. As it compacts further, oxygen from water may escape, leading to the formation of anaerobic bacteria – anaerobes which use sulfur instead of oxygen as sustenance for survival.
Introducing oxygen into a disturbed pocket will kill off bacteria, creating hydrogen sulfide (a gas with the smell of rotting eggs), which is highly toxic to fish and invertebrates such as corals. Routine cleaning of your substrate to provide adequate oxygenation is therefore highly important.
Necessary Tools and Materials for Cleaning Aquarium Sand
To effectively cleanse aquarium sand substrate, you will require a gravel siphon. Though originally meant to collect gravel, it works just as effectively for cleaning up lighter particles such as sand. Most gravel siphons feature long, clear cylindrical containers connected to smaller diameter hoses with shorter handles; when selecting one for use in cleaning up lighter material like sand it would be wiser to choose a wide cylinder since this will provide less suction suction power on lighter particles than usual – see above for further info regarding which gravel siphon models best suits your aquarium sand needs when cleaning aquarium Sand for cleaning!