I have a tank with a black sand sub strait. It is difficult to clean with the gravel vaccuume. No matter how hard my wife and I try it just doesn't seem to get it clean. Is there some trick or a different vaccuume that would help get the tank clean?

I've never used sand, but someone told me that they just stir it up and all the crap gets kicked up and then they use the vacuum to suck all the stuff swirling around in the water. I guess it's worth a try.

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Wil

you can hold the gravel vac 2" above the sand and swirl OR GE-1 a hair pik yeah a hair pik brand new not used ever to the end and that will give you a depth, this way you can comb or groom the sand and most crud comes out like that. HOWEVER how deep is your sand bed? anarobics can and will kill the fish in the tank nearly instantly.

do you have any critters to clean the sand for you?

Since you have black sand I dont recommend poking it unless the tank is empty.

Well there is a pleco in there.
As for depth it varies because the pleco seems to like digging. At the moment the tank is almost bare on one side and there is about 1.5 inches at the deepest point on the far side. Also I have a fresh water eel that constantly buroughs in the sand. It doesn't seem to move it around much. it just digs through it.

I am aware of anarobic bacteria and usually we would coumb thru the sand during cleaning to allow oxygen to get into the sand.

Dont recomend poking the sand? with the gravel vac? I am not sure what you mean.