[rday]

Does anyone have any experience with using a sand substrate? I have had this black sand in my tank for about half a year. It looks real good, but I am having huge problems cleaning it. I have been using the gravel vacuum to clean poo that is sitting on the top, but I'm afraid stuff has been getting buried and causing problems. I recently checked the ammonia levels and they are way way high, and the only thing I can think of is that it is the sand. I am going to go to the lfs today and get a mess of ghost shrimp to see if they can help clean things up a bit (in addition to the 11" pleco that is in there). I'm moving in about a month, so I'll have to take the tank down. Should I toss the sand and get regular gravel? Thanks.

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

I doubt much poop gets buried, check under all your decor, uneaten food and poop likes to collect there

sand once it settles on the bottom is very dense, so most debris will not get below the surface

 

[rday]

On Sunday, after I saw how high my ammonia was, I did a big waterchange and moved the decorations around, which upset the fish. When everything calmed down again, the water was very cloudy with debris. This debris eventually settled and blanketed the sand. There was alot of junk, and I am fairly regular with vacuuming and everything...