Genius idea Rotter. I can't believe this never crossed my mind nor have I heard about anyone doing this and I have been in this hobby for fifty plus years. See you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks!
Great idea I did it tonight and it worked great I did it for 3 hours. I’ve been looking for years to be able to vacuum my sand with out having to do a water change. Thank you so much you made my life Ez’er!!!
awesome! you're welcome. don't vacuum your entire sandbed at once. you don't want to deplete what's in your sand....the beneficial stuff. i did this 1/3 at a time, once a week.
Nice video. Been doing this for a while now. Especially helpful if sucking up red slime - cyanobacteria. One word of caution however. IF you have not shifted your sand or vacuumed your sand in a long while, you could have gases trapped beneath the sand. My siggestion is if you havent done sand cleaning in a while. Immediatly after doing this, perform a large water change as well.
Mike Ramos haha, thanks Mike! I'm curious...what do you mean by normal? Because....that's a GREAT comment! Meaning, not a game show host or a reef store guy who pretends to know everything? I'm very honest and myself. There will be times of silliness....because that's fun...and I like entertaining. Thanks again! Steve
For those who dont have a sump, (most nanotank owners) this method can still be used with a five gallon bucket. take a large aquafina bottle or something similar, cut the bottom off, take cap off ,fill half way with filter floss. Attach it at the top of the bucket cap side down obviously, i used two good magnets. Siphon into water bottle, water drains through cap opening into bucket, till water is near bottle, carefully pour water back in to the tank without blowing crap every where, repeat. Also blow detritus off your rocks using a turkey baster. Then do a water change with fresh SW thats the same temp and salinity as your tank. This is a great way to remove massive amounts of detritus while still just doing a regular water change.
Wow! I had this option in front of me for the past year! I just cleaned all the shit out of my sand bed because I only vacuum during a water change. You are the best, Mr. Rotter! I hope this helps lower my nitrates.
"Ghost Town" syndrome use to annoy me too until I learned a couple of things about it. Sometimes people simply don't speak your language. I noticed this happened a lot on a Japonese channel. The other thing that happens is money. People who pay to have their tanks built and managed by professionals don't usually know a whole lot about their own tanks and so they don't answer questions about lighting, water flow and other parameters, but are happy to comment on compliments. This is a pretty good indicator that they are not actually managing the tank. Also, there are people like me who are simply better with reef animals than people. I get nervous about making videos, so I don't but I love to learn and I most appreciate channels like yours. Thanks so much!
M.R. Hawks Thank you so much for your comment! I think you should totally make videos! Why are you nervous? Feel free to contact me via the www.rottertube.com site in the contact form link. I was always behind the camera and directing since the 1990's! I didn't like being in front of the lens at all. It changed as I changed. As a side note, I always thought it would be stupid to even think of making vids because there are so many people out there better than me...and also, how do you act on camera? Well, just be yourself. I talk about what I have done a lot of research on. I have only been into the reef thing since early 2014 believe it or not. I read a ton and watched a lot of videos and learned from mistakes. I appreciate you appreciating my channel. Glad you're here man! Steve
What's up Steve , I saw your video on cleaning your sand bed using the sump sock for a filter by letting the water flow through and not wasting any water. well that's a pretty good idea, seems like it would save sand too. I am not sure how much sand I've wasted over the years by just doing simple sand bed / water changes. Thanks for the idea. Please keep the videos coming.
yeah, works great. watch the flow through the syphon so no sand goes through into the sock. sure, i lost a little sand but it's not a big deal. barely any
thanks for the video I actually just put one up because I'm battling with nitrates all the sudden take a look at my rock work and tell me what you think
what's up man. I just saw your video and commented. whatever it is, it happened recently, which leads me to believe it's something that just changed. not sure what. like a death, stirring of the sanbed, etc.
I love the intro to your videos the old scenes they're really cool I know exactly what you mean some people never respond why even make the UA-cam have a good day sir
You good sir are a mad genius. i have modified your idea a little bit for my 29 gallon tank since i do not have a sump, i had a old hang on back filter that i do not use anymore and replaced the intake with the hose from my vacuum. i filled the media area with filter floss and also attached a filter sock from my other tank to it.
+Ford Placek ha ha ha thank you sir. So glad you enjoyed it and found the video! Great job on rigging your tank. I started with a 28 gallon nano cube, which I loved. I still have it and use it as my quarantine tank. Steve
Hi, Genius advise on starting the siphon. I've always drenched myself shaking the tube up and down vigorously to start the flow, then draining the water and a quantity of sand into a 25LT barrel and often my floor if I'm not paying full attention. I will also take more care to not allow the sand to reach the top of the siphon. Also, never thought of cleaning the sand bed straight into my sump. This will allow me to clean the sand more frequently and not just at water change. Keep the great advice flowing. Cheers. Paul (UK)
+Paul Harris Hey Paul, thanks for stopping by and I'm SO GLAD you found this siphon video helpful! More people are vacuuming their tank now with this cool technigue. Have a great weekend.
Thanks for the info. I am about to upgrade to a 100 gallon with sump and this will work wonders for cleaning the sand. Even if you do accidentally suck up some sand it gets caught by the sock. I will make this part of my tank husbandry duties.
just tried this today. had 3 filter socks full of crap. only problem i found was my pump from the sump couldn't keep up. so i just took my time. very happy thanks again
phillip field phillip, that's awesome! glad you found this useful. From day one I purchased an oversized sump and a more powerful pump so I didn't see that issue. the more powerful pump will help you out in that dept....not sure how strong mine is but I can check if you like.
wow man i've been into the hobby 12 years and never thought of vac through a sock back into the sump. only have done it into a bucket at water change time. fantastic helpful easy instruction just great info thank you i'm going to vac my sand right now this exact way
def trying this.. You would think this would have been thought of already. Excellent! I usually do 40 gallons a week.. Now I can do this twice a week..
OMG! thank you so much for the advice on the filter sock gravel clean!! for a whole year i was like ah i wish i could do the rest of my sandbed, this is the idea ever!!!!! Thanks again!
This is a great idea!! I don’t think I can do it with my small 15 gallon tank, the sump is in the back of the tank. If I clip a sock to a big bucket is there any reason why I can’t put that water back in my tank after a vacuum?
Thanks for sharing! I have a 13.5 gallon nano, and you can imagine how quickly the water level goes down when doing a substrate clean. I have the fluval nano tank so it does not have a filter sock, so I created one and placed it in the back near the pump. Same affect and water continues to stay in the tank. What a genius idea! Thanks!!
Brilliant idea! I'm stoked to try this, makes so much sense. My nitrates are zero and phosphates but it's a great way to clean the bed and not lose the great water!
Mike Newhook Yeah it was a hassle to do the bucket and lose the water, then make it to replace it. Now you can just vacuum easily without waiting for the water change.
Jessica Huffman Jessica, you are VERY KIND! Thank you so much for the inspiring comment and taking the time to watch my vids! I did some filming last night on the new 125 gallon I'm putting up. I'm filming the entire process for you guys. Thanks again!Steve
Damn, glad I just watched your vid. Just noticed my nitrates are high!!! I’ve been keeping tanks for years and never thought of trying this 🤦♂️Thank you 🙏
hey rotter tube reef i am new to this hobby and i am still learning all the good and easy methods for every thing and i was wondering will i be able to do that method you do in a ten gallon tank with a built in the back sump??
So I watched this video and subscribed immediately. I tried this trick at home last night and it worked great. My question is, does anyone else have any issues with sand filling up the filter sock? When I was done i had a lot of sand as well as the waste.
just be more careful when syphoning. control the flow of the syphon by pinching the tube or not going deep into the sandbed. i no longer vacuum into the sandbed, as i am working on a deep sand bed and don't want to disturb it.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to reply . Shame their's not a natural predator that eats them all ! I use the siphon in the sock tip all the time , such a simple and clever idea ! X
Love this info glad I finally found your page. Any suggestions on a sump less 125 gal long tank on how to do this? I have a deep sand bed throughout it. Thanks
Thanks so much for this helpful video and for sharing your knowledge! I was almost got to the point of giving up on my saltwater tank because sand looks just nasty 😷 I will try your tip vacuuming the sand and any recommendations on cleaning rock structure? Like maybe using a Turkey Baster? I just don’t know if it’s ok to clean the rock sense I do have a couple of blue leg crabs (don’t want to take food away from them) but at the same time I know that my rock have lots of debris in it..... Thx
Great idea! That was my problem with my 75 gal. I could only do 4 gal water changes at a time and I'd try to siphon asmuch of the sand bed as possible in that short amount of time. It wasn't long until I stopped and just siphoned water out and didn't touch the sand bed. Jump to today and I'm tearing my tank down and starting over due to a massive bubble algae outbreak that I've been battling for 5 years. I'm looking into getting sugar sized sand and going deep sand bed...but then again, your process is simple and quick...
@@ROTTERtube I spent hours researching how deep I should make my new sand bed. To be honest, the thought of letting everything build up for years under/in the sand bed just doesn't seem right to me. Tanks are a closed system so at some point there's nowhere for all this build up to go. I found that deep sand beds are kinda becoming something of the past. So I'm gonna still buy sugar sized sand, but I'm going to siphon the sand often, just how you do it. It makes sense to clean the sand bed at least once a week.
you're right but syphoning the sand removes all that bacteria that breaks down the stuff in the tank. in the end, it will have to go somewhere. i would probably syphon half the bed out after a few years and replace with new sand....then syphon the other half out a year after that and replace....or maybe replace half the tank .... left side or right side, every 2 years. never replace the entire bed at once. if something goes wrong and that buildup gets in the tank everything will die. it's nasty stuff. i got a staff infection from working to remove the sandbed with no gloves....idiot move.....it was bad. fought that for weeks with antibiotics. part of my face looked like a zombie. was bad
@@ROTTERtube Oh my gosh that's scary!! I've heard of people getting the flesh eating bacteria from cutting their hand on a rock in their reef tank. I always wear gloves. As for the bacteria in the sand bed, personally I think it's impossible to syphon out all the bacteria in the sand bed. Bacteria, as you know, grows rapidly and it's everywhere, even in/on the rocks. When I restart my system I'll start siphoning regularly. I used to when my tank was first new for its first year, and it look amazing. I'm happy to hear you're okay; seriously scary.
Nice video I just got into saltwater a day ago, did research for weeks before. No one has ever talked about this so Thank you for sharing and you have gained a subscriber
awesome! thanks Jerry and welcome to the hobby. it is a crazy ride. the key is crazy patience! my channel has a lot of cool people on it. no one will judge you. welcome aboard.
If im not wanting to do a water change and I only run a hob filter with skimmer, I suppose I could rig a sock over the bucket somehow so that I could pour the water back in right? I know, its a lot of work but hey I love my tank lol.
Rotter...what if I don't have a sump? Do you think this would work if I siphoned into a sock inside a 5 gallon bucket and then put the water back into the tank via the returns in the back of it? I have an IM Nuvo 40. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thx.
Great idea but like a few others I have an all in one tank. I don't have a filter sock either. I have an Innovative Marine 40 gallon tank. How can I do this without a sump? I was thinking of tying a filter sock on the end of the tubing and running the water into a bucket, then when the bucket started getting too full, empty the bucket a repeat. I am dealing with Cyano so I need to syphon that out... Do you think my idea would work?
Hey Vicki, yeah, that should work fine but with a nano tank, you shouldn't have to vacuum that long, unless you have a large nano tank. I don't use this method for my JBJ 45 obviously, since I'm only vacuuming 5 gallons each water change, which is more than enough vacuum time until I do the other half the next weekend. I only do this on my 125 since I want to vacuum a very large part of it at one time.
any pet store or reef store will have them. they are around $20. check amazon as well. there are different types. i got mine at a petco i think, years ago
I like your attitude about feedback. I wish more people would answer some of the questions asked or reply to feedback. AWESOME TANK! I learned a couple things from you with using Sand in saltwater tanks.
+Jake Carpenter Jake, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. Glad I was able to teach something useful. I love to learn and get frustrated when no answers are offered from people who know. I also wish more channels would respond. To me, that's part of the fun! Steve
When I moved to my new house I had to give my old room mate my 75 gallon reef tank. I'm starting from scratch with a 60 gallon tank. Since saltwater tech has evolved since I last started, what size filter and protein skimmer would you suggest? Also, I am looking for new lighting. I was using power compact lights before. Would it be better to go to LEDS? If so, I was looking at the Marineland 36" LED light system. What do you think?
+Jake Carpenter Hey Jake, if you think there is any possibility at all that you will upgrade, I would get larger gear so you can use it on a future tank! Also, it's better to get larger gear anyway so it filters your smaller tank better. When I had my 75 gallon, I was using a protein skimmer rated for a 120 gallon tank! Now I have my 125 gallon tank and I'm using that same protein skimmer...see?
OK that was what my gut instinct told me to do. Now I am really starting to look at how I do the bedding. Since I'm starting from scratch, I want to make sure I do this the best way possible. Low maintenance, but natural look. The boyfriend gave me a tank count. I breed leopard geckos and chameleons. But I refuse to live in a house without a aquarium. So I have to make this one look super nice
I love this! I have been dumping about 20 gallons a month down the drain and replacing it with fresh water comma fresh salt water that is. I guess that's okay but it would have been nice to not waste so much salt mixing a new batch of salt water! I will use this technique from now on.
A sock never occurred to me! I love this! Thank you! This video is a year old, but I hope you still read the comments. Is there anything I could use in place of a filter sock? Hmmmm. How can I "McGiver" a filter sock? You've got me thinking now.
what's up? yeah i still read 'em. you could try panty hose and then throw away when done. if you need it to be finer, maybe try panty hose in a panty hose stocking to double it up. rubberband it tight coming off the pvc.
Panty hose would work - BUT - I tried to vacuum sand using your technique today and realized my sump is level with my water column. I have a Red Sea Max 250 (don't recommend them by the way) and the sump is behind the water column. Wondering if I can figure out a way to defy the laws of physics.
i did a video where i connected the suction end of a canister filter to the syphon and it worked great. canister filter is on the ground and it sucked right up. i threw away the filter media when done vacuuming.
i'm not sure. you can try it out and watch it to see what happens. hardest part will be getting it to flow since the water will not suction down into a sump.
Ingrid Clarke Hi Ingrid, glad you liked it and thanks for stopping by and commenting! You're the first to ever comment on the coralline. I didn't do anything special. I bought one piece of live rock with coralline all over it a year ago and it just took off from there. I love the way it looks as well.
hey so I heard you say you wash your filter socks in the washing machine? isn't that not good to do because soap has been in the machine before? and how did you grow all that coralline algae? your rocks look amazing
+michael maldonado Hey Michael what's up? I never had an issue when using sump socks. I would run the machine on one rinse cycle to be safe, then put them in, running the washing machine for 2 double rinse cycles, totaling 4 washings with nothing but water. I bought a small live rock long ago with coralline algae on it and it spread through my tank. I dose 1/4 cup calcium crystals in with my weekly water change to aid the coral and coralline algae growth. Thanks!
I have an All in one innovative marine 40 gallon with no sump. I do have filter sock, do you think I could do this in the back of the tank? I have an empty compartment where I can fit the filter sock?
+Atragichope1 you could do it if you could get a siphon started. that would be kind of hard to do though, since the compartment is even with the tank. i'm working on an idea to fix this though....
The best contents are the ones that are very underated! All of these other youtubers are teaching people to be waste gallons of water $$$! Keep up the awesome work man!!
This is an EXCELLENT idea! I'm going to try this! I was told not to disturb my sand bed (2 to 3 inches) too much, because it would remove good bacteria and release sulfur into the tank. Apparently with this method I should be fine. Your thoughts?
REALLY THE BEST WAY EVER SEEN FOR CLEANING THE SAND BED.. SO FAR NO DEAD FISH BUT I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH NITRATES ... SOLVED. NOW AFTER SIPHONING, THE SOCK SHALL BE REMOVED . MY QUESTION IS.....IS TI ADVISABLE TO ADD NO3/PO4 TO REDUCE MORE ??
thanks. sure, you can add that. add per the instructions. this method of vacuuming is just one way to help lower the nitrates. i still do this and have connected my bio pellet reactor back up.
+Rotter Tube Reef ok that's great I have been in this hobby for the last 5 months. and uptil now I have deaths of fishes when I had a nano 13L M3 ... It was horrible but then I decided to go with a 50g main tank and 20g sump... before watching your vdo I was wondering how the heck am I gonna clean the sand from underneath.. so there you came in.. I even asked the vivid aquarium guys they told me to make a cloud of dust, which I thought was not applicable... any ways I have planned for a bigger tank next year 300g main with 80g sump
Thank you for this video! I am in the process of cycling my new led biocube 32. it's my first week. There is some algae growth on the top of the sand bed, should I clean it? And I don't have a sumo and sock like you just a media tray with charcoal and a sock with rocks. Do you think I could buy a sock like yours and put it in the back of the filtering area while cleaning the tank?
i'm not sure putting a sock in the back would work. i have a video where i use a canister filter and that works great. you could buy a small canister filter and connect the vacuum syphon to the inlet and the out hose goes into the tank or the back of the tank.
make sure you water is great, make sure your calcium is at 450 always. you can start with a small rock with coralline on it. make sure you get this rock from a reputable source. you don't want to bring parasites in. scrape coralline off glass to let it float through tank and grab hold to other areas.
VISIT US ONLINE - www.saltwatertankcare.com
Genius idea Rotter. I can't believe this never crossed my mind nor have I heard about anyone doing this and I have been in this hobby for fifty plus years. See you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks!
Great idea I did it tonight and it worked great I did it for 3 hours. I’ve been looking for years to be able to vacuum my sand with out having to do a water change. Thank you so much you made my life Ez’er!!!
awesome! you're welcome. don't vacuum your entire sandbed at once. you don't want to deplete what's in your sand....the beneficial stuff. i did this 1/3 at a time, once a week.
I can't believe I didn't think to just run the hose back through my sock and into the sump. Thanks!
Your a genius ☺️ I’m going to do this right now! I was looking for a way to vacuum without taking water out and found your video 👍
Nice video. Been doing this for a while now. Especially helpful if sucking up red slime - cyanobacteria. One word of caution however. IF you have not shifted your sand or vacuumed your sand in a long while, you could have gases trapped beneath the sand. My siggestion is if you havent done sand cleaning in a while. Immediatly after doing this, perform a large water change as well.
It’s crazy how much I read and how many videos I watch about reef keeping and I’m just seeing this now. THANK YOU
yeah, i know. there are WAYYYYYYY TOO MANY VIDEOS OUT THERE.
Great video... Finally a person that talks to us normally...
Mike Ramos haha, thanks Mike! I'm curious...what do you mean by normal? Because....that's a GREAT comment! Meaning, not a game show host or a reef store guy who pretends to know everything? I'm very honest and myself. There will be times of silliness....because that's fun...and I like entertaining. Thanks again!
Steve
Exactly... You're being yourself... Which makes it entertaining and fun to watch... Keep up the good work... You got me as a viewer.
Mike Ramos Thanks Mike, I appreciate you taking the time to comment....and thanks for noticing! Happy to have you here!
Steve
www.rottertube.com
For those who dont have a sump, (most nanotank owners) this method can still be used with a five gallon bucket. take a large aquafina bottle or something similar, cut the bottom off, take cap off ,fill half way with filter floss. Attach it at the top of the bucket cap side down obviously, i used two good magnets. Siphon into water bottle, water drains through cap opening into bucket, till water is near bottle, carefully pour water back in to the tank without blowing crap every where, repeat. Also blow detritus off your rocks using a turkey baster. Then do a water change with fresh SW thats the same temp and salinity as your tank. This is a great way to remove massive amounts of detritus while still just doing a regular water change.
Wow! I had this option in front of me for the past year! I just cleaned all the shit out of my sand bed because I only vacuum during a water change. You are the best, Mr. Rotter! I hope this helps lower my nitrates.
+John Kerr thanks John!
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dont put any chems in your reef. just my opinion bro. a good cuc and filter should be eonugh
DUDE THATS THE BEST IDEA I'VE SEEN YET FOR EASY CLEANING TANKS. STRAIGHT UP AWESOME.
"Ghost Town" syndrome use to annoy me too until I learned a couple of things about it. Sometimes people simply don't speak your language. I noticed this happened a lot on a Japonese channel. The other thing that happens is money. People who pay to have their tanks built and managed by professionals don't usually know a whole lot about their own tanks and so they don't answer questions about lighting, water flow and other parameters, but are happy to comment on compliments. This is a pretty good indicator that they are not actually managing the tank. Also, there are people like me who are simply better with reef animals than people. I get nervous about making videos, so I don't but I love to learn and I most appreciate channels like yours. Thanks so much!
M.R. Hawks Thank you so much for your comment! I think you should totally make videos! Why are you nervous? Feel free to contact me via the www.rottertube.com site in the contact form link. I was always behind the camera and directing since the 1990's! I didn't like being in front of the lens at all. It changed as I changed. As a side note, I always thought it would be stupid to even think of making vids because there are so many people out there better than me...and also, how do you act on camera? Well, just be yourself. I talk about what I have done a lot of research on. I have only been into the reef thing since early 2014 believe it or not. I read a ton and watched a lot of videos and learned from mistakes. I appreciate you appreciating my channel. Glad you're here man!
Steve
What's up Steve , I saw your video on cleaning your sand bed using the sump sock for a filter by letting the water flow through and not wasting any water. well that's a pretty good idea, seems like it would save sand too. I am not sure how much sand I've wasted over the years by just doing simple sand bed / water changes. Thanks for the idea. Please keep the videos coming.
yeah, works great. watch the flow through the syphon so no sand goes through into the sock. sure, i lost a little sand but it's not a big deal. barely any
Pure genius, Rotter. I'm building my sump and this will be the way I'll vac the substrate when it's done. Sick!!!
awesome!
thanks for the video I actually just put one up because I'm battling with nitrates all the sudden take a look at my rock work and tell me what you think
what's up man. I just saw your video and commented. whatever it is, it happened recently, which leads me to believe it's something that just changed. not sure what. like a death, stirring of the sanbed, etc.
I love the intro to your videos the old scenes they're really cool I know exactly what you mean some people never respond why even make the UA-cam have a good day sir
true true
Great video. I'll be watching more.
awesome thanks
Genius! Did this and it worked very well. Streamlines my tank maintenance. Thank you!
You good sir are a mad genius. i have modified your idea a little bit for my 29 gallon tank since i do not have a sump, i had a old hang on back filter that i do not use anymore and replaced the intake with the hose from my vacuum. i filled the media area with filter floss and also attached a filter sock from my other tank to it.
+Ford Placek ha ha ha thank you sir. So glad you enjoyed it and found the video! Great job on rigging your tank. I started with a 28 gallon nano cube, which I loved. I still have it and use it as my quarantine tank. Steve
I always thought "why hasn't anyone thought of this?" Been doin this for years. Thanks for getting the word out
cool!
Genius!!! I just cleaned my sandbed during water changes but this allows me to take my time cleaning it.
awesome
You are awesome thankyou , so simple but good. I have a 5mm coral bed not sand and this really helps i always run out of water.
great! glad it helps
@sumkindaguy... great! thanks for your kind words and glad you liked it! 50 years in the hobby! awesome! checking out your channel now!
Hi, Genius advise on starting the siphon. I've always drenched myself shaking the tube up and down vigorously to start the flow, then draining the water and a quantity of sand into a 25LT barrel and often my floor if I'm not paying full attention. I will also take more care to not allow the sand to reach the top of the siphon.
Also, never thought of cleaning the sand bed straight into my sump. This will allow me to clean the sand more frequently and not just at water change.
Keep the great advice flowing. Cheers. Paul (UK)
+Paul Harris Hey Paul, thanks for stopping by and I'm SO GLAD you found this siphon video helpful! More people are vacuuming their tank now with this cool technigue. Have a great weekend.
Seriously would of never thought of this. Thanks for the info!!
Thanks for the info. I am about to upgrade to a 100 gallon with sump and this will work wonders for cleaning the sand. Even if you do accidentally suck up some sand it gets caught by the sock. I will make this part of my tank husbandry duties.
cool
Really cool man...worth watching this video!!!! Thanks
cool, welcome
just tried this today. had 3 filter socks full of crap. only problem i found was my pump from the sump couldn't keep up. so i just took my time. very happy thanks again
phillip field phillip, that's awesome! glad you found this useful. From day one I purchased an oversized sump and a more powerful pump so I didn't see that issue. the more powerful pump will help you out in that dept....not sure how strong mine is but I can check if you like.
Thanks mate I have a aqua reef 300 with standard return
Awesome idea! First time I’ve ever seen this done with the sock in sump. So simple but smart!
Great idea! I have a freshwater, but I can apply this to help with my chem levels. Thanks for sharing!
great!
wow man
i've been into the hobby 12 years and never thought of vac through a sock back into the sump. only have done it into a bucket at water change time.
fantastic helpful easy instruction
just great info
thank you
i'm going to vac my sand right now this exact way
gordie french So glad you enjoyed it! I get so much more accomplished without looking at stupid buckets and hoping they won't overflow.Steve
LOL, simple and very effective... We learn new tricks everyday... Great vid...
thanks!
def trying this.. You would think this would have been thought of already. Excellent!
I usually do 40 gallons a week.. Now I can do this twice a week..
+Andre Vettorato awesome!
OMG! thank you so much for the advice on the filter sock gravel clean!! for a whole year i was like ah i wish i could do the rest of my sandbed, this is the idea ever!!!!! Thanks again!
hey Daniel, thanks! have fun!
This is a great idea!! I don’t think I can do it with my small 15 gallon tank, the sump is in the back of the tank.
If I clip a sock to a big bucket is there any reason why I can’t put that water back in my tank after a vacuum?
Thanks for sharing! I have a 13.5 gallon nano, and you can imagine how quickly the water level goes down when doing a substrate clean. I have the fluval nano tank so it does not have a filter sock, so I created one and placed it in the back near the pump. Same affect and water continues to stay in the tank. What a genius idea! Thanks!!
great work
Brilliant idea! I'm stoked to try this, makes so much sense.
My nitrates are zero and phosphates but it's a great way to clean the bed and not lose the great water!
Mike Newhook Yeah it was a hassle to do the bucket and lose the water, then make it to replace it. Now you can just vacuum easily without waiting for the water change.
Superb Fella, works wonders, so simple yet so effective, thank you
+Paul Checkley hey Paul, you're welcome! thanks for stopping by!
Steve
You are an absolute genius I never thought of using the hose and filter sock together like that
Thanks for the promptly response, can you
recommend any brand ?
+Frank Medrano I'm sorry, brand for what?
I love your videos!!!!! From one reef junkie to another please please please keep making reef aquarium vids!!!! They are awsome!!!!!!
Jessica Huffman Jessica, you are VERY KIND! Thank you so much for the inspiring comment and taking the time to watch my vids! I did some filming last night on the new 125 gallon I'm putting up. I'm filming the entire process for you guys. Thanks again!Steve
ROTTER tube I can't wait to see it!!!!!
Jessica Huffman ;)
Seriously, had to post twice! What a fantastic idea!
So simple!
Mike Newhook cool thanks Mike! Yeah, and it's actually fun in a way....
Awesome technique! I'll definitely be incorporating this into my tank maintenance :) Thanks for sharing!
+Ashley Szpara cool, you'll love it.
Damn, glad I just watched your vid. Just noticed my nitrates are high!!! I’ve been keeping tanks for years and never thought of trying this 🤦♂️Thank you 🙏
awesome video, picked up a new subscriber today. Can't believe I never thought of this.
thanks! welcome to the crew!
hey rotter tube reef i am new to this hobby and i am still learning all the good and easy methods for every thing and i was wondering will i be able to do that method you do in a ten gallon tank with a built in the back sump??
if you have something to siphon through i don't see why not but with a tank that size you shouldn't need much time for vacuuming.
such a no-brainer now that you showed me, thank you !
So I watched this video and subscribed immediately. I tried this trick at home last night and it worked great. My question is, does anyone else have any issues with sand filling up the filter sock? When I was done i had a lot of sand as well as the waste.
just be more careful when syphoning. control the flow of the syphon by pinching the tube or not going deep into the sandbed. i no longer vacuum into the sandbed, as i am working on a deep sand bed and don't want to disturb it.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to reply . Shame their's not a natural predator that eats them all ! I use the siphon in the sock tip all the time , such a simple and clever idea ! X
Ingrid Clarke you're welcome. I read that wrasses may work but I would try this approach from salifert. Sounds like you may need the 2 doses.
Love this info glad I finally found your page. Any suggestions on a sump less 125 gal long tank on how to do this? I have a deep sand bed throughout it. Thanks
If you don't have a sump you could buy a small canister filter and use that.
Thanks for the great video!! My filter sock was filled with a lot of super fine sand afterwards. Do I throw this away??
Hi Rachel, thanks. I just got rid of it so I didn't have to deal with it. Not worth it to me.
Rotter Tube Reef okay great. Thanks so much!
;)
Hey Rotter Tube, which vacuum are you using? It looks like a nice one.
I can't remember. just a standard cheap syphon i got at a pet store.
Hey man great video. Funny too lol. So if I don’t have a sump, I should only do this when doing water changes right?
if you don’t have a sump you would need a canister filter i suppose.
very Very smart way of clean sand. Thank you so much.
thanks good luck
I watched some of your videos on sugar dosing. Great videos. This video, however, is the best practical advice on reef maintenance. Awesome....
Awesome... such an easy concept yet I've been doing this the hard way for years!!! Thank you!
welcome!
Thanks so much for this helpful video and for sharing your knowledge! I was almost got to the point of giving up on my saltwater tank because sand looks just nasty 😷 I will try your tip vacuuming the sand and any recommendations on cleaning rock structure? Like maybe using a Turkey Baster? I just don’t know if it’s ok to clean the rock sense I do have a couple of blue leg crabs (don’t want to take food away from them) but at the same time I know that my rock have lots of debris in it..... Thx
Great idea! That was my problem with my 75 gal. I could only do 4 gal water changes at a time and I'd try to siphon asmuch of the sand bed as possible in that short amount of time.
It wasn't long until I stopped and just siphoned water out and didn't touch the sand bed. Jump to today and I'm tearing my tank down and starting over due to a massive bubble algae outbreak that I've been battling for 5 years.
I'm looking into getting sugar sized sand and going deep sand bed...but then again, your process is simple and quick...
I don't touch the sand bed either at all and am also going with a deeper sand bed.
@@ROTTERtube I spent hours researching how deep I should make my new sand bed. To be honest, the thought of letting everything build up for years under/in the sand bed just doesn't seem right to me. Tanks are a closed system so at some point there's nowhere for all this build up to go.
I found that deep sand beds are kinda becoming something of the past. So I'm gonna still buy sugar sized sand, but I'm going to siphon the sand often, just how you do it. It makes sense to clean the sand bed at least once a week.
you're right but syphoning the sand removes all that bacteria that breaks down the stuff in the tank. in the end, it will have to go somewhere. i would probably syphon half the bed out after a few years and replace with new sand....then syphon the other half out a year after that and replace....or maybe replace half the tank .... left side or right side, every 2 years. never replace the entire bed at once. if something goes wrong and that buildup gets in the tank everything will die. it's nasty stuff. i got a staff infection from working to remove the sandbed with no gloves....idiot move.....it was bad. fought that for weeks with antibiotics. part of my face looked like a zombie. was bad
@@ROTTERtube Oh my gosh that's scary!! I've heard of people getting the flesh eating bacteria from cutting their hand on a rock in their reef tank. I always wear gloves.
As for the bacteria in the sand bed, personally I think it's impossible to syphon out all the bacteria in the sand bed. Bacteria, as you know, grows rapidly and it's everywhere, even in/on the rocks. When I restart my system I'll start siphoning regularly. I used to when my tank was first new for its first year, and it look amazing.
I'm happy to hear you're okay; seriously scary.
Wow! How cool is this! Can't wait to try it. Great idea!
Vanessa Owen Vanessa, thanks, I'm sure you'll love it
ROTTER tube Shared with my reef club.
Vanessa Owen Vanessa, thanks for sharing it and stopping by!
Great idea thanks for sharing
Nice video I just got into saltwater a day ago, did research for weeks before. No one has ever talked about this so Thank you for sharing and you have gained a subscriber
awesome! thanks Jerry and welcome to the hobby. it is a crazy ride. the key is crazy patience! my channel has a lot of cool people on it. no one will judge you. welcome aboard.
If im not wanting to do a water change and I only run a hob filter with skimmer, I suppose I could rig a sock over the bucket somehow so that I could pour the water back in right? I know, its a lot of work but hey I love my tank lol.
Rotter...what if I don't have a sump? Do you think this would work if I siphoned into a sock inside a 5 gallon bucket and then put the water back into the tank via the returns in the back of it? I have an IM Nuvo 40. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thx.
+postunit sure, if you can get it to siphon it should work.
Your a genius. Simple and effective.
thanks for watching!
Great idea but like a few others I have an all in one tank. I don't have a filter sock either. I have an Innovative Marine 40 gallon tank. How can I do this without a sump? I was thinking of tying a filter sock on the end of the tubing and running the water into a bucket, then when the bucket started getting too full, empty the bucket a repeat. I am dealing with Cyano so I need to syphon that out... Do you think my idea would work?
Hey Vicki, yeah, that should work fine but with a nano tank, you shouldn't have to vacuum that long, unless you have a large nano tank. I don't use this method for my JBJ 45 obviously, since I'm only vacuuming 5 gallons each water change, which is more than enough vacuum time until I do the other half the next weekend. I only do this on my 125 since I want to vacuum a very large part of it at one time.
Been doing this for years glad you came across it.
***** yeah I started about a year ago...
Thanks a lot man great video... where can I find one of those tubes
any pet store or reef store will have them. they are around $20. check amazon as well. there are different types. i got mine at a petco i think, years ago
Sorry, mean thanks for the help. Your videos are extremely helpful.
+James D. Gordon Thanks James. Glad they are of help. I just post what I go through and hope they will be of use by someone.
I like your attitude about feedback. I wish more people would answer some of the questions asked or reply to feedback. AWESOME TANK! I learned a couple things from you with using Sand in saltwater tanks.
+Jake Carpenter Jake, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. Glad I was able to teach something useful. I love to learn and get frustrated when no answers are offered from people who know. I also wish more channels would respond. To me, that's part of the fun!
Steve
When I moved to my new house I had to give my old room mate my 75 gallon reef tank. I'm starting from scratch with a 60 gallon tank. Since saltwater tech has evolved since I last started, what size filter and protein skimmer would you suggest? Also, I am looking for new lighting. I was using power compact lights before. Would it be better to go to LEDS? If so, I was looking at the Marineland 36" LED light system. What do you think?
+Jake Carpenter Hey Jake, if you think there is any possibility at all that you will upgrade, I would get larger gear so you can use it on a future tank! Also, it's better to get larger gear anyway so it filters your smaller tank better. When I had my 75 gallon, I was using a protein skimmer rated for a 120 gallon tank! Now I have my 125 gallon tank and I'm using that same protein skimmer...see?
+Jake Carpenter I also recommend the LED lighting. it is lighter, less on electric bill and looks great!
OK that was what my gut instinct told me to do. Now I am really starting to look at how I do the bedding. Since I'm starting from scratch, I want to make sure I do this the best way possible. Low maintenance, but natural look. The boyfriend gave me a tank count. I breed leopard geckos and chameleons. But I refuse to live in a house without a aquarium. So I have to make this one look super nice
Great video, you helped me out heaps
great!
I love this! I have been dumping about 20 gallons a month down the drain and replacing it with fresh water comma fresh salt water that is. I guess that's okay but it would have been nice to not waste so much salt mixing a new batch of salt water! I will use this technique from now on.
+David Osmar Awesome! Time and money!
struggling with brown algae at the moment, will have to give this a try especially filtering through the sump sock. Great idea, thanks.
hey John, it will really help you out. good luck.
A sock never occurred to me! I love this! Thank you! This video is a year old, but I hope you still read the comments. Is there anything I could use in place of a filter sock? Hmmmm. How can I "McGiver" a filter sock? You've got me thinking now.
what's up? yeah i still read 'em. you could try panty hose and then throw away when done. if you need it to be finer, maybe try panty hose in a panty hose stocking to double it up. rubberband it tight coming off the pvc.
Panty hose would work - BUT - I tried to vacuum sand using your technique today and realized my sump is level with my water column. I have a Red Sea Max 250 (don't recommend them by the way) and the sump is behind the water column. Wondering if I can figure out a way to defy the laws of physics.
i did a video where i connected the suction end of a canister filter to the syphon and it worked great. canister filter is on the ground and it sucked right up. i threw away the filter media when done vacuuming.
Would you mind directing me to the video? I'm a visual learner. :). (aka, challenged, lol). Thanks.
sure here ya go... ua-cam.com/video/XWwwm0Actx4/v-deo.html
Dam that vacume idea with the sock was perfect ...thank you,..
cool
Hi there, so whats your technique for quarantining a fish and deworming it ?for how long Etc
depends on the worm. if it's black spot, prazi pro works great and can be used in a reef tank with no issues at all.
best tip i have seen. was always doing it into buckets.thanks so much
phillip field Thanks for your comment and glad I could help. I was happy to do away with buckets as well, AND have a more thorough method!
great idea and nice tank
+Tyler Mclean thanks Tyler
Watched the video twice. This is truly a genius idea! This will make cleaning the tank fun and easy. 👍👍
GREAT video Thanks for the tip ill be doing this tonight
Shannon Keefer thanks for commenting Shannon! glad you liked it
Hi. I'm a total newbie. Awesome idea! Can I do this with a hang on back filter or would that overflow? I have an emperor 400 filter.
i'm not sure. you can try it out and watch it to see what happens. hardest part will be getting it to flow since the water will not suction down into a sump.
Would a normal sock work as long as its clean to start with? Like a brand new sock?
Thank you
It should give it a try
Such a simple but brilliant idea.
:)
That's great! Especially if you have it set up for auto water change!
I really enjoy your videos, you don't waste time, you focus on the topic, very informative. beautiful job, and tank.
+Vickie Drouin Hi Vickie, Thank you SO MUCH for your VERY NICE comment! That means a lot.
Steve
Fabulous video and what an amazing idea ! How did you get the most amazing amount of coralline algae on you rocks , looks awesome!
Ingrid Clarke Hi Ingrid, glad you liked it and thanks for stopping by and commenting! You're the first to ever comment on the coralline. I didn't do anything special. I bought one piece of live rock with coralline all over it a year ago and it just took off from there. I love the way it looks as well.
hey so I heard you say you wash your filter socks in the washing machine? isn't that not good to do because soap has been in the machine before? and how did you grow all that coralline algae? your rocks look amazing
+michael maldonado Hey Michael what's up? I never had an issue when using sump socks. I would run the machine on one rinse cycle to be safe, then put them in, running the washing machine for 2 double rinse cycles, totaling 4 washings with nothing but water. I bought a small live rock long ago with coralline algae on it and it spread through my tank. I dose 1/4 cup calcium crystals in with my weekly water change to aid the coral and coralline algae growth. Thanks!
I have an All in one innovative marine 40 gallon with no sump. I do have filter sock, do you think I could do this in the back of the tank? I have an empty compartment where I can fit the filter sock?
+Atragichope1 you could do it if you could get a siphon started. that would be kind of hard to do though, since the compartment is even with the tank. i'm working on an idea to fix this though....
+ROTTER tube Reef excellent point....didn't think of that. Duh
great vid, was told to try this but didn't have a clue how . Will be trying this out Tomorrow before wc .. cheers ;)
cool
The best contents are the ones that are very underated! All of these other youtubers are teaching people to be waste gallons of water $$$! Keep up the awesome work man!!
;)
For years I keep fish I never thought of that thanks a billion 😆
+SwirlDip82 thanks. i think i'll go on SHARK TANK to reach the masses haha
Hahaha.
Love that idea!
I would put some carbon pad or something so when the dirty water goes back to the main tank it would be les dirty
Libi Magana Hey Libi, thanks for the idea....sounds good. Glad you like the vid!
Libi Magana Libi, how are your fish doing
thank you for the video!
welcome
This is an EXCELLENT idea! I'm going to try this! I was told not to disturb my sand bed (2 to 3 inches) too much, because it would remove good bacteria and release sulfur into the tank. Apparently with this method I should be fine. Your thoughts?
that is genius, super simple solution but super effective. great job sir.
+Eko Laksono thanks Eko
REALLY THE BEST WAY EVER SEEN FOR CLEANING THE SAND BED.. SO FAR NO DEAD FISH BUT I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH NITRATES ... SOLVED. NOW AFTER SIPHONING, THE SOCK SHALL BE REMOVED . MY QUESTION IS.....IS TI ADVISABLE TO ADD NO3/PO4 TO REDUCE MORE ??
thanks. sure, you can add that. add per the instructions. this method of vacuuming is just one way to help lower the nitrates. i still do this and have connected my bio pellet reactor back up.
+Rotter Tube Reef ok that's great I have been in this hobby for the last 5 months. and uptil now I have deaths of fishes when I had a nano 13L M3 ... It was horrible but then I decided to go with a 50g main tank and 20g sump... before watching your vdo I was wondering how the heck am I gonna clean the sand from underneath.. so there you came in.. I even asked the vivid aquarium guys they told me to make a cloud of dust, which I thought was not applicable... any ways I have planned for a bigger tank next year 300g main with 80g sump
great, glad i could help. that 300 will be something to see!
Thank you for this video! I am in the process of cycling my new led biocube 32. it's my first week. There is some algae growth on the top of the sand bed, should I clean it? And I don't have a sumo and sock like you just a media tray with charcoal and a sock with rocks. Do you think I could buy a sock like yours and put it in the back of the filtering area while cleaning the tank?
i'm not sure putting a sock in the back would work. i have a video where i use a canister filter and that works great. you could buy a small canister filter and connect the vacuum syphon to the inlet and the out hose goes into the tank or the back of the tank.
So glad I watched this. Thanks for fantastic info!
you're welcome
Great video not to technical, just basic water quality improvement ideas without a killing your self
;)
Your coralline in this vid has a great color! Any tips to get there faster on a new build?
make sure you water is great, make sure your calcium is at 450 always. you can start with a small rock with coralline on it. make sure you get this rock from a reputable source. you don't want to bring parasites in. scrape coralline off glass to let it float through tank and grab hold to other areas.