siphoning detritus from sand bed problems?

[linbeg]

Quick question, if you siphon detritus from the sand bed, won't it also take up the sand particles meaning the more you siphon detritus your sandbed would lessen? Or is there another way of doing siphoning detritus from the sandbed without taking out the sand?

[cthumphr]

are you kinking the hose with your other hand to restrict the flow from the siphon? That helps keep the substrate down and lets the detritus rise to the top of the tube. Also, if you are using too skinny a tube, that can be a problem. You will usually get a little bit of sand, but that isn't a big deal. You shouldn't be getting a lot of sand in your bucket when you are done.

[Nano sapiens]

Kinking the hose works. I installed a plastic valve from the hardware store on my gravel vac hose to be able to control the flow better.

 

[Subsea]

Force down on vacumn cylinder increases sand in suspension. Its a question of balance with how deep cylinder is shoved into substrate or held above sand water interface to reduce sand in suspension.

Patrick