I didn't dump my whole 20# bag in there, I keep about 1-2 lbs...dead or what not in my cabinet...and I also do a lot of manual stirring when I'm doing my water change.
My water change is as follows...
I hook up the HOT Magnum, fill it up with water...(usually will take up about 5% of my total water volume)...let it rip for 30 minutes. Take a barbecue stick or a chopstick and stir the sand a bit...let debris loose and allow the HOT to pick it up.
When there's a lot of debris and/or algae I take a siphon tube and siphon it out...put a little of my reserve sand in. Easy
...
I also have 3 active Nasarrius snails who like to dig into my sandbed and ruffle up the sand.
Still having a problem with green hairy algae as none of my clean up crews clean it but I will squash it out of my tank...just wait and see lol