Gravel vac

[normal9]

Hey all

What gravel vacs do you use? I have a couple of different ones but neither seem to be any good even though one of them was £20 ?

I'm wondering if the substrate is too heavy as the gravel doesn't even budge!

I have standard white gravel from pets at home shown in the pic.

Should I change to a smaller gravel?

Tyia

 

[Fishfur]

The main purpose of a gravel vac is to remove the built up wastes. So long as the vac sucks up dirt, it's not that important if the gravel itself gets picked up and moved. That said most vacs do pick up the gravel, so I wonder how large the vacs you've tried are ?

The Python water changer, or the Aqueon water changer, both use the tap water pressure to start the siphon, and they are quite strong, pulling gravel up almost to the top of the vac tube. Smaller vacs have less power, so maybe you just need a larger one ?

Edit:

Now I look more closely, they do appear to be quite large pebbles, based on the neons I see nearby. If those fish are full grown, then that is very coarse gravel and most vacs won't pick up a lot of it.

 

[normal9]

I have the aquaex gravel vac. Just googled both vacs u mentioned and wowcha they are a little out of my budget. Do you know any any cheaper ones that are pretty decent?

Also the tetra aren't fully grown I'll put a pic on of my fully grown molly

 

[normal9]

Here it is. I'm looking to get smaller gravel but what's the best way to change the substrate? I don't have a spare tank

 

[Fishfur]

Yes, the Python types are not cheap, sorry to say. But they sure work.

Even if they are not full grown Neons, that still looks like pretty coarse gravel. What would you say is the average size of the pieces ? Vacs are meant to work with the standard stuff, where most particles are no more than 1/4" diameter or less.

I"d get one with the largest diameter tube you can find, and no taller than it has to be for your tank height, and the greater the height difference between the tank bottom and the bottom of the siphon, the stronger the suction will be. Siphons run on gravity, and if there is not much height difference, the suction, so to speak, sucks .

 

[normal9]

Size wise I'd say they are the size of kitty litter ?

I'm gonna go get something smaller tomorrow.

As for my vac, it's quite wide but also very long, if I touch the bottom of the tank with it, it's not that far from the surface

 

[Fishfur]

That's a good question. Can you get hold of a big plastic bin or storage box ? Anything clean that holds water will do. Then siphon enough water out to keep the fish happy for awhile, catch and transfer the fish.

Then switch the gravel.. you'll stir up a lot of crud when you do that. I'd put a big wad of filter floss in the filter and let it run for a few hours to get most of the crud out.. and you can also swish a fine net through it.. brine shrimp net is ideal for that.

Rinse the new gravel and dump it in, smooth it out.. as soon as the water is reasonably clear, put the fish back, then the rest of their water.

If you have no container, it's tough. You'd have to scoop it out by the handful or cupful, and then slowly add the new stuff, after it is well rinsed. It will stress the fish quite a bit, doing it that way.

KItty litter size ? That shouldn't be any problem at all for any vacuum. How far off the floor is this tank ?

 

[normal9]

I want it to be as stress free as possible as I have 4 Cory's that are really shy and don't want them to freak more than they do already. I have a bucket that I use for water changes only but if it's gonna be a few hours, how could I keep the water warm for them?

 

[Fishfur]

How cold is it at your house ? Cories are fairly hardy fish, and I don't use a heater for mine at all. But this is a warm apartment. My tanks don't get any cooler than 70F, except for one brutal cold snap we had this month, they got down to about 68, but no fish died, thankfully. I try to keep them no higher than 74, as I have mainly cooler water species, in which I include the cories. Pepper cories, and pygmy ones too.

But you can put the heater in the bucket.. might have to tie it up some way to stop it falling in if it is not fully submersible, maybe a bungie cord or string around the top of the heater, so it can't fall in. Fasten that to something around the bucket, or the handle perhaps ? Or simply put the bucket near something warm, a rad maybe ? hard to say not knowing your situation exactly.

If they are very skittish, it may be that they need a couple more cories. Usual recommendation for them is groups of six fish.. makes them feel safer. But if they are new, may just be they are not settled in yet too.

 

[normal9]

Well at the moment it's 44F and the
House isn't really that warm. I'll try to put the heater in like u said, my tank is at 78F, has been since I set it up 12 months ago. Is this too warm? :/

 

[normal9]

I've had the cories for a while and they used to be very lively until I got rid of my 2 mollies, then they got very skittish

 

[Fishfur]

I would not want it any higher. Besides mollies and cories, what fish do you have ? 44 F is not very warm.. too cold for the fish, but you can put the heater in the bucket.. so they should be ok while you switch out the gravel. You can also wrap the bucket in a thick towel or blanket, and cover the top of it, to help retain the heat.

 

[normal9]

Just cories, bloodfin and tetra at the mo. My swordtail and dwarf gourami died recently

 

[Fishfur]

Ah, sorry to hear. The temp is good.. you have to strike a median between the cories and the tetras. Mollies can take cooler temps fairly well, but the tetras won't like it much.

Hard to say why the cories are skittish now, when they were not before. Perhaps the mollies made them feel as if was safe to be out and about.. like dither fish do for some of the shyer species. If you can, might try adding another pair of cories. It may help them feel safer. The more there are, the braver and more outgoing they seem to be, generally anyway. I have about ten of them, not all the same species, and I see them out all the time, day or night. The pygmies are in another tank, with shrimp, and they're pretty brave too.. there are 11 of them in the one tank. They hang together most of the time.

How long did you have the gourami ? I'm very fond of these fish, they are so very pretty, but I have given up trying to keep them. So many of them seem to die for no apparent reason, and I don't think any of them lived more than a few months. I had a few pairs, with extra females, as I was hoping they would breed. The boys built nests, but none lived long enough to mate. Very sad.. I think the stock coming from the farms these day is just not the quality they were ten years ago.

 

[normal9]

Would I not be overstocking? I've got a 48 litre(12 gal?)

 

[Fishfur]

Depends how many of the other fish you have. I was thinking since you had a gourami and a sword and they are now gone, there'd be room for two cories ?

 

[normal9]

Apparently I was over stocked. I have 4 cories, 2 bloodfin and 7 neons

 

[Fishfur]

Oh well. Hopefully the cories will settle. Best of luck with the gravel change. I'm off now, have to get up early tomorrow.

 

[normal9]

Thanks very much for all your help