vacuums?

[cole31818]

Hey, newbie here! Been reading the site for a while and have learned alot. I am starting with a 6 gal. tank for my daughter and am planning on working my way to larger tanks.

Anyways, everyone mentions getting a python to vacuum/water change, but I rather not drag a hose all the way across my house. I tried just a regular siphon, but it doesn't seem to have enough "power" to suck up and clean the gravel. Is there anything else that you can recommend - maybe a battery powered or similar?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Purrbox]

I'd recommend getting a Lee's Mini Self Starting Gravel Vac. It's the perfect size for that size aquarium and works great. They don't need to pick up the gravel, just push the end into the gravel and it will pull out the accumulated mulm. Keep pushing it into different sections until you've cleaned out the area you planned or you've removed enough water for your water change, whichever comes first.

Don't bother with the battery powered vacuums. They're expensive and unnecessary, and don't always work that well.

 

[meegosh]

I agree with Joy, I wouldn't waste your money on a battery powered one. I'm not sure where you are having the problems with your vacuum. My cheap regular gravel vac is more than powerful enough to lift up the regular sized gravel in my 10g (in my avatar) and larger substrate (big pebbles) in my 30g.

Are there any kinks in the hose? I'd say my gravel vacuum is about 6" long and the vacuum part is probably 1" diameter.

 

[kimo]

All you need is a 6 ft length of 3/4" see thru plastic pvc hose from the hardware store. Being 6 ft long, you won't get any water in your mouth if you suck from the bucket end and watch when the water gets over the edge of the tank. Have a bucket ready and use your thumb to control water flow.

 

[cole31818]

thanks for the replys. I will try it again tonight. I have a basic vacuum from petco, that has a six ft hose with the one inch diameter vacuum. the last time i tried it was dribbling out of the hose and the particles that the vacuum was picking up were not being suck into the hose, they just fell back intot the aquarium. guess I should try sucking a little harder!

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

siphon works by gravity so make sure the outlet is lower then the tank

 

[meegosh]

What I do is hold my thumb over the end of the hose, dip the 1" vacuum part in the water, and let it fill. Then remove the vac from the tank, hold it over your head, let your thumb off the end of the tube (put your hand and end of tube in a buicket) until the water fills the hose completely and then stop it before the vacuum part empties completely. Re-submerge your vacuum and let your thumb off the end. Instant vacuum!!

Someone else posted that method a while back in a post and I tried it and it works great! It may take a few tries to catch it before it empties completely. It sounds to me that your siphon isn't siphoning as fast as it should. I would try again and see what happens.

 

[jsoong]

I have the basic 1" gravel vac as well, it works fine as long as it is not plugged up. There is a little flap valve at the top & that gets plugged easily, reducing your flow to a dribble. What I do is to take the blue part off the 1" clear tube, stick a skewer through the valve. Make sure the valve moves freely (it only goes one way - from the vac end to the hose). When opened completely, the hole at the blue end should be the same size as your drain hose. Clean out stuff as needed.

Also, have your drain hose as low as possible - it has to be below the *bottom* of your tank to generate suction. I attached a hose to the drain to take it out the window & into the garden. With the extra length, my drain end is a full 6' below the bottom of my tank & I get great suction that way. <Plus no need for buckets .... & I water & fertilize my flowers at the same time!.>