Electric gravel vac?

[ChaosTropicals]

Is the electric gravel vacuum from petsmart worth it?
I hate how it is almost a 50% water change if i wanna vacuum my gravel out good. this just collects the bad stuff and spits the water back in the tank where i can later do a water change with my own amount.

[BBradbury]

Hello Chaos...

You don't need to vacuum the bottom material. The organic fish and plant material that collects on the bottom will dissolve in the tank water. So, all you need to do is remove and replace the water.

The 50 percent water change every week or even two, will keep the water safe for the fish and material that's left dissolves and nourishes any plants you keep.

B

[emerald76]

If the substrate is deep some will collect and rot


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[Mebbid]

Originally Posted by ChaosTropicals

Is the electric gravel vacuum from petsmart worth it?
I hate how it is almost a 50% water change if i wanna vacuum my gravel out good. this just collects the bad stuff and spits the water back in the tank where i can later do a water change with my own amount.

It's good, and bad. If you're siphoning out your gravel regularly then you might as well do it with a regular gravel vac and do the 50% water change. Your fish will thank you.

The electric gravel vac could presumably cause a spike in ammonia or nitrate. As the food and poo rots in the substrate it releases ammonia that sits in the gravel due to no flow. The electric vacs could presumably blow it all over the tank causing a spike.

[ChaosTropicals]

Originally Posted by BBradbury

Hello Chaos...

You don't need to vacuum the bottom material. The organic fish and plant material that collects on the bottom will dissolve in the tank water. So, all you need to do is remove and replace the water.

The 50 percent water change every week or even two, will keep the water safe for the fish and material that's left dissolves and nourishes any plants you keep.

B

I would but the poop from a 8 inch oscar isnt very pretty on white rocks after about 2 weeks.

[wildroseofky]

I bought one from Dr. Fosters and Smith and another on Amazon. i love mine. Before my tanks were heavily planted I could not stand the gunk on my sand. This little tool made cleanups easier. It even help start water flow into the hose to change water and makes water changes faster. The only problems I have had are the extension tube was supposed to slide in and out to lengthen it or shorten it and it stuck after the first use. I just bought a shorter piece of water pipe the same size and used the longer stuck one for deep tank and the shorter one for shallow tanks. I would suggest removing the batteries after use and dry it out between uses. The inside tends to rust if you don't dry it. Small price to pay for a quick clean up.

[ChaosTropicals]

Originally Posted by wildroseofky

I bought one from Dr. Fosters and Smith and another on Amazon. i love mine. Before my tanks were heavily planted I could not stand the gunk on my sand. This little tool made cleanups easier. It even help start water flow into the hose to change water and makes water changes faster. The only problems I have had are the extension tube was supposed to slide in and out to lengthen it or shorten it and it stuck after the first use. I just bought a shorter piece of water pipe the same size and used the longer stuck one for deep tank and the shorter one for shallow tanks. I would suggest removing the batteries after use and dry it out between uses. The inside tends to rust if you don't dry it. Small price to pay for a quick clean up.

Do u think it would work good for a 55 gallon tank? down to my 5 gallon fry tanks?

[Brookster123]

On a side note.. a weekly 50% wc for an 8 " oscar in a 55 is actually less than ideal.. 2 would be better.. I've heard the ehiem model is halfway decent..

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[BillD]

Originally Posted by BBradbury

Hello Chaos...

You don't need to vacuum the bottom material. The organic fish and plant material that collects on the bottom will dissolve in the tank water. So, all you need to do is remove and replace the water.

The 50 percent water change every week or even two, will keep the water safe for the fish and material that's left dissolves and nourishes any plants you keep.

B

In general, this is bad advice. Removing that solid debris before it breaks down will slow the rise of nitrates. Perhaps in a heavily planted tank, you may want the extra ammonia and nitrates created, but in many tanks (perhaps even most) this would be bad advice.

[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by BillD

In general, this is bad advice. Removing that solid debris before it breaks down will slow the rise of nitrates. Perhaps in a heavily planted tank, you may want the extra ammonia and nitrates created, but in many tanks (perhaps even most) this would be bad advice.

More than likely Cut and pasted from the library of useless Advice..

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[CCXGT]

Originally Posted by BillD

In general, this is bad advice. Removing that solid debris before it breaks down will slow the rise of nitrates. Perhaps in a heavily planted tank, you may want the extra ammonia and nitrates created, but in many tanks (perhaps even most) this would be bad advice.

It's Bradbury... He has 'water change' tattooed on his forehead.


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[BillD]

Nothing wrong with water changes. I agree totally with him on that. Water changes are very important. You can't change too much water. However, I am a proponent of removing debris before it can break down. That means removal from the tank and the filter, since anything in the filter must be considered to be still in the tank.

[wildroseofky]

I had a 5 gallon, 10 gallon, 20 long, and 29 high tank and it works in all of them.

[Minicoop]

I have an Oscar that gets stressed every time I do a water change. He lays on his side and takes an hour or so to act normal. Does anyone else have this problem?


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[Mebbid]

Originally Posted by Minicoop

I have an Oscar that gets stressed every time I do a water change. He lays on his side and takes an hour or so to act normal. Does anyone else have this problem?


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Thats normal. Its not soo much stress.... but rather them being giant sissies. Nothing to worry about.

[jrc0528]

If you use an electric gravel vac I'd suggest testing for Ammonia, nitrite & nitrate before and after just to see if there is any noticeable change.

My 75G is heavily planted and sits at 10ppm nitrate if I leave it alone.. I change the water perhaps monthly and it stays crystal clear! My 30G with one goldfish tends to need weekly (or every other) changes.

I just test the nitrates to determine when a water change is needed. If it's much over 10ppm I'll do a change to bring it down to 10 or under, here's how I determine it...

20ppm - 50%
30ppm - 66% (2/3)
40+ppm - 75%

If you're much over 40ppm do a second change in a couple days.

[Minicoop]

Thanks! I'm a newbie and feel I'm in over my head at times. I've recently moved my Oscar and convict to a 60 gallon. I cycled it for a week including a dirty filter from the previous tank and all readings were acceptable. However, a few days later I smelled an odor, which I researched was probably ammonia. The test was high so I did a big water change...it's my first time using a canister filter. I did a LOT of research and thought it was sufficient. It's a Sun Sun Hw303B 370 GPH. I'm testing the water daily and ammonia is till a little high....all other readings are good....any advice?


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