What is the best way to vaccum/clean the gravel

[Bhunsucker]

Well now that my tank has cycled I guess I'll move into mainteance mode. I've noticed during my water changes that it only takes a few min. to fill up a 5 gal bucket of tank water. So if I'm doing a 20% water change that will be about 11 gal of water. Well it want take very long to drain out 11 gal of water. I want have enough time to clean half of the tank. What is the groups recomendation on this.

Has anyone tired any of the battery powered vac's for cleaning of the gravel.


I'm just confused on how to go about do this.

 

[id10t]

I use a small (1" diameter) tube with a smaller (5/16") line attached to it as a siphon. Small diameter == more pressure wtih less actual flow, so it sucks more gunk up for the amount of water going out. Also, I do about a 50% change with mine, but it is just a 10 gal tank, and I typically get 1/3 of the bottom really really clean each time.

 

[greenmaji]

I can immagine that most of the people using the battery opperated little vacs. are not changing any water.. since your changing the water (like you should..LOL) its easier to just vac the gravel when your changing the water.. If you happen to be changing more water then you were expecting with the gravel vacuming thats just a bonus (as long as your not changing more then 80% of the water every day generaly more is always better)

 

[jrp1588]

The other day when I was cleaning the gravel in my 30gal, the thing sucked up about 1/2 of the water. Maybe I'll just make that a weekly thing, a 50% waterchange and a gravel cleaning all in one. Seems efficient to me.

 

[greenmaji]

On my 75 gallon when its up and running a full gravel vac. usually makes me do somewhere inbetween 60-80% water change with the huge gavel vac tube that I have.. Once a week is possible but I would check to make sure the NO3 level was still relitivly low before changing my schedule (20ppm or less). HTH
Discus is another story all together I wouldnt do weekly unless they were adult fish in a well planted tank..

 

[Guest]

In my 55 gallon, i vaccum the gravel every week and do between a 30-50% water change depending on how bad it is. Sometimes you can pinch the hose a little to lessen the flow, then of course it doesn't suck up as much. Of course, i don't deep gravel vac because of my plants, i just go along the surface around the plants,... i figure whatever's left will help fertilize the plants.

 

[evilclown312]

Im a newb how do you "vaccum" gravel

 

[Jchillin]

Speed, patience and care is required. I start vacuuming as soon as the water begins it's flow. I start with where I either see or think the heaviest amount of detrius has accumulated, then work out from there. I try not to disturb or scrape around gravel too much as we all know, detrius will then start floating around the tank. When removing the tube, I keep it turned upright so any remaining detrius that is present will not go back into the tank.

Im a newb how do you "vaccum" gravel

You utilize tubing to create a siphon. At the end of the tubing, a plastic tube at the end is pushed along the substrate which sucks up detrius (organic matter). There are a number of pre-made set-ups for this, including one that actually can be used to empty and re-fill the tank. It's called a Python and it really works great. No more hauling buckets of water.

 

[Guest]

I combine gravel vacuuming and a pwc at the same time. My weekly vacuuming/pwc seems to be working great and I never remove more than 80% of the water. It's much easier to do a pwc when doing this because it is only one more step. Also, by doing both at the same time you put less stress on the fish by not moving them out of the tank so much every week. IMO

 

[talloulou]

Also, by doing both at the same time you put less stress on the fish by not moving them out of the tank so much every week. IMO

You move your fish out of the tank when you gravel vac/pwc? Why would someone do that? You don't need to do that.

 

[amitnarain]

vacuuming is just great. get a large funnel at the end of a large flexible pipe and it will remove all fish waste and other particles very easily with great 'pressure'.

 

[Guest]

I combine gravel vacuuming and a pwc at the same time. My weekly vacuuming/pwc seems to be working great and I never remove more than 80% of the water. It's much easier to do a pwc when doing this because it is only one more step. Also, by doing both at the same time you put less stress on the fish by not moving them out of the tank so much every week. IMO

you don't have to move your fish out of the tank to do a gravel vac/ pwc. and if your doing it weekly, you shouldn't have to change more than 50%.. although 80% isn't bad either.

 

[wright4lfe]

buy a python, read the instructions, repeat as necessary.

 

[QTOFFER]

The Python rules!
Even if your tank's bottom is at the same level as your drain, the python will generate enough siphon power to effectively suck the muck out of your substrate. I vacuum my substrate every week while I do my PWC until the water in the python tube is no longer cloudy. The amount of poop generated by my fish in one week is astounding!

 

[wright4lfe]

they are great.

i have a 240 with 3 oscars, a flowerhorn, green terror, green severum, arowanna and two large plecos. they waste they generate is mindboggling.

 

[RabidChild]

Also, by doing both at the same time you put less stress on the fish by not moving them out of the tank so much every week. IMO

You move your fish out of the tank when you gravel vac/pwc? Why would someone do that? You don't need to do that.

Maybe his fish all have big sharp nasty teeth

 

[jrp1588]

no, he has mollies and sword tails. I dunno what he meant by that.

 

[amitnarain]

while syphoning off waste from the bed of the aquarium i believe that it is only necessary to remove small fish that could get caught in the syphon's pipe.

 

[greenmaji]

nope.. you dont need to remove any fish for syphoning/vacuming an aquarium.. only fry would be so small to get sucked up and you could always put a sponge in the pipe to prevent them from making it to the drain in the pythons case.. In the case of the bucket method you can always net the fry and put them back in the tank..