desertrefugee

Dumb question I'll admit, but having acquired now three different gravel vacuums, only one of which I purchased new, none of them are long enough to conveniently get to the bottom of my 65g. (Two of them came with used equipment I purchased). I haven't seen a really long vacuum.

Even if I do a 50% change, I still get wet. Am I a wimp or what? Should I just "man up" and take the plunge? Not like I don't get wet anyway, but I try and avoid submerging human body parts as much as possible just to avoid transferring oils into the water.

Figured it couldn't hurt to ask...

Gouramiguy17

i have to stick my whole arm into my tall 55 gallon, it is 24 inches too. man up!

dvc_r

Unfortunately, I have found that you have more control over the siphon if you reach into the tank. They do have gloves you can purchase if you are worried about the chemicals and oils on your hands. But let me tell you, I am a "Bug Man", all day long I handle pesticides and rodenticides and I come home, wash up and I'm back into my tanks!

Oh... before I forget, If you have a lot of plants and decor in the tank (like some of mine) I pull off the top of the mini gravel vacs and attach a tube use for underground filters. When you buy them they're 1 inch in diameter and about 3 feet long. You can cut it to the height you need and it does a great job getting between everything. (and you don't have to get your hands wet!) It won't work for large tanks but I use it in my 55 gal, Like I said its great around my deco and live plants.

bolivianbaby

We have five 55 gallon tanks here and my least favorite part about water changes is the siphoning of the gravel, so I can totally feel where you're coming from. I wear sleevless shirts for water changes and keep towels handy so I don't "water" the floors when I take my arm out of the tank With larger tanks, there's really not an easy way to get it done unless you get a tank big enough to do this

As long as you wash your hands and arms and rinse off any soap, it really won't hurt anything. Most of our fish are pretty friendly, so I get nibbled on.

coffeebean

i even get wet doing a gravel vac on a ten gallon tank. bit of water wont hurt you.

ray_sj

They make replacement gravel tubes which are MUCH longer (up to 72 inches!!), at least for the Python:

Replacement Gravel Tubes

I have a 24" one and it works great for my 29 gallon. Or, if you can find some clear tubing, you could make your own. They also have arm-length gloves:

Heavy Duty Aqua Gloves

Between those two items, it'd be hard to get wet!

desertrefugee

Thanks for the tips, humor and understanding. Again, it wasn't so much the getting wet as being cautious about accidentally introducing something into the water that shouldn't be there.

I'll do the right thing - and get closer to my aquatic friends!

Thanks.

Darrell