dancerhas

We just picked up our gravel vacuum today, and used it for the first time. All I can say is WOW!!! I wish the beginners guides had stressed how much of a time saver, and poop sucker this thing is. I can also say it's no wonder my fish were getting sick. Yeah, they said to use it, but they never said WHY. I first used it on the surface of the gravel, which worked ok, picked up some poop and uneaten food. Then I jammed it the whole way down in the gravel and BOOM this enormous black cloud got sucked up the tube. I literally had TWO BUCKETS OF BLACK WATER that came out of my gravel by the time I was done.

I bet (or at least I hope, so I dont' feel so dumb) that there are a lot of newbies out there who really don't see the need for a vacuum. So to any fish newcomers who read this, here's WHY you need a gravel vacuum. (based on my research)

A: It cuts water changing time in half (vs. the scoop method, who doesn't like that?)

B:Your water may look clean, but a lot of stuff can hide in your gravel. This can lead to ammonia spikes after water changes, sickness, cloudy water after changes, and clogged filtration. Seriously, If I had a gravel vac before now, half the stuff in my filter and that I've cleaned out of my tubing would have been in a bucket instead.

What is a gravel vacuum? Kinda just looks like a mess of tubes doesn't it? Maybe you've seen it on the shelf and wondered why it was so special.(see above)

Basically what a gravel vacuum is, is a clear plastic pipe about 2 inches in diameter, about 8 inches long (it varies), tapered on one end, with a few feet of flexible hose attached. It works on the principle of a siphon. You scoop water up with the pipe like end, lift it up, and the water runs down the tube(which you have blocked with your thumb) then you put the pipe-like end back in the water and release the end into a bucket, the weight of the water draining pulls more water out with it and creates a gravity powered vacuum cleaner. You then proceed to use the fat pipe-like end as you would any vacuum cleaner.

I like to jam the pipe way down in my gravel, and move along in little stepping motions. The suction of the water swirls the gravel around (it won't suck it up though) and removes any dirt, plant debris, poop, and uneaten food hiding in those little cracks.

So just go out and spend ten buck on a gravel vacuum, and save yourself the bother of scooping water, and spending 50 bucks on medicine and new fish when your fish get sick with 3 things at one time.

Lucy

Great reminder dancerhas.

sirdarksol

A good reminder.

How does it do this?

FishFolk

What were you doing your water changes with before?

I have the same questions as SDS above.

dancerhas

We were using a large scoop, and scooping water into buckets. Very time consuming.

sirdarksol

AHA! Okay.
I was thinking you were talking about over not using the gravel attachment (I've done this before when I didn't want to vacuum, just do a water change), and the tube sans vacuum is about the same (seemed a bit faster, even, but that's probably not the case).
But yes, it is definitely better than the "scoop" method, which I've used in reverse to fill tanks, if I couldn't get the bucket high enough to pour in.

RTBS

I bought a vaccum three days ago, and it works great!!! i take all of the tank decor out first, but it still works great!!!

dancerhas

^^that's probably a really good idea. Especially for us algae eater people. Since (at least ours do) they spend a lot of time "indoors".

Sasukii

I am anticipating the first chance to use my gravel vac tomorrow. I'm hoping this will help a lot since my first water change was using the scoop method as well, which was rediculous and MESSY. Let alone that I knew the gravel was dirty so after removing all the decorations I stirred up the mess with my HAND... It was disgusting. Not that I think I won't get dirty, but hopefully not THAT gross.

Monksflat

Note: Don't do what Monksflat did

I decided to buy a gravel vac on which the hard plastic tube is almost as long as my tank is wide. It makes it a little difficult to get it going

Escobar

Its also a good idea to gravel vac as not only does this method stir the gravel but it also prevents the build up of Nitrogen pockets which build after time when the gravel is left undisturbed for long lengths of time. When disturbed , these pockets will then erupt into the water and wreak havoc!

Beeker

I have a Python and love it. It is great for the larger tanks and is mess free. Just hook it up to the sink and turn on the water. The water pressure creates a vacuum and starts pulling the water right out of your tank. It is very strong for vacumming the gravel that way. Or if you just want to change the water, you can either turn the sink off and let the water just free-flow through the hose, or you can keep your sink on and make it work faster. I love my Python!

jarn

i have a question about this, is it ok to use the vac with the fish in the tank?
will it scare the heck out of them sucking up all the rocks and such

dancerhas

Yeah, it's ok to use it with fish. (at least I do) They get a bit spooked (especially the CAE's) but they usually just go hide behind a plant or something. Since you're mainly working in the gravel, you don't really have to worry about sucking one up.

Beeker

With my Python, my fish don't mind it at all. They often swim right up to it and peck at it. Sometimes they get sucked in, but the Python has a safety valve that you can just turn and it will cut off the suction. Then you just pour the fish out. I've had to do that a few times. The suction is not fast in the gravel vacuum part, only in the hose itself. One of my goldfish got sucked in nose first. They are big, so he didn't get into the hose, but he had a red nose for a few days. He recovered and is fine.