Lucy_kk

OK, im sure this will make alot of you gasp and go "OMg! Bad fish owner!" Buuut i have never, ever vaccumed my fish tank in my life. I dont currently own a vacuum, but now i have sand in the bottom of my tank it is definately neccessary, the dirt is sitting in little potholes and looks gross frankly, also i dont want to start having issues with ammonia again....also i have read about the little anaerobic pockets you can get in sand, so i do stir and i have also purchased some malaysian trumpet snails off ebay but they are still tiny so doubt my tank gets much "stirring action" lol!

So basically i would like to purchase a vacuum and i would like advice on which one to get. I would tell you how big my tank is but i cant as i dont know whether what i have worked out is US or UK, however its not that big, its long and narrow (between 25 and 30 inches long).

Any help and advice much appreciated!
Thanks

Buzz

Hello Lucy,

You can check this site for some general vacuum info.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/siphon.php

Rich and I have manual vacs as well as the python which uses a hose connected directly to the tap to creat suction and the water that is sucked out of the aquarium just goes directly down the drain in the sink. The only proble with that one is that sometimes the water pressure is rather low here and you need to have strong water pressure to create the suction.

Hope this helps a little
Buzz

hopesmom

I recently got the python and I love it!

Denise

emilai333

I have a very small "self starting" vacuum that works well for even my smallest tank, as long as I pay attention to how full the container I am siphoning into gets. Otherwise, I get to clean up a nice mess. Like the time I was siphoning into a milk jug and it was half full - and THEN I decided to show my roommate how to run it. And when I felt the water on my hand, I THEN remembered that the jug had been half full a minute before. Anyway, the advantage to this kind is that its easy to find and use, and CHEAP. I'm a college student - cheap is always good!

Isabella

I don't think vacuums like "Pythons" are good for small tanks because the strong flow of water that you get with them would be too much for a small tank. A regular siphon tube - available at any fish store - would be good for you. It works based on gravity. You simply submerge the tube in your tank, fill it with water, and make the water drain off to a bucket below your tank. It's easy and fairly quick in a small tank. That's how I perform gravel vacs in my 10 and even 30 (US) gallon tanks. Bur for anything larger than 30 gallons, I'd recommend some better vacuum like the "Python".

I've read someone's comment once about Python and small tanks (can't remember where I've read it). The person wanted to change the water with the Python in his/her small tank, and the device sucked the water in so fast that it uprooted his/her plants, lol.

0morrokh

How did you do water changes without a vacuum?

ncje

Hi Lucy. Just make sure the vaccum that you get is slow to syphon usually the thinner the better in this case, otherwise you WILL vacuum all your sand out :P

Lucy_kk

Yea i have ordered one now and i think it should be good, it looks kinda thin and it said on it suitable for all small tanks.

And when i clean my tank normally i just "jug" out some water and replace it with some pre-dechlorinated stuff. Sounds lame, but has always worked great with gravel...

Thanks people! I will let you know how i get on..