Gravel Vacuuming

I'm confused... How exactly do you vacuum gravel in an aquarium? I'm new to the hobby. So new I don't even have a tank yet! :-[ I want to get one soon and need to know everything I can that will help me set up a tank.

Any help is appreciated,
~Melkor

 

To vacuum gravel you need.....guess?....a gravel vacuum! They are pretty cheap I have a 10 gal and my minI vac was $5. They are easy to use, you just start the siphon and it will suck up all the yuck in your gravel, but not the gravel itself. I would think you have to be careful with really small fish like young neon tetras not to suck them up ;D

 

Depending on the size of your tank, the gravel vac Emma is talking about is a good start. I have a 100 gal. tank, and use a python to clean my tanks. I do 50% water changes in that tank weekly, so using a regular syphon would mean probably emptying a bucket at least 10 times to take the water out, and at least 10 times to add new water in. With my python, I just change the water flow from sucking water out to adding water in, and it's done in about 15 minutes. Butterfly has a 75 gal. she still uses a regular gravel vac to clean it with, and she doesn't mind doing that, but it would get old very quickly for me. If you tank is only gonna be a 10 or 20 gal. tank, then the gravel vac would work just fine.

 

If the water comes straight from the tap do you just add the tap water treater straight into the main tank? Do you just work out how much you've taken out and put the necessary amount of treater in when you fill it?

 

If the water comes straight from the tap do you just add the tap water treater straight into the main tank? Do you just work out how much you've taken out and put the necessary amount of treater in when you fill it?

Yep. Just make sure the temperature of the water is the same or very close to the temp. in the tank. As the water is going back into the tank, I just pour the dechlor in the stream.

 

Cool, I'm trying to convince my parents that I won't spill any water if I get one for my room with a python vac.

 

I'm confused... How exactly do you vacuum gravel in an aquarium? I'm new to the hobby. So new I don't even have a tank yet! :-[ I want to get one soon and need to know everything I can that will help me set up a tank.

Any help is appreciated,
~Melkor

Melkor -

I don't know how others do it but I have a battery operated vacuum cleaner made to do the job. I believe I got it online from either Petco or PetSmart for around $18.00 It uses 2 "C" batteries and has a place to attach tubing if you want to use it to empty the water from your tank into a bucket for water changes. There are many sizes of manual vacuums too but I never have used them so I do not know much about them.

I hope this helps a little.

Welcome to the group. It is good to have you here.

Shalom, (Peace)

chickadee


Rose

 

I've read about this here now and then and want to know more or less what exactly is it?(i've never heard abt it be4) how is it used and what's the price more or less?
Thanks!

 

You can get all types from small to large...Some are hand activated, others are water powered such as the Python...It's basically a hard plastic tube with a clear rubber hose attached...You put the end of the hose in your bucket and hold the tube in your tank, turn it to get the air out and shake back and forth to start the suction...Then turning the open end to the gravel you push the end of the tube down into the gravel and allow the suction to remove the water and waste from the gravel. You know it's time to move the vacuum when there is no more debris coming up in the tube....Just move to another spot and repeat until you've removed the desired amount of water that you wish to change...I vacuum 1/3 of my gravel each week and change about 30% of the water at the same time.

 

ive also sucked the end of the tube with my mouth to start the suction If I Cant get the suction to start . it works just don't suck too much you'll get nasty water in your mouth.

 

This is what I have only I attached it to a water hose and run the water outside for my flowers.

 

Thanks guys! I have a siphon some where, can I use that?

 

yep same thing I think
Carol

 

That's great,Thanks! I was sure I wasn't going to find it at my lfs! I'll have to look for it here though...

 

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what are gravel vacs for? They suck up the gravel? I am really sorry for this stupid question... I believe they just clean the gravel right?

anyways please answer my question along with a few others.
how do they work?
do I need to remove planted plants in order to use it?
remove fish to avoid sucking them up?

thanks for allowing me to ask my silly questions.

 

I use a python vaccum, you can hook it up to your kitchen facet and it picks up the loose stuff on the bottom of the tank off the gravel. The python also can fill the tank back up its a bucketless way of cleaning the tank.

In my tank w/ the plants I vacuum around them to keep from moving/disturbing them. And no you don't have to remove the fish to avoid sucking them up.

 

Oh that's cool. So if you fill the tank back up using that, does it dechlorinate the water?

 

no you have to put the chem in the water as you are filling the tank I put it in just 30 sec before I turn the water on in the tank. its awesome though, it really makes the waterchanges painless (I have 7 tanks)

 

oh yeah!!! the python thing works great!!!! I have one and i'm using it a lot!!! yeah just add the water conditioner right before you turn you start filling up the tank or while you are doint it cuz it works either way.
oh and your question was not stupid. I went months without even knowing what MTS stands for until someone else asked and I was glad I wasn't the only dummy here!

 

wow thanks a lot guys! I'll definitely get one of those pythons, I think I remember seeing one at the LPS

EDIT: I read that there is something you can hook up to your faucet, perhaps in between the python and faucet, that actually dechlorinates the water as it passes through. I am I thinking of something else? or can I get one of those?

 

mmmmmmmmm.....I don't think it completely dechlorinates the water but the aeration that it produces helps the water to not have so much chlorine by the time it gets in the tank. still if you find something let us know!
also the water conditioners don't only dechlorinate the water but it detoxifies heavy metals in tap water.

 

oh ok. I am going to try to find that article I read about it in and see what it was talking about.

 

Just a quick note here... Python actually says that in many cases, dechlorinator does not need to be used with their product if your tap water ONLY contains Chlorine (no Chloramine). The reason for this is that as the water travels through the faucet, into the tube, and out the nozzle it is being highly aerated, thusly removing most, if not all, of the Chlorine.

Now, I haven't tried this as I don't have a test kit for Chlorine. Otherwise, I'd fill up a 5 gallon bucket with the thing and test it to see. But, something I've heard in case someone wants to give it a shot.

 

Sounds reasonable, I will try it once I can get my hands on one..

 

I know our tap water def has chloramine. Btw you might want to check w/ your local water people to find out if yours does too. Its put in the water to make it hold clorine.

 

oh ok thanks for the heads up

 

As was mentioned, you don't have to remove fish...but be careful! Most of my fish get out of the way of the vac, but one of my fish seems fascinated by it, and he has started to get sucked up on more than one occasion! My boyfriend usually operates the vacuum, and I watch the tank to make the fish are staying out of the way.

 

When I gravel vac do I have to take the decorations out and vac the gravel under the decorations? and do I also leave my cories in their while I'm doing it, I'm scared imma suck it up, cus it looks excatly like my gravel.

 

I vacumn under the decorations once a month when I do my filter rinse, rest of the time I just go round them. How big are your Corys?

 

they are like half a inch big

 

You do need to move, not remove, your décor during gravel vacs. Beneficial bacteria live on your décor. Removing them from the water will kill the bacteria. I simply move my décor a few inches vacuum and replace the décor.

Certainly leave your cories in the tank. Water changes are stressful enough for most fish as it is. Netting your fish to put them in a bucket every time you clean your tank would be very hard on them. Remember you will be cleaning the tank every week.

Most fish (not all) will stay well clear of the scary water sucking tube thing invading their tank (gravel vacuum). My fish hide for hours after a cleaning.

Just be careful and your cories will be safe.

 

Alright cool thanks for that

 

haha, yeah my bettas like to attack the gravel vacuum, it is not their best friend. but I agree, it's easier to leave the fish in for many different reasons. 1 easier for you 2 easier for them

 

I'm pretty sloppy and just shove my (fake) plants around when I vacuum.
Some of my fish are pretty curious, my advice, don't take your eye off the vacuum, someone could get sucked up by accident.
If you need to look at how fast the bucket is filling up shove the tip of the vac into the gravel so no curious fish go fo a ride.

 

I tried a gravel vac today and I riped up some of my real plants, trying to move them and the decor around. So can I just leave the real plants alone and vac around them?

 

Yes you do not need to move your live plants. You should be able to get in very tight to them anyways.

 

I have fake plants which I remove, I vac half a side one week and then the other half the following week, I swirl the plants in the used water and put them back.

 

Fertilizer.........

I tried a gravel vac today and I riped up some of my real plants, trying to move them and the decor around. So can I just leave the real plants alone and vac around them?

A lot of the material you are vacuuming is good fertilizer for live plants. I do not try to get too close to my plants.

 

Hello,

I am wondering about gravel vacuums....is one necessary for a three gallon betta tank? (Just one betta in tank)

 

HI Roseofsharon,

I used to use a bowl to do the water changes in my 5 gallon betta tanks. You would definitely want to "stir up the gravel" first once in a while to get some of the larger waste out of the tank.