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Gravel vacuum

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shelagh

Guest
Hi everybody
just what is the best gravel vacuum to use.
I have an effective filter which seems to work ok, and gravel on the bottom of the tank as recommended to go with this filter. In addition I do partial water changes every week ( 20% having left the new water in a separate container with a treatment overnight, to get rid of the chlorine and to get it to a similar temperature).
Anyway hubbie bought me a gravel vacuum which was a total nightmare. Firstly you had to pump it 'vigourously up and down several times' to start the syphon effect - which didn't work and made a real mess. I gave up as I didn't want to disturb my babies too much. Normally I leave them in when I do the water change as I have made sure it is the same temp etc, but should I take them out when I use this, OR should I give up and use something different?
Many thanks
 
K

kim

Guest
Shelagh,

I personally use a air pump powered filter, they are great they pic almost very thing up (apart from the leaves my axies pull off the plants). An I use it with sand, my axies didnt like the big rocks I had, and sand is alot easy, at least when they grab a mouth full they dont get blocked up, like gravel does.

When changing the water I also leave them in there or I do it when im feeding them bloodworms (by taking them out and feeding in a different container)

As long as you dont dump all the water in at once and do it slowly theres no need to take them out in my view.

Hope they are doing well!!
 
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shelagh

Guest
Managed to get the vaqcuum to work today with reasonable results, though I think all three of us found it quite traumatic. I am amazed at just how attached I am to the little guys. Anyway I removed the plants (fake) etc from the water and then took out about 30% with the vacumn. I then topped it up with water that I had treated and left to stand overnight so that it came up to the same temperature as the tank. Does that sound right?
The water looks ok this evening, and they both have eaten (as per usual) so I guess its ok, but I was amazed at just how much rubbish came out with the vacumn. I presume I should not do this more than once a week so that the water quality is ok? Or can I do it more often to start with to get the gravel really clean ( I couldn't get it to work to start with so had to rely on a net to clear up the rubbish which wasnt' very effective).
Many thanks for any advice
 
C

cynthia

Guest
Shelagh - Yes setting the water out the night before is a good idea.

Vacuuming once a week is the norm unless there is some sort of problem that would require more frequency.

As far as getting the gravel "really clean" goes, remember your gravel holds some good bacteria, so while you don't want to under clean it you don't want to over clean it either.

Through the week I use a turkey baster to pick up poo from the tank between vacuuming.

I also have a battery operated vacuum that I can put a bag filled with filter floss on. This lets me pick up uneaten salmon pellets and worm parts and bits of plant that need removed. I don't recommend using this to clean poo if you have the bag on, as it just blows the liquefied poo back into the water. But it does allow for removing of other debris without removing water.
 
B

brendan

Guest
Im not sure what brand of gravel vac i use but its very good an effective. It is one of the ones that u gotta pump up and down in the water for it to go (or suck hard on the end) but i just attatch it to my external canister filter so im not actually taking any water out. The yukky water simply gets filtered.
 
B

brian

Guest
You still have to do water changes though, Brendan. There are some things that a filter, no matter how good, just cant take out.
 
E

elisheba

Guest
fwiw, i have a python and i don't like it for cleaning. great for filling though.

this is mostly because i live in the desert and the python creates its syphon with running tap water. this means you have to leave the water running the whole time you're cleaning, and i just can't do that! i'm sure they're awesome if you can afford to let that precious liquid go down the drain though.

}
 
C

cynthia

Guest
Elisheba - When you use the water python you don't have to let the water go down the drain.

In the summer I put a stopper in the sink and I put a small pump in the sink with a piece of tubing long enough to reach outside on it. When I clean my tanks each week I go from tank to tank draining 20% and it all gets pumped out onto my lawn. Then when I am ready to fill I just remove the pump from the sink and fill all the tanks back up.
 
J

jennifer

Guest
That's a good idea, Cynthia, I wish more people were creative with putting waste water to good use. This may be a silly question, but... if you use a pump in this operation, why not just use the pump itself to suck out the water from the tanks directly into the drain (or the yard)? In other words, use the suction of the pump instead of the suction of the running tap water? I've never used a Python, so maybe this wouldn't work. Alas, my newt dungeon is too far from a sink or a yard... I have to use the bucket method!
 
C

cynthia

Guest
Jennifer - It was a pump my sister used to drain her hot tub. She gave it to me when she got rid of her hot tub.

The pump has the intake at the bottom and it does not allow for a hose to be attached for intake just output. Does that make any sense?

I use it to suck the water out of my bath tub out the window and into the yard too.

Because of a back injury I can not longer use the bucket method, not that I miss it.

(Message edited by cynorita on April 24, 2005)
 
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