Vacuuming

[plocke]

Is there a product out there that will allow you to vacuum gravel without removing water.  

I think my gravel needs a good cleaning but I do not want to have to do a major water change.  I currently clean my gravel via a siphon/vacuum when I am doing a water change.

What is the best product?  Roughly how much should it cost?  

I have a 26 gallon tank.

Thanks

 

[ronrca]

I dont think that you can 'vacuum' gravel without removing water. What you can do is siphon the water into big pails. By using a very fine sieve, remove the junk and put the water back into the tank.

How often do you do water changes? Do you vacuum at the same time? What I sometimes do is vacuum half the tank one week in my 30, then the other half the next.

 

[plocke]

I have been doing water changes about once a week (10%).  At 10% it does not seem that enough "gunk" is coming up with the 3 gallons or so that I remove from the tank.  

I guess I can just keep siphoning, sifting and replacing the water if I want to get more stuff up out of the gravel.
Seems like a pain however.  

I wonder how you could make a device that would vacuum without removing large amounts of water.  I would have thought someone would have figured it out.  

Maybe its an invention waiting to happen.  Mmmmm....

By the way, the reason I want to vacuum is that my nitrites are up and I am guessing that there is old food, waste in the tank that my cory is not getting at.

 

[ronrca]

Your nitrites or is that nitrates are up?

I have a 'python' water changer/vacuum. It connects to the sink faucet. I find that it works very well and efficient at vacuuming because of the good suction. Check out www.bigalsonline.com

 

[plocke]

Thanks for the tip.  

Look what I found on Big Al's:

PENN PLAX BATTERY VAC -

BATTERY POWERED GRAVEL CLEANER. TRAPS DIRT IN A RE-USABLE FILTER BAG WITHOUT REMOVING WATER. REQUIRES 2 "C" BATTERIES. BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. FOR 10-30 GAL AQUARIUMS.   Price: $8.99

Anyone out there use one of these?

Thanks.

 

[ronrca]

Very interesting. Never knew that.  *thumbsupsmiley* *thumbsup2*

 

[aznpanther98]

i wouldn't trust those battery graval vacs probally good for picking up detrius and solid stuff but imagine vacuming the gunk out into the bag it might not be able to clean it up and u end up with "brown water" i just vacum into a bucket with a smaller graval vac the tubing is like 1/4"  so the flow is slow enough and i just put my thumb over the outlet to control the flow, kinda requires a lil work but i don't have to worry about a long hose that i need to run from the sink to the tank but that would be nice for filling up the tanks hehe

 

[tabby360]

I used to have a batery vacumn when i had a five gallon. It bicks up most of the gunk but some smaller pices get threw. Plus they also suck up your gravel.

 

[Atlantic Fish]

My friend had a battery powered one, it stunk. Just go with the regular one.  You should be doing water changes anyway so what a perfect time to do one. no offence...

 

[colesea]

If you have to vaccuum too often, it means you are feeding too much food. NO food should it the bottom of your tank. All the fish should consume the food before it piles up to become the gunk you see.

Water changes are important to remove the build up of toxic nitrate if your tank is cycled correctly, as well as keeping water chemistries stable. You may be able to re-add the tank water while doing gunk removal, but you wouldn't be able to do that continuously without detramental effects to your tank.

There are battery opperated vaccuums out there.
~~Colesea

 

[luvfishies]

I agree, vaccing solids up then adding back the water will NOT help with high nitrates. Only waterchanges with vaccing will help that.
You're adding "dirty" water back anyways, so why not just add new, clean water?

 

[Matt Nace]

agree on all..

The battery vacs stink. Had one years ago. What was I thinking?

Python is probebly the way to go if you don't feel like lugging buckets. Other wise, to not simply replace the dirty water with clean is a bit strange.

So whats the reason you don't want to replace it...the lugging of the buckets? I don't miss doing that. My python is my best purchase.

BTW, a magnum canister also vacs the gravel without losing water, but you end up having to clean the floss instead, whichs makes the magnum's vaccum pretty useless to me as well.