cheap canister filter as a gravel vacuum???

[Magnum Man]

on my main group of tanks, I can use my power water change pumps to vacuum gravel, but I have tanks in the other parts of the house, and some mounted so low, they are literally sitting on a plank, sitting on the floor ( milled lumber is like 1.5 inches thick ) so siphoning water out of a tank sitting on the floor is tedious... so I have pump out pumps in those tanks, for water changes, but the pumps are in a plastic box, with bio media ( for weight ) and 1/4 inch holes drilled in them to protect the critters...
so I've been thinking about a cheap canister filter, filled with Japan mat, or nothing, and a gravel vac end on the suction side, and the output hose going to a dump bucket... anyone do similar???

 

[Back in the fold]

Now that is certainly an interesting idea . Years ago there was what was known as the Diatom Filter and that was one of its features . The old timers around here will remember it .

 

[Magnum Man]

anyone have a good idea of how many gallons per hour a filter I should target??? too big, and the bucket fills too soon, too small, and you won't get effective vacuum...

if it took 2 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bucket, to effectively vacuum a tank, that's 150 gallons per hour... so, a 300 gallon per hour pump, would fill a bucket, in one minute ( if my math is correct )

 

[Magnum Man]

I used diatomaceous earth in my old magnums... mostly on salt water tanks..

 

[Back in the fold]

That’s a good question as to what size you’d need . Might take a scientist to accurately figure that out . It would be a shame to buy something that was too far one way or the other and to have wasted the money . Maybe a bigger one that you could have some type of adjustable flow restriction on ? You might have to modify something somehow .

 

[Magnum Man]

this one is 265 gallons per hour, I think about right for vacuuming... with no restrictions it should pump at least close to what it's rated for... could use the UV light, or not, as the water is not returning to the tank...

if the bulb is the same as my other filter, I could use it as a back up for that filter

Amazon.com : PONDFORSE 264GPH Canister Filter, 3-Stage External Aquarium Filter Ultra-Quiet Water Circulation Cleaning Machine with Media for Fish Tanks and Aquariums Up to 75 Gallons (264GPH) : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : PONDFORSE 264GPH Canister Filter, 3-Stage External Aquarium Filter Ultra-Quiet Water Circulation Cleaning Machine with Media for Fish Tanks and Aquariums Up to 75 Gallons (264GPH) : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

 

[gimme30]

I'll be interested to see what you come up with. I've got a low tank with the same issue and have been eyeballing the electric vacuums but question their suckability.

 

[Magnum Man]

I also have not been impressed with the "electric tank vacuums" those typically by design, send the water back to the tank, so you are specifically sucking mulm, and either plugging the filter right away, or returning water to the tank, that is "loosely" filtered, so the unit doesn't plug up right away...

a canister filter being bigger, would allow better filtering of the return water, but not using any media, and not returning the water, makes the gravel vacuum water, just part of your water change water...

 

[Archerfish]

I use a sump pump for my indoor pond but also used one of these for cleaning stock tanks back. Use it inline, hook a hose to each end and away you go.

Amazon.com

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Many years ago when I set up my high tech planted tank it was almost impossible to vacuum it properly. The traditional siphon worked way to fast and would have emptied the tanks of water before I was able to vac all I needed to, For one the foreground was a lawn of dwarf hairgrass. But, I had a few H.O.T Magnums. These have an intake adapter which allows one to connect to a vacuum hose via a barb connection.

I used the micron cartridge in the filter. Ove time I also worked with baby tears for ground cover. Both the hairgrass and the tears needed to be pruned to keep them at the proper height. So I learned to use a scissors and the vacuum to cut and suck right away. The stuff sucked up stayed in the filter and the micron made sure the output was clean water. The only problem was once or twice during the vacuuming I needed to stop, open the filters and clean out the plants. However, when vacuuming the plants which was what I mostly did, the filter vac. would nut pull them out of the substrate and I could vacuum as slowly and carefully as I needed to since almost 0 water came out of the tank.

The only problem is that Marineland stopped making the H.O.T. Magnum. They also changed the size of the micron cart for fit the rest of the Magnum line and that made them too big for the H.O.T.s In order to use them I had to remove one of the sealing gaskets that are at both ends of the micron. And then I discovered somebody offering the right size Micron and I was able to use both gaskets again. However, the high tech planted tank proved to be taking up to much of my maint. schedule. I had to spend 3-4 times as much time to maintain it every week as any of my other tanks. And thus ended my almost 10 years of doing high tech planted.

I am down to just a dozen tanks these days but 9 of them are well planted and this includes one33L filled with frogbit and a few assassin snails. It takes almost 9 time to maintain. I drain it directly into the utility sinks and then refill it directly from the tap which has a hose attached. I add ferts ever few days and when I suck out the snails in the two pleco grow tanks in the same room, the snails from them get dumped into the tank to feed the assassins. I am hoping yo sell all of the contents next week at my clubs public auction.

If you are anywhere near Carmel NY, 10512. It is at the Knights of Columbus Hall #6813, 10 Fair Street.
Registration 9AM to 11AM.
Viewing of Goods 10:30 Am to 11:15 AM.
Auction 11:30 AM to 5 PM.

 

[Magnum Man]

ok, this worked as good as can be expected...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0FRSBKP5S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

these pictures are with all the mesh trays in, to protect the impeller from stray gravel, but no media, and no UV light bulb... the filter does need to be filled with water 1st... this is with the gravel vac attached to the suction side, I removed the mesh screen from the top of the gravel vac piece, so that won't plug, sucking garbage, and a suction side fitting, that came with the new canister filter is used to fill the waste water bucket, as it provides a good hanging point...

this is the 1st bucket of water...

this is the "throttle" it lets me shut off the suction, without breaking the syphon ( red handle between the hoses )

this is the 4th - 5 gallon bucket vacuumed from the bottom...

and this is the gravel vacuum tube ( I could use a longer ridged tube, on this 24 inch deep, 65 gallon aquarium

I stirred up one of my dwarf crayfish, out of the 1/2 inch deep mulm, along the back glass, I don't think I sucked it up, as it swam away vigorously

 

[gimme30]

In the third pic.....that plastic thingy, that was in the bucket in the first pic, is in the tank. Are you using the canister to refill too?

 

[Magnum Man]

in my set up, that is just the output from the pump, I just hung it there on the tank, so I could dump the bucket... I refill with one of those expandable hoses, with a shut off built in, on the output end, it has to snake from my well water tap, in another part of the house... a little of that hose is visible on the floor of the 2nd, and 3rd picture...

 

[gimme30]

That explains it! I like the throttle idea too, that seems like it'd be very handy when you don't need full power.

 

[Magnum Man]

at 265 gallons per hour, that's about the right power I think ( at least for this size of the actual gravel vacuum ), but it is nice to throttle it back to nothing, without breaking the suction to move the output, out of the full bucket, and clip it on the side of the tank, to dump the bucket, and move it back to the emptied bucket, pretty much drip free, then open it back up, once ready to resume vacuuming the gravel... it looks like it's basically only a ball valve, so I'm not sure if it stalls the impeller, or if the impeller is still turning, when it's slowed or shut off, there is no noise difference or additional vibration, of a struggling impeller.