Couple Of Gravel Vac Questions

[Richie Hell]

Ok, I'm a bit confused about the practicalities of gravel vacuuming.

First, I won't actually be able to get the wide end down and round all/most the tank, due to plants/rocks/ornaments etc. Can I just use a small plastic tube, ie the other end of the vac? Will it be much of a problem if I can't get every single square millimetre?

I'm also scared about sucking up fish. Does this happen? Any advice?

Ta.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

don't vac around your ornaments, lift them up and vac under them, you need to get to all of the tank otherwise it'll build up in teh places you can't get to and it'll be a problem. You can get vac's with different size end's or you can just use a straight piece of tube, they'll all work but at different strength's and speed's, just personal preference what you use. but yes you need to do all of your tank, only exception is if you've live plants, then right around the roots you can leave as they will use the fertilisation from the waste, just that's just right around the base of the plant.

yes small fish can occasionally get sucked up by a gravel vec, you do need to be careful but just watch them and they'll be fine.

 

[blue acara]

i gravel vac everytime i do a water change-1 time a week. usually when vac i just vac the gravel that is without ornaments on it(bogwood, rocks). but once a month i move the rocks, wood and vac there. my thinking is that if youre moving stuff around too much it will stress the fish alot-so once a month seems a good balance

like miss wiggle said plants can use some of the waste, and vacing there would distirb there roots

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i gravel vac everytime i do a water change-1 time a week. usually when vac i just vac the gravel that is without ornaments on it(bogwood, rocks). but once a month i move the rocks, wood and vac there. my thinking is that if youre moving stuff around too much it will stress the fish alot-so once a month seems a good balance

like miss wiggle said plants can use some of the waste, and vacing there would distirb there roots

depends what your stocking's like I guess, in an overstocked tank you need to be more thorough so move the rocks etc every time, if your really lightly stocked you could probably get away with less.

Bottom line is you have to find the right balance depending on your tank, equipment, fish and maintenance routine. But don't leave it altogether!!

 

[Tuppers]

hi was wondering if you have a heavily planted tank how do you vac without damaging the plants?

Cheers

 

[Richie Hell]

Cheers for the help.

Fish should be ok - will keep an eye out cos I feel like my Betta will try and swim up the pipe! Daft sod that he is.

Is it strong enough to suck up snails, dead or alive?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Cheers for the help.

Fish should be ok - will keep an eye out cos I feel like my Betta will try and swim up the pipe! Daft sod that he is.

Is it strong enough to suck up snails, dead or alive?

Yes, and this is annoying as it blocks the pipe . I have also sucked up fry on numerous occasions- that's how I first discovered my portholes were breeding, found them in the bucket- and they have come to no harm, bigger fish are easier to keep away from it, but probably would be more easily hurt.

 

[puppyduck]

I imagine snails blocking the pipe would be annoying, but it's also a way I was thinking of getting rid of a few more snails who haven't wandered into my trap.

Thanks for the help, I'll try it later!

(PS, this is Richie Hell, on my girlfriends account)

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Richie Hell

If you have a gravel vac with a removable oval thing at the end, you can just take it off and throw it away. IMHO, the gravel vac works better with just the round tube. It's a lot easier to get into places with it that way.

In case you don't know this, you can increase or decrease the suction by lowering or raising the bucket it's emptying into. It's not a big difference, but if the flow is slow, and you can lower the bucket, you'll get more pulling power out of it.