Gravel Cleaners

[The Red Stripe Warrior]

Hi, My name is Nathan, Im from The Midlands In the UK and i need your Help!

I have a 3 foot Fish tank and have had it stocked for 2 months now

I clean my tank every 2 weeks etc , with a syphon tube, and i also clean my filter at least once a week

My problem is that my gravel gets very clogged up with waste etc etc and i want some kind of Electric/Battery Vacuam cleaner that cleans the Gravel without emptying the water, or do you not reccomend these

Can you please Reccomend some kind of Cleaner and anywhere i can get them from, Website etc

Thanks for your Help
Nath

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I don't know that you should be cleaning your filter that much. What sort of fish do you have and how many etc?

I clean my gravel with a syphon based gravel cleaner when I am doing a water change.

HTH

 

[Cian McLiam]

I have 4 types of gravel cleaners as I was having 'messy as hell' fish syndrome as well a while back. Two are your standard syphon types, and two battery powered types that filter the gravel without draining water.

The first is an Eheim Sludge Extractor that cost €115, so its not the cheapest option and I find the filtration medium (a net) isn't fine enough so I end up with a messy cloud. This could just be saw dust left over by my plecs as I have a lot of bogwood. Otherwise its great and doesnt annoy the fish too much.

The second is a 3 in 1 multi Vac that is also battery operated but has a little bag thing and a wiper for cleaning the glass. Unlike the Eheim, you can attatch a hose to it to syphon as well and I use it for pumping water back into the tank.
Its a cheapo job though and I have gone through 3 of them in the past 18 months, the Eheim is rock solid and will survive the second coming. It doesnt cause as much of a cloud though.

The old fashioned self-start syphons are still the best for deep cleaning IMO, but these two help me keep on top of the cleaning, especially around the plants.

Ken

 

[Shizat]

You shouldnt have to clean your gravel that much. Best thing to do is to limit the amount of food you are feeding your fish each day and also maybe pick up a couple small catfish. If you have to clean your gravel because it is disgusting then only clean the top 1/2 inch of gravel. I see too many people clean their gravel out all the way and then have all their fish die because they destroyed the bacteria.

 

[Changes-In-Latitude]

Perhaps an additional good filter such as an Ehiem or a HOB would help. As far as syphons go I can't say enough about the Pythons.

 

[nightlife20]

hi nath xxxx glad u could make it

 

[Cian McLiam]

You shouldnt have to clean your gravel that much. Best thing to do is to limit the amount of food you are feeding your fish each day and also maybe pick up a couple small catfish. If you have to clean your gravel because it is disgusting then only clean the top 1/2 inch of gravel. I see too many people clean their gravel out all the way and then have all their fish die because they destroyed the bacteria.

The problem with my tank was the catfish
I had a Gibbiceps plec that crapped for a world title and three other catfish that munch on algae mostly so limiting their food source is not so easy...

I have two power filters in there too so the bacteria in the gravel play very little part in keeping the tank healthy

How many people still use undergravel filters??

Ken

 

[nightlife20]

As far as syphons go I can't say enough about the Pythons

i shall be gettin one of these for my new tank

save my energy for work

 

[cutechic]

How many people still use undergravel filters??

I have one in a 1 gallon and one in the 10 gallon that is cycling. I hate them but I'm saving for a better filter. I think once I get the new filter I'll just leave the UG in because I heard they are a pain to take out because of all the gunk underneath.

 

[Changes-In-Latitude]

Excellent choise nightlife20

 

[The Red Stripe Warrior]

hi nath xxxx glad u could make it

haha Dawn, mad as, didnt even know you were on these forums, hi anyway

Well I have lot of Crap on top of my gravel thats my problems, ive got a handmade syphon which sort of does the job, but i want something more efficient!!!

Whats this Python thing, Anyone Hook me up with a link

 

[The Red Stripe Warrior]

and the contents of my tank, of which i can remember is

1 Pleco
3 Sucking loaches
2 Golden Gouramies
3 Blue Tetra's
3 Orange Tetras
2 Other Strange Tetra's
1 Male Siemiese Fighter
1 Whilte Molly
1 Common Molly
3 Zebra Danios
2 Swortails
2 Guppy's
2 Drawf Frogs