Gravel Vacuum?

AmyStardust

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So I know I need to clean my gravel but I'm not entirely sure how to do it?? :blush:

I know I need a gravel vacuum - but the one's I've seen look almost indentical to the water syphon thingy I bought to drain water for my cycle?? :unsure:

Can someone explain how I go about cleaning the gravel, what to use and how often to do it please? ;)
 
The idea is to suck up the physical fish poo off the gravel. You can indeed use the thing you use to siphon and do it during a water change, just by putting one end of the tube into the gravel and watching all the dirt come up out of it and into the bucket.

Theres also battery and mains powered and also air powered versions that suck the water and crap up, catch the crap and put the water back into the tank, removing the need for a water change.

I personally do both. I have a small air pump powered vac for cleaning obvious bits and I give the gravel a good go over during every water change.
 
Sure! Your confusion comes because your "siphon thingy" is indeed probably your gravel cleaner!!!

There are technically 2 or 3 common types of gravel cleaners out there: Battery operated ones that you hold and they pump water up from the gravel and through a mesh bag to remove particles. Hand squeezed pumps that do exactly the same thing. These comprise 2 of the types...

BUT, by far the best method and the one we like all beginners to learn about as an important habit is the type that is indeed a SIPHON. The business end is usually a big clear plastic cylinder of more firm plastic than the flexible siphon hose. At water change time, you are going to jiggle this cylinder down in the gravel and the movement of water up through the siphon is going to cause the gravel the churn and swirl and that will allow the debris trapped in the gravel to float up with the outgoing water.

There are several methods to get the siphon going, but the oldest one in the hobby is just to let all the air out of your lungs and suck air in at the far end of the siphon hose away from the tank. The far end can be at a bucket below your tank, at your garden out back or at your bathtub or a sink. A new popular starting method is to have a valve that uses faucet pressure to create a vacuum in your siphon hose. The adapter that fits your faucet then does double duty, allowing you to run water directly back into your tank, even if it is far away, since you can buy most any lenth hose with these systems. Python is a popular brand of this. They make great stuff but are fairly expensive. As you know, any siphon works on the principle that the far end -must- be lower than the tank water!

The skill in a gravel clean is to refine how you get it all done in a short time. Its best to sponge/scrape all your interior glass first to loose any algae that might be starting. Some people like to also remove their decorations to a sink at this point for separate cleaning later. Then you start the siphon at the far end and go back to the tank. You need to work quickly as usually your time will be gone when you get to a 30 to 50% water change mark (if you have fish in the tank that is.) You work your way around as much gravel as you can, gently digging down deep in the gravel and churning it all up as much as possible. Its better to cover a large area in a shallow way first to get the worst of the debris. Don't worry about messing up your gravel layout, as you'll just have to fix all that back up with your hand after the gravel clean. Once your water level gets to the percentage change you planned, just pull the cylinder up and break the suction. That ends the gravel cleaning session. Leave the cylinder in the tank for the refill if you use a Python type device. Go to the sink and clean your ornaments with tap water and an old toothbrush if necessary. Go back to the tank and re-shape the gravel and re-place the ornaments and do any other things necessary, like getting plants re-situated with their crowns above the gravel.

Finally, do your refill procedure. If you use a long hose, just toss in half the proper amount of Prime, or whatever dechlor product you use and then refill with the faucet set to the right temperature (I use a big cup of tank water at the sink to feel with my hand and adjust the tap temperature before I hook up the hose.) Toss in the other half of dechlor at the end of the fill. Your refill procedure should always involve watching your tank very carefully -- you don't want to have an overflow disaster in your room. If you use buckets, you can use a plate down on the gravel to keep it from being disturbed. If you have sand then the gravel cleaning procedures are different in that you have to hover the cylinder up above the sand and not suck the sand itself into the siphon. When you're done, be sure to keep track of the water in your hose so it won't mess up your house. During all procedures with tanks, be extra careful not to start a "sloshing" motion as you don't want spillage, or even breakage.. usually they're pretty tough though, so don't be overly scared.

Whew, no idea what possessed me to type all that. :cool:

~~waterdrop~~
ps. Forgot to say the most important thing!! The reason siphon cleanings are superior is that water changing itself is such an important habit. Non siphon gravel cleaning is an invitation to not doing water changes and that's very, very bad for most beginners.
 
I do about the same process as WD outlined but when I use buckets to refill, I use the siphon to return the water to the tank. By sitting the bucket above the tank, I can return the water that I need to the tank and not need the plate. It prevents stirring up gravel and moving the decor because the flow is not fast enough to move the decorations or the gravel. Most of the gravel vacs that I have seen have a check valve built into the top of the cleaning tube. To start it flowing you just move the tube up and down quickly a few times and the check valve helps you fill the siphon tube. The siphon will start flowing without ever putting the siphon near your mouth. I find this important because I don't want the stuff in my tank to end up in my mouth. It also makes it easy to get the bucket of water going back into the tank, if the bucket depth is more than the length of the gravel vac.
 
Yes I have a valve that will start the suction automatically, I guess I'm just perverse, should have mentioned that option. Do you have some sort of portable stand for getting big buckets above display tanks in the house?

~~waterdrop~~
 
I usually just remove the hood and lay a board across the top. It gives me a place for the bucket to sit and is a spot that is always available on any tank I have. What I use for a board is a piece of prefinished shelving that I got from my local home improvement center. At 3 feet long, it can be used on any tank I have either side to side or front to back.
 
Thank you WD for your detailed explaination which I, as a beginner, find very useful. The only part that puzzles me is where you say that you add your x amount of dechlorinator to the tank before adding the new/fresh water.
I did hear that dechlorinator can kill your tank's bacterior and that it's better to have the water you are about to add already treated/dechlorinated. I know that sounds strange as you're still adding dechlorinater to the tank via the new water (if you do it that way) but doesn't the dechlorinator become 'safe' once it's done it's job?

If I sound confused it's because I am. :unsure:

PS I'm getting my wires totally crossed here. Its CHLORINE that killes the tank's bacterior and not DECHLORINATOR. :blush:
 
If I could delete my previous post I would. How embarrassing is that?


Lol - don't worry Hun - I'd rather people replied a lil' confused than not at all!! I'm still learning so I need all the help I can get! ;)
 
Yes, as later occurred to you, chlorine and chloramine are two of man's well-thought-out ways to "broad-spectrum" kill bacteria and as such, considered one of the most important tools of public health, lol. However, it could be that a sliver of your confusion came from something that I've mentioned in a few posts: that excess dechlor product is suspected (source: hovanec) to slow N-Bac growth and therefor should be used, ideally, only in amounts slightly over the recommended dosing if the N-Bac population is not felt to be fully mature.

~~waterdrop~~
 

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