gravel cleaning

[madroosta]

ok guys n gals, how do you get that **** cyphon thing to work when cleaning the gravel, the one with the plastic tubing connecting to the plastic cylinder????

[kraemerwa2003]

put your finger over the tube side. fill the head with water, let it run through the tubing. make sure you have a bucket at the same level as the bottom of your tank, or else you will have major problems. As you are letting go of the free end, put the head into your water.

[CaptnDan]

Have a bucket ready. Submerge the whole thing under the water. Make sure the water fills the entire length of the hose. While the end of the hose is under water, seal the end with your thumb and lift it out of the tank and aim it at the bucket. Remove your thumb from the end. As long as the end of the hose is lower than the tank, water will start to flow.

[Bitsy]

Or you can just suck on it for a second to get the suction going! :p: If this is your plan of attack I would recommend being as quick as possible! Good luck! ;)

[madroosta]

put your finger over the tube side. fill the head with water, let it run through the tubing. make sure you have a bucket at the same level as the bottom of your tank, or else you will have major problems. As you are letting go of the free end, put the head into your water.

apologies, i know how to cyphonw with my cyphoning tube its actually the gravel cleaning i'm having probs with.
thank you tho.

[kraemerwa2003]

no problem, I scoop up my gravel and then let it fall out. As it's falling out, everything bad goes up into the tubing...works pretty well for me...hmmm...now that I think of it, I'm due for a gravel cleaning on my 10 gallon today...

[madroosta]

no problem, I scoop up my gravel and then let it fall out. As it's falling out, everything bad goes up into the tubing...works pretty well for me...hmmm...now that I think of it, I'm due for a gravel cleaning on my 10 gallon today...

how often do you gravel clean?

[kraemerwa2003]

I try to do it once a week, or once every two weeks, but I do water changes in between. Normally, gravel vac comes when I have time to do it...

[madroosta]

I try to do it once a week, or once every two weeks, but I do water changes in between. Normally, gravel vac comes when I have time to do it...

ok thank you

[kraemerwa2003]

no problem, that's what this forum is for.

[sarcare]

Though you really ought to do as many gravel cleanings as you need--certain species require more cleaning because they produce more waste, and if you overfeed you need to vaccum out the gravel even more often. Rather then just saying "vac the gravel every other week" it is better to do it as need be--whether twice a day, twice a week, or twice a month. That is the same thing with water changes.

[CaptnDan]

how often do you gravel clean?I use my gravel vac to siphoin the water out of the tank for water changes. I do half of the tank each water change. So I guess the straight answer is, 1/2 per week.

[madroosta]

Though you really ought to do as many gravel cleanings as you need--certain species require more cleaning because they produce more waste, and if you overfeed you need to vaccum out the gravel even more often. Rather then just saying "vac the gravel every other week" it is better to do it as need be--whether twice a day, twice a week, or twice a month. That is the same thing with water changes.

ok great many thanks,
should the bottom look almost pristine most of the time? ie. if theres fish poop on the bed regularly due to a few fish in the tank?
can you do a gravel clean and then put back in the water you have just cyphoned at all once you have finished rather than replacing with new if it does not need it?

[CaptnDan]

can you do a gravel clean and then put back in the water you have just cyphoned at all once you have finished rather than replacing with new if it does not need it?

I wouldn't. Well, actually, I can't, because I use a Python, so it all goes right down the drain.

The water you vac out will be filthy. You can't really re-use it unless you did a lot of cleanup on it.

[madroosta]

I wouldn't. Well, actually, I can't, because I use a Python, so it all goes right down the drain.

The water you vac out will be filthy. You can't really re-use it unless you did a lot of cleanup on it.
sorry what i meant was if i filtered it so that the water was clean, is that better than fresh (treated of course and not just tap water)

[CaptnDan]

sorry what i meant was if i filtered it so that the water was clean, is that better than fresh (treated of course and not just tap water)

No. Clean water is always better.


.

[madroosta]

oh ok, well thats the new best info i have heard today thanks.

[CaptnDan]

I realized after I sent it that it was a bit vague... You said you wanted to filter it so it was clean, and I said no, that clean was better... oops.

What I meant, of course, is that fresh/new is better. It may look clean, but it won't be clean.

You could actually drip it through a paper coffee filter into a glass and it may look clean, but would you drink it? LOL!

I saw a setup on one of the forums where a guy has his tank set up to slowly do water changing 24/7. So I guess you could say that you just can't do too many water changes. (Cool setup too... wish I could remember where I saw it)

[madroosta]

24/7 water change??? blimey, pretty good!! I bet the parameters are a bit up n down tho if you get complacent...

[madroosta]

also i did a water change on friday so that was why i was asking about replacing the water with filtered water from tank as i was unsure if it was too soon to do another water change.

[CaptnDan]

24/7 water change??? blimey, pretty good!! I bet the parameters are a bit up n down tho if you get complacent...Actually he says it remain pretty constant. He's dripping the water in at the rate of about a gallon an hour, so he's changing 24 gallons a day, give or take.

The more I think about it, the more I want a setup like that. I think I will incorporate it into the design of my built-in tank when I do the plumbing for it.

[CaptnDan]

also i did a water change on friday so that was why i was asking about replacing the water with filtered water from tank as i was unsure if it was too soon to do another water change.

Most people do water changes based on when they have to do it to control Nitrates. If you had the time, you could do more frequent changes with no harm.

[fishn10s]

sorry what i meant was if i filtered it so that the water was clean, is that better than fresh (treated of course and not just tap water)

When you are siphoning water out and vacuming the gravel, you are removing the large particles of waste and uneaten food in your gravel that will eventually break down and create more biological load on your tank. One of the main reasons that you are doing water changes is to reduce the concentration of nitrates which simply put are the end product of the biological process. The nitrates continue to increase in concentration in your water. Higher levels of nitrates is not harmful to your fish but will cause algae to grow in the tank. So to answer your question, to return the filtered tank water back into your tank would not reduce the nitrates in your tank. Replacing the siphoned water with fresh treated water is unquestionally the best thing to do for you tank! ;)

[madroosta]

thank you all for your help.