I did a search on here and also on the web and I couldn't find any info in cleaning the black grime that grows in gravel vacuums. What do you do?
Cleaning a gravel vacuum
- Thread starter Ratlova30
- Start date
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
i haven't had any issue with any grime growing in my gravel vac. what i do after each and every use is take it completely apart and run super hot tapwater through everything. after running water through the hose i blow through it really hard to clear out most of the remaining water. been using the same vac for well over a year, and on multiple tanks.
you could try soaking it in a bleach solution (same as you might use for disinfecting tanks, etc) and then rinsing it really well and then soaking it in water that has a dechlor overdose in it. got a long hose brush? when soaking in the bleach solution, run the hose brush through it vigorously.
you could try soaking it in a bleach solution (same as you might use for disinfecting tanks, etc) and then rinsing it really well and then soaking it in water that has a dechlor overdose in it. got a long hose brush? when soaking in the bleach solution, run the hose brush through it vigorously.
the vacuum part on mine never has problems I do get stuff growing in the tube but I never worry about it.
That's what I meant is the tube part, the plastic cylinder part never grows the black grime. I've got like 10 gravel vacuums( they come with used setups) and a lot of them have the black grime in the tube which I'd like to clean out. I'll try the bleach thing but the tubes would be too long to run a brush into them, especially the python.
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
CWO4GUNNER
USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
I had the same problem until I figured out a little trick. Its best to start out with a clean unstained hose or one that you took the time to clean with a pipe-cleaner and a long wire to feed through the hose, something I used to do but got sick and tired of looking at it and cleaning it. That is when I suddenly had a slight revaluation on how to prevent the problem to start with, here's how:
After finished using a nice clean unstained hose to do a water change, make sure your hot water side on your faucet is hot at least 110F but no hotter then 120F. Then before sucking all the water out of your hose to put it away, place the end of the hose in the bathtub and run hot water through it just enough that it reaches the end pushing all the tank water out and cooking all the bacteria. The shut off the hot water and turn the python in reverse with cold water to suck out all the hot water. DO NOT run cold water through the hose before storing and repeat at the end of water change. You'll never have a discolored or germ funky hose again. I do it to all my garden hoses I use on my aquarium as well.
After finished using a nice clean unstained hose to do a water change, make sure your hot water side on your faucet is hot at least 110F but no hotter then 120F. Then before sucking all the water out of your hose to put it away, place the end of the hose in the bathtub and run hot water through it just enough that it reaches the end pushing all the tank water out and cooking all the bacteria. The shut off the hot water and turn the python in reverse with cold water to suck out all the hot water. DO NOT run cold water through the hose before storing and repeat at the end of water change. You'll never have a discolored or germ funky hose again. I do it to all my garden hoses I use on my aquarium as well.
I had a badly stained one and I found replacement hosing for the vac in Home Depot. Just take your hose off the siphon, or cut a small piece and take it with you to match it up to the size you need for replacement. And don't forget to measure what length you want too.
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
i did the same when i wanted a longer hose for my gravel vac so that it could reach the sink or the patio drain (getting sick of hauling buckets, lol). the hose i found was clear and had an inner diameter that was just a smidgen smaller than the original gravel vac hose. and boy, did that smidgen of diameter difference make all the difference in the amount of flow through the vac! and the home depot hose kinks so dang much..... grrrrr......
trick is to take the top piece of your gravel vac (you know, the end piece for the plastic cylinder) so that you ensure you get the correct inner diameter of hose to fit. eyeballing hose sizes can be tricky.......
trick is to take the top piece of your gravel vac (you know, the end piece for the plastic cylinder) so that you ensure you get the correct inner diameter of hose to fit. eyeballing hose sizes can be tricky.......
They sell hose brushes - a coil of plastic line or metal and a brush attached. I got a small one for my Zoomed 501 canisters, but haven't made the leap to actually use it yet... I'm sure you could diy one with a perhaps wire or a weighted line & a bunch of pot scrubber netting.
