gravel cleaner w/more suction?

[etspam]

Hi all-

I have a standard gravel cleaner w/pump to get it started. The suction opening is about 2", and the tube itself is 1/2" or so. It works fine, but I'm trying to get a little more suction power, in order to suck up the plethora of snails that are everywhere in the tank. I see them getting into the water column, but most are too heavy to really be sucked all the way up/out. Ideally, the suction opening should be smaller (I think, haven't done fluid dynamics since college) to get stronger suction with the same flow going out. However, looking through pet stores & online, this seems to be the typical sizing for gravel cleaners. If it's smaller, then the tubing itself is also smaller, so I don't think the suction power would be dramatically different. Anyone have any suggestions on a gravel cleaner that might do what I want?

ET

 

[OrionGirl]

No...If it pulls snails out, it's likely going to also pull gravel. Best bet for mass snail removal is to bait a jar with lettuce, lay it on the bottom on it's side, pull it out each morning and manually remove the snails. However, keep in mind that snail populations only grow to the size of the food, so removing them will only be a temporary fix. Cutting back feeding and cleaning more often will have to be part of your long term solution.

 

[cyberbeer65]

Invest in a Python!

 

[FreshyFresh]

What size tank are we trying to gravel vac? Is it high off the ground?

My older Aqueon brand gravel vac is fairly large and moves a lot of water. The clear plastic tube is ~16" long and the clear vinyl hose is 5/8" ID. It's the type with a check valve in it, where you jiggle it to get the siphon going.

Anyway.. I route the vac hose straight down into a big plastic storage tote that I keep a utility pump in with a garden hose attached. I pump the tote out the door and onto my lawn.

 

[fishorama]

The deeper the distance from the gravel to the bottom of the removal bucket, the better suction you'll get...so if your tank bottom is a "standard" 30 inch stand height a larger vac head with tubing that is larger in diameter than snails will help remove more snails...in theory.

If your gravel is larger & heavier than the snails it doesn't matter as much as long as your tank is high enough from the floor & tubing greater than snail diameter. Low tanks are very hard to vacuum effectively for detritus let alone snails or even their empty shells. Small sand-like substrate will be more easily vacuumed out than snails or their empty shells, it's a matter of weight...a PITA

This is why I hate low tanks!! Small vac head & small tubing cannot remove snails or even empty shells.

I agree the bait & remove technique, If done often, is more effective than just trying to vacuum out snails. There's also the smush snail shells & vacuum out the pieces...but be careful, dead animals that aren't removed can cause ammonia spike. Ramshorn, & the less cute pond snails, can be easily crushed; but MTS are too hard & their shells heavier.

Less food is always a good way to reduce snails of all kinds.

 

[dougall]

You can always use a powered gravel vacuum that will recirculate the filtered water back to the tank.

Either just buy one, or attach the vac hose to the intake on your filter

 

[FreshyFresh]

The deeper the distance from the gravel to the bottom of the removal bucket, the better suction you'll get...

This is why I hate low tanks!! Small vac head & small tubing cannot remove snails or even empty shells.

Very true on the low tank position thing.

On my Titan Eze double stand, my goldfish 55g is on the bottom, which is basically floor level. For that, like you say, all you can really do is remove water with gravel vac hoses. I use two of those super cheap eBay squeeze bulb siphon vacs on the bottom tank and route them into the tote described above. As long as you keep the water level in the tote, lower than the tank, it siphons out great, just not enough for any real suction power to the substrate. It's not really an issue for this tank though, because my goldies are constantly sifting through the gravel, which breaks up the debris, allowing it to get sucked into the filter. A super thick layer of substrate would be an issue, but a thinner layer works out well for my particular setup.

 

[dougall]

Every time you say Titan eze, I think you are advertising condoms.

But even at ground level, if you run the vac through a sponge and a pump it should just be fine

 

[FreshyFresh]

More of a Pygmy Eze here Doug, but one can dream..

Thank you for noticing none the less.