Cleaning Gravel Surface?

[mattb22]

Ok so I have a small 2.4 uk gal nano tank that is also planted, just wondered if you guys know the best way I could clean the surface of my gravel of dead roots and foliage, because its a pain

thanks mattb22

 

[BigIan]

gravel vac when you do a water change gets rid of all the fish poop and dead leaves ect.

 

[mattb22]

gravel vac when you do a water change gets rid of all the fish poop and dead leaves ect.

Gravel vac??? arn't the tubes quite large on gravel vacs, I mean my tank is tiny.....

 

[BigIan]

they come in all shapes and sizes....

plus its good practice to gravel vac or you will get fish waste as well as other debris building up within your substrate that can cause al sorts of problems

 

[kpintheshed]

i found it hard to find a small one so at the end i had to buy i meduim ish size

 

[doresy]

Gravel vac??? arn't the tubes quite large on gravel vacs, I mean my tank is tiny.....
[/quote]


You could just try using the pipe if the tank is that small........sometimes the simple answer is in our own hands

 

[kpintheshed]

o my god i never thought of that

 

[doresy]

o my god i never thought of that

 

[kpintheshed]

u must be some kind of a genuis

 

[Sammie7]

You can use the big tube. All you have to do is keep your thumb over the airline tubing to regulate the flow. That way it won't come out so fast.

 

[DarkSoul]

Dont mean to hijack the thread, but is there anywhere that one could learn how to properly use a gravel vac.

I mean they are pretty straight forward, but how do you know if you are effectivly getting the gravel in the tube, and how do you clean the tank fast enough to not drain too much water, but still be able to give the gravel a good "vaccing"?

 

[zoekin8yg]

That was the problem we had, so we have an electric one that cycles the water back into the tank through a little filtery cloth thing, we use that first and then the normal one afterwards.

 

[zoekin8yg]

for the mini vac see Hagen Mini Gravel Cleaner or Hagen A-1060 Mini Easy Clean Gravel Cleaner on this page http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...el-cleaners.asp

 

[Torrean]

if you don't want to spend the money on a battery powered vac then you can try this. It's a bit of a pain but it works.

Use the gravel vac as normal but don't throw out the water. Put a paper towel or a wash cloth over a big jar. Put a rubber band around the lid or don't it's up to you. I don't use one but it's a bit tricky to make it work like that. now pour your water through the washcloth and into the jar. When the jar fills just put the water back in the tank. You could probably do this on a larger scale with 5 gallon buckets and towels but screw that...too much work.


Anyway that is not neccessary at all. When you gravel vac just do the tank in sections. week 1 do 1/2 or 1/3 of the tank week 2 self explanatory. as to the proper way to use a gravel vac...um start the siphon. Put the gravel vac in the gravel, lift it up and down until no more brown crud comes up. Move to another spot and repeat. You should be able to do 1/2 the tank with a 20% water change without much trouble. It might take a bit of practice but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Sand is the same just hover 1/2" above the sand and suck up the crud.

 

[Majjie]

If you're using very fine gravel and manual vacuuming - you may need to keep putting your finger (or thumb) over the end of the tube (in the bucket) to stop the flow and let the gravel settle back into the tank. The gunk tends to stay suspended. Otherwise you get gravel coming over into the bucket - and after a few years you'd end up with none left