cleaning my gravel

[offutt_chris]

hey all, just woundering how i would go about cleaning my gravel. i know i could vacuum it, but im in college so that would be kinda hard.

 

[clutterydrawer]

i dont get why it'll be harder cos youre at college...you siphon out water anyway, right? just vac the gravel at the same time...

 

[offutt_chris]

yea but dont you have to hook one end of the hose up to a sink? and i usually just do a 25% water change everyday, and my nitrate, nitrite, pH and alkalinty are all high. but hopefully they will go down soon

 

[Inchworm]

Hi offutt_chris

I think you might be thinking of a python, which is a big heavy duty thing for vacuuming and changing water. You don't need anything like that. I recommend a simple Gravel Vac, which is what I have been using for years. Here's a picture of it:

http/www.petmeister.com/item879.htm

This is just a plastic tube with a larger, hard plastic tube on the end. The big end has a piece on the bottom that flares out. (I took this part off mine years ago and tossed it out.) Do not spend a lot of money or get anything fancy, unless you want to, since this simple little gadget works just fine.

A siphon works on gravity, and once you get it started, the amount of suction can be regulated by the height of the pail you are draining the water into. Please get one of these and let me know how you like it.

 

[offutt_chris]

i picked one of the gravel vacs up from wal-mart, and it works really well. thanks for all the help