Extra Suction Siphon

[CKutz]

Any ideas on how to get more suction out of a siphon...or how rather..how to suck up poop but not sand.

i have a sand substrate, i'm new to it and noticing sucking up poop isn't working very well, it takes more sand than poop.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Increasing the diameter of the tube is going to allow the water to flow with a greater velocity.

Also, the lower the end of the siphon, (where the water is coming out) is from the tank, the faster the flow of water is going to be.

It is inevitable to not suck up sand when doing gravel vacs.

I suck up sand every time.

You want to hover the end of the siphon about one CM above the substrate.

Also, have you had a look at pythons?

These have more 'suction' power than out siphons do.

-FHM

 

[Colin_T]

a taller gravel cleaner will allow the sand more time to sink rather than get sucked up. Also if you use a thinner syphon hose, the water will drain a bit slower and this will reduce the amount of sand getting sucked out.

 

[GlidergirlUK]

I swirl my siphon round so to create a small tornado effect and this lifts the gunk off the sand...but I still get a tiny bit of sand.

 

[CKutz]

i do try and keep it just high enough that it doesn't suck up sand, but low enough that it sucks up waste..but it never works. see the reason i'm looking for something more powerful or something, is because once it does suck up poop, it just swirls around in the tube a bit, then drops back down.

so fhm,
you think using a bigger diameter tube, on the "vaccuming" side would make it have more pull? cause i was thinking it would actually give it less pull because there is much more water, trying to go into the smaller tube. i'm not sure though...i'm trying to just figure it out by logic..i don't really have and knowledge of fluid dynamics haha

i don't think the python would work for me, the nearest faucet is pretty far away.

colin t,
i think if the vaccum part is taller, the poop will also have more time to fall..maybe if i shorten it, it will suck up more poop.

i don't mind a little sand...but the problem is that my poop to sand ratio is favoring the sand by a lot it seems, cause i see the sand get sucked up, but the poop always falls back down. maybe i just need to work on my swirl technique as glider girl said. i'm considering just making my own siphon thing..if someone had ideas like "use a fatter tube, and a skinnier vaccum tube" or something

thanks for the replies guys

 

[Colin_T]

you can make a gravel cleaner out of a plastic cool drink bottle. I use a 2litre bottle for most tanks but a 1.25litre bottle will probably be a bit better for sand. Just cut the bottom off the bottle and then stick a hose over the top/ outlet. You should get a strong enough current to remove the gunk and hopefully not suck out all the sand in the process.
If you get a lot of sand with the 1.25litre bottle then try a 1.5 or a 2litre bottle on the same hose.

 

[CKutz]

do you think i could just go to lowes (a hardware/home improvement store) and find some of that tubing that they use? cause i'm betting it would be much cheaper than using anything from a lfs

 

[Colin_T]

I use the clear plastic tubing/ hose from the local hardware. It works great and is a lot cheaper than the petshop. I normally use a hose that fits over the outlet at the top of the bottle. Then I buy 20meters of the hose and run it straight out the door.
It works great because you can drain the tank water straight outdoors onto the garden. Then refill the tank and it's all done for another week.

You can use any size tubing. My friend used his garden hose, other people I know use various different hoses to drain their tanks. Just pick a hose that works for you and use that. I used black irrigation tubing at one stage. It cost about $5 for a 30meter roll. It was cheap and worked well, albeit a bit slower than the bigger diameter clear hose I now use.

 

[fatheadminnow]

do you think i could just go to lowes (a hardware/home improvement store) and find some of that tubing that they use? cause i'm betting it would be much cheaper than using anything from a lfs

Yeah for sure, those types of stores will have plenty of different types of tubing options available.

For the bigger diameter tube, I am like 95% sure it will work better by creating a lower pressure in the tube in relation to the pressure in the tank, which in conclusion will create a better suction power.

If the tube is bigger, you are going to move more water, but you are going to do so in the SAME amount of time as before, which will create a lower pressure and more suction.

Think of a wing of a plane and how it gets lift. If you look at the wing of the plane from the tip to the fuselage, you will see that the wing has a flat/flatter bottom, where as the top of the wing has a "Upside down" 'U' shape.

Well, when wind passes over the wing on the plane, the air travels on the bottom and over the top, however, air on the top has to travel over the wing at the same rate of time the wind travels over the bottom.

Since the top of the wing is curved, and being curved, the wind has to travel further than the wind does on the bottom of the wind where the surface is flat.

This means that the wind traveling over the top of the wing has to travel faster to make up the lost time for the wind that is traveling on the bottom of the wing.

This faster wind movement, since it is traveling over the wing in the same time the wind travels over the bottom of the wing, creates a low pressure, just like your siphon will.

This low pressure on the wing creates lift for the air craft, it is how the aircraft flies, but in your case, the low pressure is going to create a greater suction to suck up the poo.

This is why i believe a bigger diameter tube is going to create a higher suction.

Hope you follow all of this.

-FHM

 

[Murphee]

I swirl my siphon round so to create a small tornado effect and this lifts the gunk off the sand...but I still get a tiny bit of sand.

x2

I use this method and it workes reallly well for me, also you should hang the syphon hose out the window of down the toilet to get mnore suction

I also suck some sand up when doing so, but nothing to much. It is pretty much impossible not too get any sand sucked up.

 

[CKutz]

thanks a lot for the replies guys.

yea i think i follow you FHM, i think i'm gonna try that. the problem with it is that it will move more water, faster, so i won't have as much time to vac..but i guess if i do a better job vaccing, then i guess it pays off.