Gravel Cleaners

[cramman]

Hi.

This is my first tank, only a small one, 12" deep and 14" wide.

Whilst I am doing my fishless cycle I'm just researching what I need.

So, gravel cleaners; What do I want?
A mains powered one, a battery one or a syphon type.

I like the idea of a syphon type and I was just wondering what other people thought.

Any experiences etc.

Cheers.

 

[Forestpisces]

Good old siphon tube with a wide end (pets@home £3.95)

Simple easy and works a treat on sand and gravel.

 

[Harlequins]

I agree with a siphon tube with wide end also,very quick at removing water from the tank,my old one (the smaller siphon),sometimes they don't play ball and end up sucking the tube and making sure you remove it from mouth very quickly or else you might get a mouthful of fishy water, or easiest if it doesn't start is to pour some water down the tube,keep the bucket low down but they usually start after a few pumps in the water.

 

[cramman]

Sounds good to me, the cheapest option.

Cheers.

 

[sara19]

I got a really cheap gravel cleaner from ebay, i dont fancy a mouthful of fishy water thank you.
Its one with a little pump you squeeze a few times and the water flies right out of it, think it was only 4pounds!
Nothing to leave a bad taste in your mouth after that haha!
PLUS - it has small holes, big enough for crap to fly up but not big enough for a neon to get suctioned through haha

 

[Johng89]

Sara
i have the same one as you have just bought and i dont rate it as its doesnt get all the crap out the gravel
I would go with the wide one previously mentioned
I also have a battery cleaner and use this when doing water changes etc as it helps clean the crap out the water when its all floating around and is handy for a quick tidy up between water changes

J

 

[Tropical_Fish]

I've got a p@h one - I've only used it once so far and have nothing to compare to but... it's a bit rubbish! It leaks around the top so lets air in. going to have to try sealing it up with silicone but not impressed with the quality of it.

 

[Marve99]

I've got a p@h one - I've only used it once so far and have nothing to compare to but... it's a bit rubbish! It leaks around the top so lets air in. going to have to try sealing it up with silicone but not impressed with the quality of it.

Got the same one, looks decent enough, but on 2nd/3rd use, it too allows air in and needs to be sealed

 

[keenonfish]

I got a really cheap gravel cleaner from ebay, i dont fancy a mouthful of fishy water thank you.

Simple answer to that is fill the tube at least 2/3 with water then hang over the side and it will start flowing automatically. I think pump siphons are only a gimmick and not as effective as a straight piece of pipe!

 

[SimoUK]

haha, i suck the end of mine too to get it going, the way i see it, if your happy enough to let your fish to swim in it, then it should be clean enough for you to drink

 

[Rooster]

I Use a simple tube - bit of hosepipe with a 15 inch rigid clear tube wedged in the end.... Ive tried all the gadget "cleaners" and always come back to this.

To use, I fill the pipe at the tap !

 

[OldMan47]

A siphon is far better than the pumped type, whether battery or mains powered. The main advantage of the siphon is that it removes water along with the nastiness coming out of the gravel. If that water is put back into the tank, the decaying microscopic materials that came from the gravel will be in the water column where they can decay further and give a nice ammonia spike for a day or two. A commercial siphon has a check valve at the top of the wide tube that makes it easy to prime by either moving the tube up and down quickly or submerging part of the hose in the tank then lifting the full part of the tube over the side of the tank. This means you can use your mouth for kissing babies instead of sucking on the end of a nasty gravel vac.

 

[waterdrop]

A siphon is far better than the pumped type, whether battery or mains powered. The main advantage of the siphon is that it removes water along with the nastiness coming out of the gravel. If that water is put back into the tank, the decaying microscopic materials that came from the gravel will be in the water column where they can decay further and give a nice ammonia spike for a day or two. A commercial siphon has a check valve at the top of the wide tube that makes it easy to prime by either moving the tube up and down quickly or submerging part of the hose in the tank then lifting the full part of the tube over the side of the tank. This means you can use your mouth for kissing babies instead of sucking on the end of a nasty gravel vac.

As the years go by and chat about all the stuff in our water that we can't see, don't you wonder sometimes, OM, what a full super-detailed analysis of old water would reveal? Even find myself wondering sometimes whether there are some limnologists out there who have printouts of that sort of stuff sitting right out there online somewhere that I could even find and be looking at. I mean, wouldn't be be fascinating to see the rising of all the trace metals and an analysis of which organic molecules were in abundance and how they changed over time?

 

[OldMan47]

You could catch an eye opening look with a kid's microscope, like I did as a kid. I don't put my mouth on a siphon.

 

[cramman]

Thanks for all the comment. Just ordered a simple syphon jobbie off ebay.

Cheers.