Gravel vacuum for mini aquarium

[Aqua67]

I have a small aquarium, 9 inches square (23cm square) and I’m looking for an simple and easy way to keep the substrate clean. I’m aware that small tanks come with challenges like this and I’m looking for your tips and ideas. I’ve been searching online for mini aquarium vacuums and I’m not finding what I’m looking for.

What I’ve been using is a turkey baster for little nooks and crannies, but it will also suck up small substrate pebbles. I also have airline tubing which I’ve attached one end to a chopstick so I can direct the end exactly where I want it on the substrate. I just fill the airline tube with water at the sink and keeping my finger over one end of the tube, I put the end with the chopstick attached into the water and move it around to suck up debris. I really wish the vacuum end had the wide little duckbill type of end for vacuuming the gravel to cover a little more ground surface. What I’ve been using seems to be better at removing the water and not so great at removing the debris. I keep shrimp so I’m not as concerned with removing a lot of water (that can easily be done with the turkey baster, but more so I’m interested in cleaning out the debris. Both the ends of the airline tube and the turkey baster are very small, so it doesn’t cover much of the ground floor space.

Both of my tiny tanks (3 gallon and 5.5 gallon) are made by TopFin so you would think that same company would make a tiny gravel vacuum solution for those tanks of theirs. I know there are people here who don’t vacuum the gravel in their aquariums at all but I don’t want to see mulm accumulate at the bottom like it does in my little green water jars with amphipods and seed shrimp.

The 5.5 gallon stays pretty clean as the filter on that tank is rated for a tank twice the size and I can take the turkey baster and squirt water down into the gravel which stirs up debris and with the filter on high it all gets sucked to the sponge and after a few hours I can rinse the sponge and things are looking pretty good.

The 3 gallon tank has a very weak filter which is great for betta and shrimp, great for biological filtration but not as helpful at mechanical filtration due to the weak flow. Perhaps someone with a 3D printer could make me a little ”duck bill type“ end piece for the airline tubing that i use as my siphon hose?

Thanks for reading my post and thank you for your thoughts and ideas.

 

[GaryE]

I don't know how you'd make a gravel vac work in something that tiny.

I'd pour off into a bucket and put the captured gravel back in. Dump out through a net.

 

[Magnum Man]

I think your air line on a chop stick, is pretty smart... I would probably think something twice the diameter would work better, just pinching the line to slow the flow or drop sand back... but using what you have works for me...

 

[Uberhoust]

In my shrimp tank I do something similar to you. I put a 5 gallon bucket within reach of the tank and take a about 5' x 1/2" hose for the syphon. On The bucket side, after the syphon is started, I put my thumb over the outlet to control the flow, and use the 1/2 hose near the surface of the substrate. If I accidentally suck someone up I just put my thumb over the outlet completely, raise that end and let some water from the hose fall back in. I also like to use a white bucket so I can see if I vacuumed up any juvenile shrimp, I scope those back up using a brine shrimp net.

 

[Ram419]

This is the one I've been using on my small 3 gallon aquaruims. Works well! TERA PUMP Nano Aquarium Gravel/Sand Cleaner (BPA-Free/Safe for Small Aquarium Life) for Aquarums Under 10 Gallons

EDIT: A few tips if you go with this. The siphon can be hard to start again if you stopped it and there's water in the line/bucket. Simply empty the bucket/line and then try to start it again. If there's not enough water in the aquarium you'll also have a hard time starting the siphon. So if you still need to clean add some fresh water back then siphon again.

 

[Fishmanic]

I use this siphon for my 5 gallon aquarium. The tube is 5 inches long by 1 inch diameter. The only warning is that if gravel starts going up the tube, raise the tube to release gravel. It has a clip to hold tubing to a bucket.

Amazon.com

 

[Aqua67]

Thank you everyone for giving me ideas and suggesting various gravel vacuums. I’m going to stop by a couple of pet stores today and see what they’ve got off the shelf. I’m sure I could make $1 million if I could come up with a wonderful gravel vacuum for a mini aquarium. I appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you so much.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The smallest tank vac. I have is 12 inches long and 1 inch diameter. I mostly use the 12 inch version (I have both). I use them in big tanks because of two things. In planted tanks a nig vac often is too strong and most certainly too big for precision vacuuming between delicate plants/ I also use it in my sand bottom pleco breeding tanks. Here is it the ability to get it into small spaces between caves, rocks and wood.

However, I also have a custom mini-cav. I made myself for use in either tiny tanks of my hang-on-the=front of tanks traps that circulate tank water. These are 10.25"L x 5.5"W x 4.75"H.

I use an airline with a small diameter rigid plastic tube on the end. Here is an example of the rigid tubing. It fits into 3/16 ID airlines. This is much more easily controlled than just the airline on its own. I have a couple of these because they serve double duty. I shop fish and cannot master the grab the bag method of closing it filled with air. So, I hook one of my mini siphons to an airpimp and use it to inflate the bags and I can twist them closed.

The homemade mini-vac. is really only good on bare bottoms because most sand or small gravel tend to get stuck in the opening. But they would also do so in any normal tank vac, with and intake tube much below and inch.

Here is where I got the tubing https://kensfish.com/products/lees-3-16-od-rigid-airline-tubing?_pos=1&_sid=439d0a6f3&_ss=r

 

[Magnum Man]

Brilliant

 

[Back in the fold]

Maybe it’s time for the old fashioned dip tube to make a comeback .

 

[Aqua67]

I love how this hobby often requires one to get inventive. What an ingenious set up you have there @TwoTankAmin.

I am going an easy route at my first attempt and bought the little mini vac that @Fishmanic recommended. Again, thank you everyone.

 

[Fishmanic]

I usually suck on the end of the tubing to get the siphon started.
If gravel goes up more than half the 1 inch tube, lift up a few inchens and gravel will drop out. Don lift out of water or you will lose siphon.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Another way to make the gravel come back out is to pinch the hose. Slowing the flow lowers the suction and the gravel is once again subject to gravity.