Many years ago when people kept fish, gravel cleaners didn't exist. So every week or month or whenever, we would drain the tank/s, take the fish, gravel and everything out of the tank and wash it under the tap. The aquarium was carried outside and hosed out. In Perth were we live, this occurred right through the 1970s, 80s, and even into the early 90s. People would empty their aquarium and carry it outside to clean, then bring it in and set it back up.
I started working in the pet industry in the 80s and at least once a month we would have a customer come in to buy a new aquarium because they had broken theirs cleaning it outside. We sold a lot of aquariums because of this. Cleaning the aquarium was a risky business and lots of people, including myself, broke their aquarium/s when we were trying to clean them.
When I started working in the pet industry, the shop had holes drilled in the bottom of each tank and pvc pipe fitted to the holes. There was a screw in plug that went into the top of the pvc pipe to stop water draining out of the aquarium. Each week we would catch the remaining fish out and put them in a bucket with some of the old tank water. Then move the gravel away from the plug and undo the plug. The water would drain out the pipe and go off onto the carpark out the back of the shop. When the water had drained out, we put the plug back in and used a garden hose to wash the inside of the aquarium and wash the gravel out. We also squeezed out the sponge filters in the tap water to make them clean. We would partially fill the tank and then drain it and then refill and drain again. This was repeated until the gravel was clean. Then the plug was put back in and the aquarium was filled with tapwater. We added a couple of tablespoons of blue salt, which we were told was a water conditioner but turned out to be sodium chloride (common salt) that was dyed with Methylene Blue. It did nothing to remove chlorine or condition the water. The filter was connected back up (air operated sponge filter) and the fish put back in the tank. Back at this stage in the shop when I first started, we used to lose about 75% of the fish that came in. They would die from ammonia poisoning due to us washing the filter and tank in tap water every week.
A few weeks after I started working in the shop I was cleaning the shelves and putting stock away. I came across these 2 weird looking hose things that were at the back of the shelf covered in dust. I cleaned them up and asked the boss what they were. She said they are gravel cleaners. I asked how to use them and she showed me. I said why aren't we using them here. She didn't like them and said they were useless. I asked if we could use one in the shop and she yeah.
I started using the gravel cleaner in the shop and within half an hour a customer saw me using it and asked what it was. I told them and they went "wow, what a great idea". We had a chat and I showed them how to use it and they bought the one on the shelf, which had apparently been sitting there for years. The customer had come in to buy some more plants to put in their tank they had just cleaned out. They had a 4 foot tank and spent the weekend cleaning it by taking everything out and washing it and setting it back up. They never had to do that again. I even used to wash my tanks out each month as did my friends who kept fish. It was a monthly chore and it sucked and it was dangerous handling wet glass, especially in winter when it actually used to rain here.
Anyway, I told the boss I sold the gravel cleaner and we needed a couple more. Over the next week before the new gravel cleaners came in, I showed a number of people how to use the gravel cleaner. They all wanted one and I wanted one to use at home on my tanks. The new gravel cleaners came in and these customers were waiting for them when they arrived. They didn't even get put on the shelf. We sold all of them straight away. The boss went out and picked up another 6 or so and brought them back. They sold within a few days. I told the boss to buy a lot more and she got about 20 of them and they sold within a week. From then on we were selling hundreds every week. Every person that had an aquarium wanted a gravel cleaner. I was demonstrating how to use them every few hours and customers would be standing around watching as I sucked the gunk out of the gravel while the tank and everything else stayed put. Virtually every customer that saw it, bought one.
People were wrapped at the idea of not having to empty the tank, lug everything outside to clean and then set it all back up again. They were grateful too because they weren't going to break their aquarium carrying it outside to clean. The gravel cleaners changed people's lives and literally changed the way people kept fish. Instead of washing everything out once every month or whenever, people started doing partial water changes every week and they could clean the gravel at the same time. This meant the fish weren't stressed out by being removed from the tank and put in buckets for hours while their tank was cleaned. It took a lot less time to do, and filters had a chance to develop and remain alive as biological filters.
Your dad is in the old school of fish keeping and probably kept fish around this time so he might not know about gravel cleaners. I didn't even know about them until I was cleaning the dust off them at the pet shop. But I can assure you, a gravel cleaner and a decent bucket are two of your best friends when it comes to looking after an aquarium. They make it so much easier to clean an aquarium. You turn the heater and power filter off (if they have one) and remove the coverglass. Start syphoning some water out and clean a section of gravel. When you have drained out 30, 50 or 75% of the tank water, you stop gravel cleaning and remove the gravel cleaner from the aquarium. Pour the bucket of dirty water on the lawn and refill the tank with dechlorinated water. Then turn the heater and filter back on and put the cover on. That's it, water change done for a week or two. If you only manage to gravel clean half the substrate during that water change, you do the other half the next time you do a water change.
Learn how to use the gravel cleaner and use it each week. Do a 30-50% water change and gravel clean some of the gravel. Then refill the tank. It is quick and easy to do once you have done it a few times. I used to do my entire fish room (40 tanks) in half a day using a home made gravel cleaner that was attached to a hose I ran out onto my lawn. I used to do 100 tanks in a day (with the same gravel cleaner) helping a friend maintain his fish room.
I started working in the pet industry in the 80s and at least once a month we would have a customer come in to buy a new aquarium because they had broken theirs cleaning it outside. We sold a lot of aquariums because of this. Cleaning the aquarium was a risky business and lots of people, including myself, broke their aquarium/s when we were trying to clean them.
When I started working in the pet industry, the shop had holes drilled in the bottom of each tank and pvc pipe fitted to the holes. There was a screw in plug that went into the top of the pvc pipe to stop water draining out of the aquarium. Each week we would catch the remaining fish out and put them in a bucket with some of the old tank water. Then move the gravel away from the plug and undo the plug. The water would drain out the pipe and go off onto the carpark out the back of the shop. When the water had drained out, we put the plug back in and used a garden hose to wash the inside of the aquarium and wash the gravel out. We also squeezed out the sponge filters in the tap water to make them clean. We would partially fill the tank and then drain it and then refill and drain again. This was repeated until the gravel was clean. Then the plug was put back in and the aquarium was filled with tapwater. We added a couple of tablespoons of blue salt, which we were told was a water conditioner but turned out to be sodium chloride (common salt) that was dyed with Methylene Blue. It did nothing to remove chlorine or condition the water. The filter was connected back up (air operated sponge filter) and the fish put back in the tank. Back at this stage in the shop when I first started, we used to lose about 75% of the fish that came in. They would die from ammonia poisoning due to us washing the filter and tank in tap water every week.
A few weeks after I started working in the shop I was cleaning the shelves and putting stock away. I came across these 2 weird looking hose things that were at the back of the shelf covered in dust. I cleaned them up and asked the boss what they were. She said they are gravel cleaners. I asked how to use them and she showed me. I said why aren't we using them here. She didn't like them and said they were useless. I asked if we could use one in the shop and she yeah.
I started using the gravel cleaner in the shop and within half an hour a customer saw me using it and asked what it was. I told them and they went "wow, what a great idea". We had a chat and I showed them how to use it and they bought the one on the shelf, which had apparently been sitting there for years. The customer had come in to buy some more plants to put in their tank they had just cleaned out. They had a 4 foot tank and spent the weekend cleaning it by taking everything out and washing it and setting it back up. They never had to do that again. I even used to wash my tanks out each month as did my friends who kept fish. It was a monthly chore and it sucked and it was dangerous handling wet glass, especially in winter when it actually used to rain here.
Anyway, I told the boss I sold the gravel cleaner and we needed a couple more. Over the next week before the new gravel cleaners came in, I showed a number of people how to use the gravel cleaner. They all wanted one and I wanted one to use at home on my tanks. The new gravel cleaners came in and these customers were waiting for them when they arrived. They didn't even get put on the shelf. We sold all of them straight away. The boss went out and picked up another 6 or so and brought them back. They sold within a few days. I told the boss to buy a lot more and she got about 20 of them and they sold within a week. From then on we were selling hundreds every week. Every person that had an aquarium wanted a gravel cleaner. I was demonstrating how to use them every few hours and customers would be standing around watching as I sucked the gunk out of the gravel while the tank and everything else stayed put. Virtually every customer that saw it, bought one.
People were wrapped at the idea of not having to empty the tank, lug everything outside to clean and then set it all back up again. They were grateful too because they weren't going to break their aquarium carrying it outside to clean. The gravel cleaners changed people's lives and literally changed the way people kept fish. Instead of washing everything out once every month or whenever, people started doing partial water changes every week and they could clean the gravel at the same time. This meant the fish weren't stressed out by being removed from the tank and put in buckets for hours while their tank was cleaned. It took a lot less time to do, and filters had a chance to develop and remain alive as biological filters.
Your dad is in the old school of fish keeping and probably kept fish around this time so he might not know about gravel cleaners. I didn't even know about them until I was cleaning the dust off them at the pet shop. But I can assure you, a gravel cleaner and a decent bucket are two of your best friends when it comes to looking after an aquarium. They make it so much easier to clean an aquarium. You turn the heater and power filter off (if they have one) and remove the coverglass. Start syphoning some water out and clean a section of gravel. When you have drained out 30, 50 or 75% of the tank water, you stop gravel cleaning and remove the gravel cleaner from the aquarium. Pour the bucket of dirty water on the lawn and refill the tank with dechlorinated water. Then turn the heater and filter back on and put the cover on. That's it, water change done for a week or two. If you only manage to gravel clean half the substrate during that water change, you do the other half the next time you do a water change.
Learn how to use the gravel cleaner and use it each week. Do a 30-50% water change and gravel clean some of the gravel. Then refill the tank. It is quick and easy to do once you have done it a few times. I used to do my entire fish room (40 tanks) in half a day using a home made gravel cleaner that was attached to a hose I ran out onto my lawn. I used to do 100 tanks in a day (with the same gravel cleaner) helping a friend maintain his fish room.
