SIPHONE

[akhtar]

my LFS only have siphone for large tanks, and i have 4 3g tanks, the siphone isnt an ordinary like one, it has a pump sort of thing i cant be botherd explaining what they have but it would be to big for my tank, so...

can i keep the tank without a siphone? i cant buy off the net not allowed coz im 13... and my parents dont giv a damN bout fish, so ill have to live without one. the LFS lady says to stir the gravel up and my filters (IPF minis) will clean it all up>?

please reply

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

yeah sure the fish will eat their own poop, right.
just get a long piece of clear plastic hosing (either Long enough to reach your sink, or long enough to reach a bucket) and siphon the water out (you should try buying a small strainer to make sure no fish are sucked up). even though gravel vacuums make it a lot easier, if you really can't get one you can stir up the gavel and suck it up with the siphon.

 

[Tolak]

The problem with plain hose is that it will suck your gravel out of the tank along with the debris on the bottom. This is great if you want to change your gravel, but I dont think this is what you are looking to do. If you punch some holes about 2 inches up from the bottom of the hose this will reduce suction at the bottom, leaving your gravel in the tank while sucking the "gunk" out. Just remember to put the end with the extra holes in the tank, and clean away.

Tolak

 

[akhtar]

where can i get this pipe?

 

[Tolak]

Any home improvment store should carry clear plastic hose. Mine has a bunch of different diameters that they will cut to any length you want.

Tolak

 

[NeilP]

A friend of mine made her own siphon from a used plastic drinks bottle and a length of pipe like has been mentioned here - worked a treat.

They trick in not sucking all your gravel up as it is getting all the poop is to keep your finger over the pipe in the bucket, and if the gravel starts getting into the pipe bit, put your finger over the pipe to stop the flow, the gravel will sink back to the floor, and then off you go again.

 

[De Plano]

Tell the lady at the LFS that you want a siphon of the appropriate size. She can order it for you. You might have to pay for it first, but you would be able to get one. It is not a good sign that she did not offer to order it for you. Go on-line and look for what you want. You could always give the money to a friends parents to order on-line, or tell the lady at the fish store that you want a certan model. That way she is not guessing what you mean. She might not get it for you, but no harm in asking.

You could get one that is for a bigger tank but it would empty the tank in a short time. I have not done anything like this, but if the holes don't work you could attach a filter filter (the things that go on the end of an uptake tube for a filter) and figure out a way to attach that to the end of the hose. That would help keep the gravel out. Maybe buy one of the uptake gravel filters and then match the hose to that size. I am not sure if it would work, this is just off the top of my head

Oh and do not go into a LFS and say you want a filter filter