What A Silly Gravel Cleaner!

[Athena]

Hmmm - I'm not at all impressed with my recent purchase from my LFS.

I bought a gravel cleaner - sorry, can't remember the make of it off top of my head - but anyway, I was told it was easy to use, you just put it in the tank, shake it up and down a little and hey presto, the water begins siphoning out.

Ok easy peasy, I thought. So last night I thought I'd give it a try - and I tried...and I tried...and I tried...but I can't get no satisfaction!! (LOL, sorry bout that burst into song) - OMG do you think I could get the thing to work? I was shaking that blasted thing up and down so much in the end that my whole tank (the 3ft) began to shake and it was causing waves! My poor lil fishies swam for cover of the plants. They must've thought they were in the midst of a tsunami!

Not only that but my arm was aching from all that shaking up and down!!

I hate it with a passion. Wish I'd never bought it. I really wanted one that had a little squeezy pump thing on it but the shop didn't have any in stock.

Has anyone else used one of these difficult gravel cleaners before? I'm sure it probably does work if you know how to do it properly - there's probably a knack to it, eh? But I don't have that knack and am just left feeling very VERY frustrated with it.

Anyone got any tips for me? (apart from giving up the singing)

Athena

 

[tetratank]

is it the clear one with the tube that you submerge in the water first and then siphon into a bucket? or am I way off?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lmao, i can never get them working that way for the life of me either

couple of methods

1 - submerge the whole tube in the tank ensuring it fills up with water and no air bubbles. Put your thumb over the end to go into the bucket, takes this end out of the water (make sure the other end remains submerged) and put it in the bucket, when it;s safely in the bucket take your thumb off and water will flow through.

2 - put one end in the tank and one above the bucket, suck on the end that's out of the tank until water rises up the tube, watch the water level in the tube and when it goes over the top of the tank and starts flowing down stop sucking and put that end in the bucket. First couple of times you'll probably get a mouthfull of fishy water though!!

3 - put one end in a bucket and the other end in the tank, the end that's in the tank hold it over the filter output so water is blasting into the tube, once the water is flowing through and into the bucket you can take it away from the filter and it'll keep going.

 

[johnneh]

If it's the same one that i have. Just kinda angle the cleaner at 45degrees so the siphon start point isn't so high and start to move it quickly forwards and backwards, avoiding assaulting any poor fish in the process .

also make sure that the bucket or whatever you're catching the dirty water in is lower than the tank, the lower the better really, and its also much easier if the pipe is free of kinks, loops or bends.

Hope that helps

 

[Athena]

is it the clear one with the tube that you submerge in the water first and then siphon into a bucket? or am I way off?

Erm...well it is clear plastic - but it didn't say anything about filling a tube with water first (which tube do you mean - the bit that goes in the tank or the bit that goes in the bucket?). The instructions in picture form show the unit placed into the tank (upright) with arrows going up and down, so you are supposed to shake it a little up and down and then that is supposed to start the siphoning off.

I didn't know if I was supposed to fully submerge the unit in the tank first and get out any air bubbles, or just put it in, leaving the air in the top half of the unit (sorry If I'm confusing you, it's hard to explain).

Thanks - Athena

 

[tetratank]

sounds like the one I have and by the replies most have.

Miss Wiggles no-1 is how I do it and the best way I feel. You need to make sure no bubbles are in any part of the vaccuum. And as John said the bucket needs to be on the ground or below the tank for easy uninterupted flow.

The tricky part is sucking the gunk up. I swirl the head of the vcaccuum around on the gravel and pull it up out of the gravel so it releases them back down. Back and forwards works okay but the cirlce motion is best.

When you want to change buckets if your doing a couple, you will need to get someone to hold their thumb on the end of tube and keep the vaccuum body submerged in the tank.

 

[Athena]

Oh, thanks everyone - some good tips there that I shall try out next time. Not sure I fancy sucking on anything though, Miss Wiggle, knowing my luck I'll choke on fishy water!

I'll try the other options and see how I get on with those.

Gosh, why don't they explain it properly on the instructions? Honestly, if you'd seen me you'd have pee'd yourselves laughing at the state I was getting into. The hosepipe bit kept flipping in and out of the bucket and there'd be sudden splashes of water going through the pipe right at the point it wasn't in the bucket and all the brisk movement in the tank was causing my plants to get uprooted - and detritis was floating all over the place...

To say I was cursing the manufacturers is an understatement!

Thanks again - rant over!

 

[shortymet55]

Haha, very interesting. I have the same type of thing and its very eay to use, BUT you have to get used to it. HTe ifrst few times its annoying, after that, its nothing.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol, i;ve been there too Athena, it baffles me why they say to do it that way?! My other half can do it by pumping it but I don't know anyone else who'se got it to work that way.

 

[shortymet55]

I just shake up and down and thats it! Works every time.

The key is to shake it hard enought to hear the little flapping piece of plastic (makes waster go one way, but not the other) and hear it clicking on each stroke. If you cant hear this, its stuck and your wasting energy.

 

[Cubby]

Yeah just shake it up and down. If its going all over the place do it in the corner of the tank as the glass holds it in place. Keep in mind the whole plastic bit must be submerged below the water level to get it started.

 

[orange shark]

the first time i used mine i shaked it and it worked eventually, ive taken to sucking the water up but i do always end up with a mouthful of fishy water!

and NO dirty comments about that please i realise how it can sound if you take out a few words...

 

[shortymet55]

Keep in mind the whole plastic bit must be submerged below the water level to get it started.

Actually, I have gotten it started with only half of the plastic thing in the water. Just air can seep throught the little plastic seal, so it takes a bit more time, but it works. Of course for you gravel vac noobs then I would suggest get water in there to make it easier.

 

[sneezy]

I can never get mine to work so just suck it

 

[pauly]

You don't shake it, you sort of thrust it up and down in the water (don't ever bring it above the surface of the water). The outlet end of the tube needs to be lower than the inlet (in a bucket on the floor). The idea is to get rid of the air in the tube so the thrust just forces water up until its full and syphoning begins (it only take about three firm thrusts).

I find that the more water there is, the easier it is to start it. You're not trying to use a large syphon on a goldfish bowl are you?

Also, if you need to temporarily stop the syphoning whilst you change buckets, just pop your finger over the end of the outlet end.

Pauly.