I bought a gravel syphon today and I'm a bit stuck! It's working fine, but I only have a 35 litre tank and it seems to suck out an awful lot of the water. If I wanted to clean all the gravel in the tank, then it would suck out far more water than 20%. Therefore, I stopped before most of the gravel had been cleaned as obviously I wanted to keep 80% of the water in the tank. Is this OK just to clean a part of the gravel each week? Shouldn't all the gravel be cleaned in one go or am I doing something wrong?! Thank you!
2007-08-04 05:48:28 · 11 answers · asked by craazylau 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
Your fine to clean just part of the gravel. You have done what you should basically do. Just do a quick cleaning of the gravel till you have sucked out 20% to 25% of the water. If your gravel is still dirty you can do another 20% to 25% water change the next day.
2007-08-04 07:02:51 · answer #1 · answered by Dustinius 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a few options for you. One, you can hold the end of the siphon that's outside the tank up higher,this will slow down how fast the water flows out of the tank. Two, it's ok to do a 25-30% water change each week and that will allow you to clean more of the gravel as you go. Third, it's perfectly on to do part of the gravel each week, but try to cover 1/2 of the gravel at each water change. You'll get the hang of it within a few weeks and find the way that works best for you.
MM
2007-08-04 05:54:58 · answer #2 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have a battery operated siphon i never use it you would be far better off attaching a clean sock around the end of your siphon with a rubber band letting the water flow into a bucket and then returning it when its been filtered. This doesn't mean you shouldn't do water changes tho as it does not eliminate nitrites. This works on exactly the same princables and is far more effective. I dont think i have been fully understood the battery powered siphon filters the water through a small "Sock" and returns the water straight back into the tank they become blocked very quickly so you need to rinse the sock and the batterys run out. I even have a 24vlt plug in one but still is not as effective as the syphon and sock method. When doing a water change it is some times difficult to remove all unwanted waste in the gravel before a third of the water is gone so my way allows you to replace the water after siphoning. I still do water changes!!! Sorry my punctuation is terrible!
2016-05-17 23:52:59 · answer #3 · answered by joann 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's fine to do partial gravel cleanings when you have a siphon that removes water. I was worried about the exact problem that you're having, so I'm buying a battery-operated siphon instead. It doesn't remove water, and it has a mesh bag to catch the waste from the tank, but the water is cycled back into the tank. I prefer having the control of changing exactly as much water as I'd like after "vacuuming" the tank.
2007-08-04 20:39:43 · answer #4 · answered by Demon L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have one of the gravel cleaners mentioned above though it connects to my airpump. It has a little bag on it that collects the watse and I simply clean this out. I don't remove any of the water and I am free to do as much as I need to. It only cost me £2.50, about $5!
I find this works best for me, I tried one that removes the water for quickness of time - but came unstuck too!!
And you shouldn't clean all of the gravel at once, not only can it release the good bacteria that is needed for good biological order, but it can also stress the fish out too. Try cleaning from front to back on one side of the tank only. This give the fish one half of the tank to hide in with out them being disturbed to much.
2007-08-06 10:56:26 · answer #5 · answered by Lisa C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,your okay.I clean mine monthly & some times I cannot get all the gravel done so the next time start were I missed.Have hada few of my fish for over 10 years so must be doing some thing right.My tank is 6ft & I know what you mean about the gravel cleaner.I had years of cleaning with one that clogged up all the time so this one to me is brilliant.
2007-08-04 06:23:24 · answer #6 · answered by Ollie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The type of gravel cleaner you are using is really meant to be used in a much larger tank.
Why not try and get hold of one of the battery operated 'vacuum' kits that recycles the water and puts it back into the tank after passing it through a filter?
2007-08-04 10:28:29 · answer #7 · answered by tomsp10 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have an undergravel filter, be careful not to clean up too much at once as they depend on active bacteria colonies in the gravel to work properly
2007-08-04 06:00:23 · answer #8 · answered by norm c 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you shouldnt clean all the gravel, the fish like gravel. its something for them to do. plus, try not to desterb the gravel to much.
2007-08-04 05:53:59 · answer #9 · answered by random mentalist. 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it should be ok to clean each half every week but they do sell different sizes of syphons
2007-08-04 05:53:05 · answer #10 · answered by krazybone_2000_2000 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋