DIY Sand Vac--NOT PYTHON
- Thread starter oregonian
- Start date
hey yourself
actually i had kinda thought along those lines but changed my mind for a few reasons. tried using a little fountain pump and but i couldn't get i nice snug fit to the intake, besides it probably would have toasted it. any larger pump or canister and i think it would suck up my sand and plants quick. then there's tubing, first its kinda bulky to lug around and manuever easily and if using a canister you can't pull it out of the water.
this is actually working out VERY well considering i'm initially not buying anything. after i perfect it i'm going to make a nice sturdy one but for now its recyle time.
right now my camera is having an issue but i WILL get pics up tommorow.
quick overview is after trying a few things the basics are-
took a lift tube from a UGF cut to about 1', 2 airlines from 2 pumps ran down sides and inserted ~1/2" up. cut a hole in a coke bottle just down from where the top stops surving. cut the nubby thing on the bottom on the same side open. flipped bottle onto UGF tube and attached nylon stocking. here's a quick paint just to help a little. View attachment untitled.bmp
tomorrow i'will post some of my experiments, and PICS!
what i'm checking now is if i can raise the air tubes up and still get same lift, trying longer tube, and an idea i have about pvc for the final.
main problem now is the water pressure restricts the air flow pretty dramatically right at the bottom. (literally flows well 1" from substrate but any lower and get minimum air bubbles.)
also was thinking about having inlets for air at different hights. any thoughts?
actually i had kinda thought along those lines but changed my mind for a few reasons. tried using a little fountain pump and but i couldn't get i nice snug fit to the intake, besides it probably would have toasted it
. any larger pump or canister and i think it would suck up my sand and plants quick. then there's tubing, first its kinda bulky to lug around and manuever easily and if using a canister you can't pull it out of the water.this is actually working out VERY well considering i'm initially not buying anything. after i perfect it i'm going to make a nice sturdy one but for now its recyle time.
right now my camera is having an issue but i WILL get pics up tommorow.
quick overview is after trying a few things the basics are-
took a lift tube from a UGF cut to about 1', 2 airlines from 2 pumps ran down sides and inserted ~1/2" up. cut a hole in a coke bottle just down from where the top stops surving. cut the nubby thing on the bottom on the same side open. flipped bottle onto UGF tube and attached nylon stocking. here's a quick paint just to help a little. View attachment untitled.bmp
tomorrow i'will post some of my experiments, and PICS!
what i'm checking now is if i can raise the air tubes up and still get same lift, trying longer tube, and an idea i have about pvc for the final.
main problem now is the water pressure restricts the air flow pretty dramatically right at the bottom. (literally flows well 1" from substrate but any lower and get minimum air bubbles.)
also was thinking about having inlets for air at different hights. any thoughts?
invisgyp--buy what is this? i'm sorry i don't speak gainfully employed. let me consult my "your life sucks" to "at least contributes to society" dictionary. ah yes, here it is- an act in which people who are not complete waste of worthless flesh or a rotting infection upon society, use "money" to attain an item or service which they desire and deserve, unlike your dumb---. equivolent of you finding shiny objects and trading them for used chewing gum. see also: you are such a lousy cheapskate, you probably ask for a discount on a mcdonalds water.
sorry, i have issues seriously though that thing looks awesome. love to get (or make) one and start cleaning tanks for money.
buy what is this? i'm sorry i don't speak gainfully employed. let me consult my "your life sucks" to "at least contributes to society" dictionary. ah yes, here it is- an act in which people who are not complete waste of worthless flesh or a rotting infection upon society, use "money" to attain an item or service which they desire and deserve, unlike your dumb---. equivolent of you finding shiny objects and trading them for used chewing gum. see also: you are such a lousy cheapskate, you probably ask for a discount on a mcdonalds water.sorry, i have issues
seriously though that thing looks awesome. love to get (or make) one and start cleaning tanks for money.
This should solve most of your problems. Cut a piece of PVC about 2' then slide it over the hose. Reattach the vaccum and slide the pvc down. Turn on the water to create the siphon, once the hose is full turn the water off or very low. It will be enough to pickup waste but not sand. Usually before I vacuum I use the pvc without the vacuum attachment to get any waste that is sitting on top of the sand.
And I have 2 30" high tanks, one of which has sand and on a custom stand that puts it higher than a normal stand.
And I have 2 30" high tanks, one of which has sand and on a custom stand that puts it higher than a normal stand.
that is a great idea, not only for large tanks but in general i think would ease the use. but....sink sits lower than tank, siphon continues. if i restrict the flow then it won't pick up heavier particles such as pleco crap.
i gotta ask, are you guys just messing with me? seriously, i feel like i just signed up for a free boat if i would just listen to a 1 hour presentation about the wonderful python gravel cleaner and siphon.
you have got to trust me. THIS is what i want to make, from what i have seen messing around it will work better than how i hoped and then you won't have to hear anything more about it(at least until someone asks, at which point i figure i will be the leading expert on this)
i gotta ask, are you guys just messing with me?
seriously, i feel like i just signed up for a free boat if i would just listen to a 1 hour presentation about the wonderful python gravel cleaner and siphon.you have got to trust me. THIS is what i want to make, from what i have seen messing around it will work better than how i hoped and then you won't have to hear anything more about it(at least until someone asks, at which point i figure i will be the leading expert on this
)
I like the idea, but in reality I think it will be more work than it is help. Although I do want to see how yours comes out, an eheim sludge vac seems to be the thing you need.
When you would vacuum with the python, would you leave the gravel tube on? Of so, try it without the gravel tube and you can get poo picked up easily without losing more than a few grains of sand.
I actually vacuum on a daily basis. It takes less than 5 minutes and a few gallons of water. I just have a cheap hose from homedepot and a bucket. I have noticed that I only get a nitrat creep of 9ppm per month as opposed to 15ppm.
When you would vacuum with the python, would you leave the gravel tube on? Of so, try it without the gravel tube and you can get poo picked up easily without losing more than a few grains of sand.
I actually vacuum on a daily basis. It takes less than 5 minutes and a few gallons of water. I just have a cheap hose from homedepot and a bucket. I have noticed that I only get a nitrat creep of 9ppm per month as opposed to 15ppm.
so i finally got the prototype finished. will probably be a while before i make a "finished" vac, but this thing rocks! (note: we did get a bigger air pump so don't have the issue with loosing lift)found out a few things thru R&D (trial and error some call it
). i will say that i will NEVER go without having one of these again. all the months of frustration and attempts to manhandle that damn python are over(i still think the python is a great idea, but will only be using it for w/c now.)here's the pics-then the breakdown(sorry for the crappy quality but its about time for a new camera)
1. first tube experiment-this is what i was putting the coke bottle on
AHHHHHHHHHHHH <next 5 pages deleted due to excesive foul language>gotta write this all over
stupid thing timed out on me after writing the whole thing up
whew, ok, pics first then notes.(sorry about pic quality but time for a new camera)
first 4, final construction,
these 2 are in tank running-one is slow air-flow, one active-make note of space at top of bottle as its important. (only thing you can really make out anyways
)
quick run down of parts-piece of UGF lift tube, airline-stiff and flexible, t connector, air flow valve, water bottle, nylons, rubber band and twisties, and air pump.
Cost: nuthin, made using leftover parts
(not counting air pump since could still use old ones but parents wanted a new one, wadda ya do?)even if you purchased this stuff only to build this it would maybe cost $10.
to be continued in next post-don't want to have to rewrite the whole thing a third time
(first time was much nicer looking btw)Alright-anyone still here?
Important notes:
1. For some reason if the air outlets point up this doesn't work nearly as well, no idea why and don't really care. Tried it to see if it would work better but negative, besides its easier to point them down anyways.
2. Tube length- i didn't try a whole lot of ranges, just long and what you see. However, from this I would keep it between 8-18". Shorter and you get a ton of turbulence keeping the waste from settling easily, longer and you lose lift. (Geek warning: skip this if you don't care-ideal air flow creates lots of small bubbles churning of the water, as the air rises and water pressure decreases the bubbles expand allowing the water to slide around it losing effective lift. i found this out on some various websites, and later you will see the big + to this.)
3. Where the tube goes into the bottle, make sure to push it up some. You don't want it to touch the top but if you barely insert it you just make a vortex. again it will work but not nearly as well.
4. MOST IMPORTANT! Spread out the holes on the bottom of the bottle! You have to disperse the air over a relatively larger area. If you only do one hole, like the coke bottle trial, some debris will settle into the nylon but the bubbles will still drag a decent amount with them right out the hole and into the water. Basically flings ---- all over the place. I used a push pin focusing more on the side opposite of the lift tube.
You want to get just enough so that a small pocket forms before the air escapes. This ensures that the water, carrying with it waste/debris, must go thru the nylon. (Note as the "filter bag" becomes clogged this air pocket will shrink. vac will still suction but some debris will escape.) I recc placing a few holes around the edges and running the vac, poking until you get a good pocket. Enough for now but will come back to this sometime.
I cannot explain how well this is working! I still may try to get video, but if nothing else some pics of what i was able to clean out.
Alright gonna take another break but stay tuned for the good stuff!
BA things about this vac andREASONS I WILL NEVER USE A SIPHON VAC AGAIN!
Important notes:
1. For some reason if the air outlets point up this doesn't work nearly as well, no idea why and don't really care. Tried it to see if it would work better but negative, besides its easier to point them down anyways.
2. Tube length- i didn't try a whole lot of ranges, just long and what you see. However, from this I would keep it between 8-18". Shorter and you get a ton of turbulence keeping the waste from settling easily, longer and you lose lift. (Geek warning: skip this if you don't care-ideal air flow creates lots of small bubbles churning of the water, as the air rises and water pressure decreases the bubbles expand allowing the water to slide around it losing effective lift. i found this out on some various websites, and later you will see the big + to this.)
3. Where the tube goes into the bottle, make sure to push it up some. You don't want it to touch the top but if you barely insert it you just make a vortex. again it will work but not nearly as well.
4. MOST IMPORTANT! Spread out the holes on the bottom of the bottle! You have to disperse the air over a relatively larger area. If you only do one hole, like the coke bottle trial, some debris will settle into the nylon but the bubbles will still drag a decent amount with them right out the hole and into the water. Basically flings ---- all over the place. I used a push pin focusing more on the side opposite of the lift tube.
You want to get just enough so that a small pocket forms before the air escapes. This ensures that the water, carrying with it waste/debris, must go thru the nylon. (Note as the "filter bag" becomes clogged this air pocket will shrink. vac will still suction but some debris will escape.) I recc placing a few holes around the edges and running the vac, poking until you get a good pocket. Enough for now but will come back to this sometime.
I cannot explain how well this is working! I still may try to get video, but if nothing else some pics of what i was able to clean out.
Alright gonna take another break but stay tuned for the good stuff!
BA things about this vac and
REASONS I WILL NEVER USE A SIPHON VAC AGAIN!
