Automated Pea Gravel Bed Cleaner.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I bet it would work but it would be cloudy for a while. If you could get the fish to one side of the tank with a divider so they wouldn't get whomped with air. Do 3/4 of the tank with underwater system and use the divider to keep the fish on the safe side. Or do half and half. two separate systems on each half and clean one side at a time so the fish don't get their ass kiked with air.

If your running the dual overflow like you made keep the divider in until the water clears on one side.
 
I think the gravel vac is the best way to remove most of the debris from the gravel. The main thing is not to have too much gravel in the tank to start with. Blowing the media in a koi pond doesn't involve letting the debris back into the pond. It is drained out and minimal amount is reintroduced back into the pond. Also, feeding the fishes every other day will help. That is half of the bio-load compared to daily feeding. Certain large fishes I feed only twice a week. It makes a big difference. Fishes are cold-blooded like snakes so they do not have eat like mammals. The fish food companies want to feed them everyday because they will sell more food.
 
Consider this.
Some Japanese style koi ponds have in pond filters which is a large under gravel filter. This is a box with a grid/screen holding gravel off the bottom. A pump would pull water from the bottom returning the water near the surface of the pond. There is an opening for vacuuming under the gravel as detris builds up below.
So you say you don't want crap to build up under your UGF. Can you make a PVC manifold as you described and put it under the UGF to suck the crap out? Basically opposite of blowing it with air.
Your idea of dumping a bunch of water on the gravel is what I'm doing. However, people tell my flow is too much at 3000gph in a 225g. My fish loves it and I don't vac the gravel.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll figure out what you need.
 
Yes your right the the debris would be blown back into the tank. But a great invention is never great until you try your thoughts. And then maybe it's good or maybe not. If you slide a divider down in the middle with holes in it and the input from the sump on one side the water going through the divider holes would keep the fish on the other side with clean water after filtration through the sump. After an hour or so remove the divider and clean the other side next week. Maverick has an extra tank he can try some experiments just for fun...... :)
 
twilight zone said:
I think the gravel vac is the best way to remove most of the debris from the gravel. The main thing is not to have too much gravel in the tank to start with. Blowing the media in a koi pond doesn't involve letting the debris back into the pond. It is drained out and minimal amount is reintroduced back into the pond. Also, feeding the fishes every other day will help. That is half of the bio-load compared to daily feeding. Certain large fishes I feed only twice a week. It makes a big difference. Fishes are cold-blooded like snakes so they do not have eat like mammals. The fish food companies want to feed them everyday because they will sell more food.
Click to expand...

You're correct but his idea is like having the koi in the filter during backwashing.
 
Yeah, my idea would be to backwash the gravel right into the water column and let the detritus to down the overflows into my filter sock where it belongs. I expect cloudy water for an hour after. But I'm going to try it small scale outside and see what kind of turbulence this will create.

Mike
 
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