Aqaurium Sand/Gravel Vacs (Quick question)

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Finksburg

Finksburg

Candiru
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2019
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Maryland, USA
Does anyone have an easy solution to clean up fish poop on their tank bottoms without starting a water change? I utilize a python for vacuums about twice a week, but by the time I'm done getting out the poop, I need to refill water. I'd love to use something other than a net to clean up fish poop.

Is a net the best option?

Thanks,
 
What I'd do is get a 5 gallon bucket of water ready for the tank and just quickly vacuum it up then refill.
 
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Never used an electric vac, sorry.

Actually if you wanted to you could get a length of tubing but stuff one end of it with stuff like filter floss so the poop gets caught but you can put the water back in the tank.
 
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I have a baby Albino Bichir in a Marina Breeding box for small fish or fry. I remove the uneaten food and waste with airline tubing and lay a Brine Shrimp net across a 5 gallon bucket to catch the waste. If you can find a large Brine Shrimp net and use regular hose it will make removeing waste simple.
 
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Before I started using powerheads to direct waste to my tank outlet I had the same problem. You just want to remove a patch of crud and by the time you've finished your tank level has dropped so much it takes ages to refill.

The secret is all in the diameter of tubing, hose or pipe you are using. My length of crud catching hose was the same diameter as my water changing hose, that was not clever on my part.

So I bought a length of thin airline tubing, it was a fraction of the diameter of my regular hose. It solved my problem instantly. Even big lumps of fish poop could be sucked up because they just tended to disintegrate when you poked the tubing at them. And of course the thin diameter of the tubing meant I could remove all the waste in the time it took to fill a small bucket.

fishhead0103666 fishhead0103666 idea of stuffing your hose with filter floss, although quite creative, is not a good solution in my experience, i tried it. It would take seconds for the crud to hit the floss and the flow more or less just stopped.

But then I discovered powerheads and my old poop sucking tubing got thrown in the attic I think. Powerheads are the proper way forward.
 
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Water changes are the best thing you can do for the health of any aquarium. Just vacuuming, then dumping old water back, and not replacing with new water to me is is a ridiculous waste of time. The old water is filled fish urine and other invisible metabolism by-products, even more than a few turds. I remove old water from my tank daily, or every other day.
 
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A lot of good information in here. I do have a powerhead that centers the waste in a few corners of the tank- makes it a ton easier. I think the solution is just remove the waste with a thinner hose as opposed to a large python head that drains water quickly.

Just to clarify, that's what you guys are referring to with the use of powerheads? Centering that waste into certain sections of the tank for easy clean up? Thanks agian.

duanes said:
Water changes are the best thing you can do for the health of any aquarium. Just vacuuming, then dumping old water back, and not replacing with new water to me is is a ridiculous waste of time. The old water is filled fish urine and other invisible metabolism by-products, even more than a few turds. I remove old water from my tank daily, or every other day.
Click to expand...


Completely agree and understand. My only concern is killing beneficial bacteria with too frequent water changes. Should this be a concern?
 
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Finksburg said:
A lot of good information in here. I do have a powerhead that centers the waste in a few corners of the tank- makes it a ton easier. I think the solution is just remove the waste with a thinner hose as opposed to a large python head that drains water quickly.

Just to clarify, that's what you guys are referring to with the use of powerheads? Centering that waste into certain sections of the tank for easy clean up? Thanks agian.




Completely agree and understand. My only concern is killing beneficial bacteria with too frequent water changes. Should this be a concern?
Click to expand...

Yes powerheads are used by a lot of us. They are great for water movement which many fish enjoy, they prevent dead spots where crud can gather, and if directed properly you can ensure that crud is sent to the outlet part of your tank where it is taken to your filter.

BB are not in the water, they attach themselves to surfaces throughout your tank. So by doing water changes you aren't affecting their numbers at all, unless you forget to add conditioner during your refilling stage. That can be bad for them.
 
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