Buy a 24 inch plastic tube instead of the 10 inch and a six foot piece of clear hose and a metal hose clamp,other wise as the tube gets used for a while hose falls of and its a pain the neck,next get a rubbermaid pail 30 gallon a and a utility pump to put in pail to pump water out of house.Just get a hose long enough to reach 5 or 6 feet out your house other wise the longer the hose the harder your pump works.I do my 400 gallon tanks like this and it works great. Once you have all these things it works out great to do water changes because you can get an adapter for your sink for 3/4 hose and fill pail ant treat water before adding to tank and easier to regulate water temperature.My tank is 36 inches high and I use a 36 inch tube and the gravel would get sucked out if I did not squeeze tube when vacuuming.I have red river gravel and crushed coral.The pump I got at Sears its 1/4 horse power and goes down to 1/2 inch of water,plus they have a life time warranty I have replaced mine twice in 10 years.
