How can you make a power vac?

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Bengalcats888

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Jun 27, 2019
97
16
13
Hi,

Is there a way to make like a gravel vac
but stronger to suck out fish poop?

The tube needs to be 25” or longer.
Or use of inline pump. Only one I see
is Cobalt one but probably not strong
enough.

It is bare bottom tank so I’m not worried
about substrate being pulled up.
 
Bengalcats888 said:
Hi,

Is there a way to make like a gravel vac
but stronger to suck out fish poop?

The tube needs to be 25” or longer.
Or use of inline pump. Only one I see
is Cobalt one but probably not strong
enough.

It is bare bottom tank so I’m not worried
about substrate being pulled up.
Click to expand...

Yes sure you can make a simpler one, similar like I did just by zip-tying a power head on the end, then you can cut the pvc pipe to whatever length you desire. Then just hook up a hose to the outlet whenever you need it and you're good to go.

Or by using a regular style return pump and appropriate diameter pvc, you could make one like the green one in the photo, which is a Sunsun AX-260. It's a bit easier as the hose connects to the end instead curving out from the pump like my DIY jobbie. However the green pump is only 1000 l/hr -- I wish I would have gotten a larger one. It comes with various types of intake nozzles, including a narrower one which is good for cleaning the edges of bare bottom tanks.

1382029

IME the above style is good for water changes and bigger tank cleans, but for just taking out fish poop on a daily basis it's a bit of a hassle to be hooking up a long hose to drain/outside.

So I find these battery operated vacs more convenient, I have one for each tank and just carry a 6 liter drinking water jug to drain the poop from my bare bottom tanks. Or you could use the filter sock instead, but I found some waste particles still leak through it, better just to take it all out. That said I have to inform they seem to have troubles after about 6-8 months of use, not very dependable to be honest but they're pretty cheap anyway.

1382026
 
I use a 3/4 vinyl tube and suck the other side, it drained my tank in a couple of mins, not sure why everyone is using python and other apparatus.
 
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Dloks said:
I use a 3/4 vinyl tube and suck the other side, it drained my tank in a couple of mins, not sure why everyone is using python and other apparatus.
Click to expand...

For draining a tank I'll also use a 3/4" hose siphon, but for daily spot cleaning and just zapping some poop in a bare bottom I find it faster/easier to use the last little device I pictured, no extra hoses to connect or snake across the room, whole process done in a min. or two.
 
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I connect my gravel vacuum hose to the intake of my Vortex XL Diatom filter, works great.
 
For real vac power I have considered using one of those electric hand blenders. Put a clear tube around the whole part that you submerse in the soup you are blending and seal the tube with silicone around the top. Make the clear tube 10" longer than the impeller for extra reach and allow the gravel to fall back down in the tube. Put a 3/4" uniseal on the side of the tube near the top below the silicone seal for a 3/4" hose. Put a ball valve on the other end of the hose and shove it in a sock filter hanging on the inside of the tank. Sock filters are easy to clean and can be purchased in very fine weaves. The ball valve will allow for an adjustable flow regulator so you don't suck the bottom glass out of the tank.



31veuJw-i1L._SX466_.jpg

Put a hose thread connector on the far end of the ball valve and stop sucking on pythons.
 
Last edited:
Dloks said:
I use a 3/4 vinyl tube and suck the other side, it drained my tank in a couple of mins, not sure why everyone is using python and other apparatus.
Click to expand...

The long plastic tube portion of the python allows you to really dig deep in the gravel but the gravel won't get sucked through the hose because the water velocity in the tube is much slower than the water velocity in the 3/4" hose. (yeah, if you aren't paying attention you can still suck gravel into the python hose)

For just draining a tank a 3/4" tube or a python with a 3/4" hose doesn't really make any difference as far as draining speed.
 
Have you considered lowering the intakes of your filter to just off the floor? If they are strategically placed where debris and feces tend to eddy, they will quickly remove what is on the floor. In thirteen + years, there has been nothing to vacuum off the floor...our "poopsucker" pipes work very well. We have extreme mechanical filtration via poop sucker uptakes and two RTL-25s powered with a Hammerhead pump. Others have tried extending the uptakes of their filters to just off the floor and also really liked the results.

I wouldn't have a tank without poop suckers Our long in progress big tank upgrade will have poop suckers which will be the only "decoration" in the tank. I have had several years to rethink things and decided I have no need for two high uptakes, so will be remaking two pipes giving me a total of eight poop suckers in the big tank with three return pipes. I love poop sucker pipes.
1383322
 
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