PYTHON CLEANING WITH MONSTER TANK?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I use the Aqueon equivalent of the python on my 345 that has a gravel substrate, I wouldn't say its too bad; takes me a little over an hour to do a 30-40% water change and vacuum the entire substrate. Even if it took twice as long, I don't believe it would be a bad thing because as others have said, it is a great time to really observe your tank/stock.
 
I built my own.

2" PVC is 4' long and I have a "expander" bushing to make the bottom 4" wide to vacuum more gravel.

The hose is 25' of 1.5" sump tubing.

It can drain about 400 gallons in 15 to 20 minutes.

It looks deceivingly small in this picture, but it's huge.

Gravel Vac.jpg

Gravel Vac.jpg
 
^good question. That's what the ball valve is for...so that I can control flow. My gravel is large (about .5" pebbles) so if I restrict the flow just a little, the gravel stays put.

When I just want to drain and not vac the gravel I open her up and let her rip.
 
Maybe you guys need to speed up like PDRed302 and myself.

Takes me an hour and a half to gravel vac and algae scrape, gravel vac 125, switch faucets 37, algae scrape and gravel vac. Cleaning my FX5 takes almost as long and it's done every month or every other.

Water quality I think is helped and hurt with gravel depending on your care. If you vac it, it helps to keep it somewhat out of your filter and you do have a lot of BB in it to quickly break down amm and nitrite rather than have it in the water column. If you just leave it there, it hurts because you're compensating for it by doing more WC's to combat nitrates. But that might be with the correct amount of gravel too. I prefer about 1.5 lbs per gallon, so my 125 has 180lbs of it.
 
blindkiller85 said:
Maybe you guys need to speed up like PDRed302 and myself.

Takes me an hour and a half to gravel vac and algae scrape, gravel vac 125, switch faucets 37, algae scrape and gravel vac. Cleaning my FX5 takes almost as long and it's done every month or every other.

Water quality I think is helped and hurt with gravel depending on your care. If you vac it, it helps to keep it somewhat out of your filter and you do have a lot of BB in it to quickly break down amm and nitrite rather than have it in the water column. If you just leave it there, it hurts because you're compensating for it by doing more WC's to combat nitrates. But that might be with the correct amount of gravel too. I prefer about 1.5 lbs per gallon, so my 125 has 180lbs of it.
Click to expand...

Well my on my 220 my gravel vac, tank wipe down, and drain only takes me 20-30 mins max. So I wouldnt say that your complete maintenance is too speedy. An hour and a half for one 125 is pretty slow lol
 
I had a 240gal with turtles and oscars in it. I'm never doing gravel again btw... Anyway... Using the Python takes time, but it's not that bad. But with my new 420gal I'll b using tile or bare. If u have enough floor decor (driftwood, rocks) then no gravel shouldn't b ugly. It'd definitely b faster with no gravel. If u have the time and prefer gravel. Go for it. But I suggest doing tile or bare.
 
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