removing gravel??

[HarleyK]

there are grades of hose you do not want to use in an aquarium

Howdy,

I have never had problems with hoses. I agree that permanently used hoses (e.g. on a canister filter) should be "aquarium grade" to be on the safe side. However, I have used hoses from garden supply before, and I currently use a regular hosepipe for water changes.

However, I smell on it first. If it smells like plastic, I run some hot water thru it before I use it the first time, or fill the hose and let it grill in the sun

But if you only use the hose to drain your tank, its contact with tank water is absolutely negligible!

HarleyK

 

[Oddball]

A dust pan works great to get the largest portion of the gravel out of the tank. Then, siphon the remaining gravel out with a hose run into a bucket. The water will overflow the bucket (preferably outside or in the tub) but the gravel will remain in the bucket.

 

[gomezladdams]

pet food scoop then siphon up the rest

 

[FishR'Us]

First off, you can just use a siphon, which you should have, and that will suck all the sand right out of your tank. Second off, you can use a one inch hose to acclimate a ray if you want it to die like all of your other fish. I would reccomend reading up on the drip acclimation process. I use airline tubing with knots in it. It fills a 5 gallon bucket in about 2-3 hours. Thats how you DRIP acclimate a ray.

 

[WyldFya]

Howdy,

I have never had problems with hoses. I agree that permanently used hoses (e.g. on a canister filter) should be "aquarium grade" to be on the safe side. However, I have used hoses from garden supply before, and I currently use a regular hosepipe for water changes.

However, I smell on it first. If it smells like plastic, I run some hot water thru it before I use it the first time, or fill the hose and let it grill in the sun

But if you only use the hose to drain your tank, its contact with tank water is absolutely negligible!

HarleyK

I agree, I use a hose for RV drinking water. They are usually white witha blue stripe, and are always food grade. They work fine for both filling and draining the tank.