my diy gravel vacs

[midnight]

might not save alot of money,
but i can say i built them,and gave me something to do while in lowes.lol

so i found these tubes in the light section.
there protective covers for 4' bulbs.
you can make 4, 12",vacs,or any combo you want.
i made an 8" and a 12" and im going to make a 24" one for the pond.
"will get pics of the 24" one when i build it."

havent done it yet but im going to silicone the tube to the pvc fitting.
thought about pvc glue but it might melt the clear plastic.
im sure silicone will work tho.

i made one with a smaller fitting and hose so it flows slower/less.
and made the big one so it flows faster/more.
and i made both mine 6',you can make them longer or shorter.

heres a shopping list to make one big and one small gravel vac.
plus you have extra clear tube to make 2 more.
all you need is fittings and hose.

it cost me about 14.00 for both vacs,and i can make 2 more out of the tube,minus fittings/hose.
it would be about 9.00 to make just one,any size.
might save when you make 4 vacs,or a 24" one.lol

-3/8" ID VINYL TUBING $1.38
6 FT AT 0.23 A FT

-5/8" ID VINYL TUBING $2.16
6 FT AT 0.36 A FT

-4' TUBE GUARD T12 $3.48

-NYlon BARb to male hose 3/4"X3/4" $1.48

-3/8" barb X 1/2" MIP $2.16

-1 1/4" SCH40 COUPLING $1.12
2 @ 0.56

-1 1/4"X3/4" SCH40 BUSHING $1.08

-1 1/4"X1/2" SCH40 BUSHING $1.08

""and i used 5/8 id hose instead of 3/4 id cus 5/8 was 0.36 and 3/4 was like 1.20"

it will fit tho.

and the big tube is kinked but im going to try to fix it.
alot of typing for gravel vacs.lol
on with the pix.

 

[mike dunagan]

what would you do with a 6ft hose???? I have 75 and it is just enough...

 

[midnight]

i have a python for large water changes.
these are for "smaller" jobs.
and on smaller jobs i use buckets so 6' is over kill.
and i said you could make it longer "the price per foot is in there"

 

[Mystix212]

Nice DIY. Would you of actually saved money in the long run? IE Fuel, Materials etc.

 

[fishdance]

Not to hijack your thread but another idea for you and other readers is to use a plastic 500ml coke bottle and cut the bottom off. I drillled open the lid and slipped on some silicon hose (heat stretch then cool) so its easy to replace the bottle when it wears out. You could just jam some garden hose into the bottle if your lazy.

Nice neat job and clear photos on your DIY gravel cleaners. I am thinking Fluid Bed Filters or Egg Tumblers as other uses.

 

[midnight]

Nice DIY. Would you of actually saved money in the long run? IE Fuel, Materials etc.

well i was already at lowes so that was free,might have saved a dollar.lol
it was the fun of it mostly.
next time im at petsupermarket i will compare and get back with ya.

and mine are better lol
i think the big one might flow more then my python.lol

Not to hijack your thread but another idea for you and other readers is to use a plastic 500ml coke bottle and cut the bottom off. I drillled open the lid and slipped on some silicon hose (heat stretch then cool) so its easy to replace the bottle when it wears out. You could just jam some garden hose into the bottle if your lazy.

lol good idea,cant be to pretty tho

Nice neat job and clear photos on your DIY gravel cleaners. I am thinking Fluid Bed Filters or Egg Tumblers as other uses.

thanks.
and whats an egg tumbler?lol

 

[pvj]

Very nice!

 

[CHOMPERS]

Question for ya midnight: How sturdy is the clear tube? I did the same thing but bought the 8ft light covers. They are pretty flimzy but get the job done.

Instead of siliconing the ends into the 1 1/4" fittings, I reused the ends that came on the covers. I use them as inside bushings to make the light cover slightly larger so they fit snuggly inside the 1 1/4" fittings. My shortest one is 24" and my large one is 42". I also cut mine at an angle for when I reach into far corners.

 

[Dr Joe]

You know, if you guyz would put a powerhead on top of these, you can dump to the pre-filter in the W/D (or put a sock on it) and not loose water or have extra cleaning . (or have to worry about loosing too much water during a water change.

I agree these are brittle, while I was cleaning, the Pacu got a little playful and rammed the tube and broke it .

Dr Joe

.

 

[midnight]

seems sturdy,i can bend it a bit and it doesnt break.
but i havent used one in a tank yet tho.
42"? dang lol