power gravel vacs??

The_Nuge

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2011
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St. Paul Mn.
I have a python for cleaning and water changes but im wondering if a power vac would pick up the larger waste from my LMB???

any thoughts or experiences?
 

KaiserSousay

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 20, 2009
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PartlyCloudyFlorida
kjfan1;4857075; said:
waste imo
Pretty quick rush to judgement.

I`ve put a few powered vacs together and bought a little touch up vac.

Above is the one I used the most.
What made it a winner for me was using the return flow to "sweep" the crud out of all the nooks in my rocks.
Pretty cheap build.
Other than pulling all the decor out, you can not get a tank any cleaner than I can with my vac.
I use this cheap-o, battery driven vac to grab the piles-o-poo that gather in couple of spots in the tank.
Darn thing works pretty good.

I tried a little Kidde pool filter for a vac, but the impeller jammed to easily, so I scrapped that one.

I like the both of my "cleaning machines".
 

Spiritofthesoul

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 3, 2010
4,692
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Singapore
A pump, part of RO unit, a DIY gravel vac using a bottle and tubings for connection.

Worth it if there is a ton of waste in your gravel that you have to do like 100% waterchange just to remove all the gunk trapped inside. With this, you can clean the gravel without having to do water change and you can then do that ,etc 20% water change.

If you are not into DIY, i like eheim one, but pricey.
 

KaiserSousay

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 20, 2009
1,230
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PartlyCloudyFlorida
A pump, part of RO unit

Close, but no cigar.
Pump is right. Any external capable pump of 500gph or more will work.
The filter body is a whole house filter for under $20 most anywhere. I used the "Rust/Sediment" cartridge. Right around 20 micron pore size.
PVC for vac and return ends.
Hose was what I had in the garage.
Only costly piece is the pump, but I had one from another project.
Could be very cheap to make if you have most of the parts on hand.
The battery vac came mail order at $15 to my door.
I had to add to the pick up end, too short.
CPVC fit well to lengthen.
Gotta admit, this bugger is addicting.
Every trip by the tank I look to see if there is enough poop to get the vac out.
For a DIY project, the powered vac will give a good payback for dollar spent. If you have many tanks, cleaning is a snap.
 
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