How to siphon tank substrate

[Caryl]

There have been a few questions about how to use a siphon when doing water changes, and how to siphon in heavily planted areas.

If you keep your thumb over the hose at the end aimed at the bucket, you can control the flow of water up the tube. To start the siphon, either suck on the end (and risk getting a mouthful of dirty tank water) or lower the tube into the water. Hold your thumb over the far end of the narrow hose and tip the tube until it fills with water. Keep filling until the tube and hose are full of water (you may have to raise the tube a few times out of the water to get it high enough to fill the hose as well, depending on its length) then, making sure the tube is under water, remove your thumb from the other end.

When siphoning gravel, I shove the plastic tube as far into the gravel as possible and keep it there until the water going up the tube runs clear. I then put my thumb over the hose to stop the flow then move the tube to the next section.

The gravel will ride partway up the tube and tumble clean then drop back to the bottom when you stop the water flow.

When siphoning over plants I lower the tube as far as possible over the plant.

Hope this helps.

[evilknieval69]

Good going caryl, your barbs realy like the gravel syphon dont they :lol: