aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have no idea what I'm doing lol When I use my gravel vacuum it just sucks the dirt up and then it floats around in the water and makes the water all dirty instead of going up the vacuum. So I have given up. The gravel really isn't getting very dirty as I've been feeding the minnows bloodworms as they wouldn't eat goldfish flakes and now they are actually eating the food it's not going yucky at the bottom of the tank. They were eating some, but not really interested in it. The dirt is mostly from the silly oxy shell I got which I won't be using anymore. When I use the gravel vacuum it makes the oxy shell stuff float around in the water so it's cloudy. GRRR It's a manual vacuum. I forgot to ask at Animates if there was a better solution/way to clean the gravel. Is there an electric version of gravel vacuum or something easier to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Leave the siphon in the gravel until all the dirt is up the tubes. You should be feeding something other than goldfish flakes to your minnows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Just wondering, you are syphoning water out as your vacuuming? The water flowing out should suck the gunk out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Well I must be doing it wrong because it's just siphoning water out but not sucking up the gunk. And it barely gets water out as it is. It trickles instead of flowing. I can't even take 15-25% out with it. Is there an electric one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Well I must be doing it wrong because it's just siphoning water out but not sucking up the gunk. And it barely gets water out as it is. It trickles instead of flowing. I can't even take 15-25% out with it. Is there an electric one? Why would you want an electric one when you have one powered by 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 ?? lol ok..... I don't have a pump. It's a manual one. :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 What I usually do is fill the gravel vac with water and lift it higher than the tank so the water runs into the pipe, just as the water starts running into the bucket (which should also be lower than the tank since gravity causes the flow) then I put my finger infront of the tube to stop the flow, then I dunk the gravelvac back into the water upside down this time and sucking should start, there is lots of videos on youtube to explain this for you as well. Hold the gravelvac right down in the gravel/stones and let it suck all the dirt out, once the dirt is out lift it a little and go to a new spot. If you have sand then hold it just above the sand as to not suck all the sand out of your tank, Hope this helped you out in some way :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlogged Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 the tube isn't getting squished on the edge of the tank? Mine does that and will reduce the flow? just lift it off t6he tank slightly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Try to have the out end of the hose as low as possible in relation to the tank, e.g bucket on the floor. The further apart the in & out part of the syphon hose the faster the water will flow. If you can get to Weymouth send me a PM and i can show you how to get it flowing correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 ?? lol ok..... I don't have a pump. It's a manual one. :oops: Look down. Perhaps try hopping up and down once or twice and observing yourself getting sucked downwards.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 Is it a narrow one or a wide one? A smaller pipe will have a lower flow than a larger one. You could have a pebble or bit of gunk stuck at the top where the pipe begins- often happens esp if you have a vacuum with a valve there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 The important bit is the outlet needs to be lower than the tube. If your tank is low to the ground you can have trouble getting a strong enough flow to lift the muck. Ira - behave! :roll: :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 They usually have a flap valve or non return valve so they can be primed. I place a chopstick on it and push it down hard so the valve is removed. They work best if there is a good excess of length on the downward end of the siphon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Thank you to those that have been helpful! I found something I'm interested in getting, depending on the price... I'll probably end up getting it anyway... but if it's expensive I'll save up. It's the Eheim Automatic Gravel cleaner that uses batteries. I'm a girl lol So this is the first time I've ever used a siphon! My husband had a bit more success than I did. :oops: My new tank is lower to the ground than the little one is so I'm guessing it's going to be even harder now Honestly, I think the instructions on the back of the pack were wrong. It says to have it so many cms from the gravel. All that happens is that the crap gets pulled up and then floats around in the water. GRRR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Sounds like insufficient flow to me. I have heard the battery operated siphons don't have much suck either. When I siphon my gravel I ram the tube as far into the gravel as it will go. I am more gentle over and about plants though so I don't kill the roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Sounds like insufficient flow to me. I have heard the battery operated siphons don't have much suck either. When I siphon my gravel I ram the tube as far into the gravel as it will go. I am more gentle over and about plants though so I don't kill the roots. I have mine about 5-7cm above the gravel because on the instructions it said to have it so many cms above. When I clean it on Friday I will put it in the gravel and see if it makes a difference. I also found a video on YouTube of someone cleaning their tank with a gravel vacuum so I will watch it just before I do mine and hopefully it will work this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 5-7cm? I know the packet from the gravel siphon I bought said to do that when getting the flow started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 what I do is I put it in the gravel and start it flowing, I then lift it up out of the gravel and move it across and put it in the gravel again. Repeat till you've removed enough water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 I shove it into the gravel down to the bottom of the tank and keep it there until the water starts to flow clear then move it over one vac width. REpeat until half the tank's water is gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Exactly how I do it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopper Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 You asked earlier about an electric pump as a solution. With a few simple modifications you can hook your siphon up to your fish tank pump and pump it out that way. Depending on the type of pump you are using depends upon the modifications needed! Be careful not to get an electric shock or shock your fish and preferably only use internal tank pumps for this method of siphoning to start off with and don't run them dry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 You asked earlier about an electric pump as a solution. With a few simple modifications you can hook your siphon up to your fish tank pump and pump it out that way. Depending on the type of pump you are using depends upon the modifications needed! Be careful not to get an electric shock or shock your fish and preferably only use internal tank pumps for this method of siphoning to start off with and don't run them dry! I thought that would be the case. Unfortunately I don't have a pump. Just the filter. What is the purpose of a pump? Probably a stupid question but hey, this is all new to me lol I'm going to see how I go tomorrow using the gravel vacuum and if it still doesn't work then I will either get the Eheim Automatic gravel cleaner or get a pump. Depending on which is cheaper probably.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopper Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 A pump is the electric motor that powers your filter and is integral part needed for it to work . So generally if you have a filter you have a pump. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 :oops: doh! :facepalm: Ok, but how would it work because one end has the suction part on it and the other end is tube and that's where the water and dirt comes out. How would I attach it to the pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumbeginner32 Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Just briefly... I managed to get my gravel vacuum to work today Tank is clean and fish are happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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