Brianemone Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 This week while i've got some time off im going to try my hand at making a vacuum for my tank, as i dont want to do a water change every time i want to clean off the bottom. my idea so far is fairly simple, get a pump connect it to some hose that is attached to some kind of cannister or bottle that has some filter wool in it and maybe a little carbon, the incoming water is passed trough the filter wool any detritus gets trapped but all the original water stays in the tank and viola permenantly clean tank bottom without needing to do a water change every other day. if anyone has some suggestions feel free to add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 I'm all in favour of pumps to do the work for you, keep everything in the water so it can get to the skimmer. Of-course the problem is cost, and if you have sand, blowing it all over the tank. I've often thought of making a little roaming bot, (similar to the pool cleaner ones) which roam around the bottom cleaning sand, for my tank upgrade (whenever that happens). It would be cool to just plonk it in at night and have it roaming around removing all the detritus which gets trapped in the sand, so you don't have to do manual vacuuming of the sand. But a pump and a hose with a micron sock on the end fed into the sump should do quite nicely. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted December 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 at the moment i dont quite have the water movement power needed to do the job for me, that will happen once ive got the money for some streams or vortex whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 streams... wonderworld got some working in one of there tanks one controller two pumps, didnt think the pumps were so big he didnt know a price as no invoice yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Im adding a 'sink' underneath my display tank (just under the pump for the closed loop) that drains back down to my sump. At the bottom of the pipe that drains into the sump will be a horizontal piece of egg crate which i can lie a piece of filter wool on. The idea being i can vacuum out the bottom of the display tank with one of those gravel cleaners and empty the water directly into the sink below the display tank (as opposed to buckets!) This is separate to doing a water change as the water obviously stays in the system. The sink underneath also acts as a 'spill container' should i need to disconnect the closed loop (as there is always water left in the pipes and carpets going in early next year ) i jigsawed out the stand to fit the 'sink' and made up the plumbing for it on the weekend. i just need to find a plastic sink to fit the hole and then seal it in there. of course it helps having the sump room downstairs but the idea i was thinking for you was similar except just have a piece of pvc pipe rigged up (ie: less the sink) picture it much like your overflow pipe but open at the top just below the bottom of the tank so you can put the end of the hose into it when cleaning the main tank. water goes down into the sump where the piece of filter wool sits. voila, no mess, no spills keep your water changes separate (or put a two-way valve on the pvc pipe so half the water goes outside or down the drain!!!) you could even have the piece of pvc pipe removable and slot it in whenever you need it. if you're confused i'll put pic's on my thread when it's done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 i jigsawed out the stand to fit the 'sink' and made up the plumbing for it on the weekend. i just need to find a plastic sink to fit the hole and then seal it in there. shouldnt you get a sink first and then cut the hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 chimera wrote: i jigsawed out the stand to fit the 'sink' and made up the plumbing for it on the weekend. i just need to find a plastic sink to fit the hole and then seal it in there. shouldnt you get a sink first and then cut the hole chimera For a normal person, yes, but Chim REALLY likes doing complicated plumbing. Why do it the easy way, when if you try you can spend twice as much time and money doing it the hard way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 if you saw the setup, you would understand. i only have limited room to jigsaw the hole out (because of timber around the hole to support the tank!) yet i have extra room under the piece i jigsawed out to fit a larger sink than the size of the hole. in other words im not limited by the hole size so wasnt concerned about it! pic's later will show what i mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappers Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 understand now lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Chim (and others) Contamination Control have very nice filter bags you just hang them, great for exactly what youre talking about "Steve's tip of the week" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted December 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 contamanation control?? would they be something you could put on the end of the overflow (like a micron sock filter??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 yes, u would have to hose them daily tho, kind of thing its nice to run once a week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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