Gravel Cleaners

btang · 02-20-2006, 10:27 AM

Need some expert advice on a good gravel Clearner to use during water changes. My problem is the one I use doesnt seems to have enough strength to suck out all the bad stuff kicked up in the bottom of the tub. I have a very tall tank (26") .

So I would like to use something that will leave the crushed coral and get the dirt floating in the tub. Can some sort of pump be added to give it more horsepower??

110galreef · 02-20-2006, 11:17 AM

Are you siphoning w/ a tube in the substrate? If so what size? Try a 1 1/2 to 2" works great for me.

Blorton · 02-20-2006, 01:30 PM

For really scrubbing out a cc substrate or a tank in general for that matter, nothing beats one of these:

http://www.diatomfilters.com/

Just stir the substrate up good and leave this guy running in the water. Will suck all the nasties right out of there. When you are done, you can backflush the filter in the kitchen sink and have it ready to go for the next time.

Be advised that there is some concern these devices will trigger a diatom bloom since they rely on diatomaceous earth to operate. My humble feeling on this is that as long as the filter bag is used properly, that is not as significant an issue.

If you do get one, you can get diatomaceous earth refills much cheaper at your local pool supply outlets.

Hth!
Dan

VWD · 02-20-2006, 06:41 PM

diatom are great filters. Been around for years. I use to keep one handy all the time. But I just use a Regular siphon with the large end and dig into the sand bed. They get all the junk out. They work good Rich.

btang · 02-20-2006, 07:08 PM

Had a diatom years ago (over 20 years ago) they work great. But I just need some more power in the tube cleaning the gravel to pull all the bad stuff being kicked up in the tube.

Booboo33062 · 02-20-2006, 10:10 PM

I had the same problem with my tank. It would pull the stuff up off the sand then when I had to stop because the bucket was full all the junk would fall back onto the sand. I made my own siphon out of pvc and will see how well it works in the morning when I do my W/C. I used a piece of pvc I had lying around that was 1 inch.
I put a cap on the end with a Y on it to put the tubing on. We'll see how it works tomorrow. I know I can't see thru it to see what's comming up but I can check the bucket, and see what if any thing falls back on the sand.

dobejazz · 02-20-2006, 10:39 PM

I actually just suck it up then tilt the tube up so the crud flows out it takes practice but I'm getting good at it