Partially Submerged Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times, but are there any good gravel vacs for pico tanks? I am seeing some "small" and "mini" ones on Amazon, but I am not sure if they are small enough to actually use in my 3g tank. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Could get the smallest one and pinch the hose... but in a tank that small would be hard to do.... probabaly best to just take everything out and stir it all up and use a hob with floss to suck up all the nasties.... Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 What about some stiff 1/2" tubing connected to some flexible 1/2" tubing. That's what I did when I had a fluval spec pico. Worked really well, and it didn't drain the tank in 30 seconds. Hahah Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Thanks for your replies. Here is the thing: I drain my pico every week anyway (complete water changes), so draining all the water relatively quickly is not a concern as long as I have a little time to vacuum. Moving the rocks is not an option - my corals hate me enough as it is. Airline tube would work, but I don't want to suck up all the sand along with the dirt and water. Would your approach work as well as an actual vac, TheKleinReef? Link to comment
East1 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Why not an ariline tube with a reducer and standard 13mm piping. It should create enough of a suction to pull away detritus but not enough that the coral sand is pulled up too. For this to work I'd estimate you'd need about 25-50mm of 13mm tubing Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Thanks for your replies. Here is the thing: I drain my pico every week anyway (complete water changes), so draining all the water relatively quickly is not a concern as long as I have a little time to vacuum. Moving the rocks is not an option - my corals hate me enough as it is. Airline tube would work, but I don't want to suck up all the sand along with the dirt and water. Would your approach work as well as an actual vac, TheKleinReef? the sand wouldn't make the trip up the pipe and into the bucket. Much like a standard gravel vac, just on a smaller scale. Why not an ariline tube with a reducer and standard 13mm piping. It should create enough of a suction to pull away detritus but not enough that the coral sand is pulled up too. For this to work I'd estimate you'd need about 25-50mm of 13mm tubing Yep. Just like this! Link to comment
East1 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I'm going to build myself one now :3 Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Sweet, thanks very much! Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 What I do is i take a water bottle cut it in half and then stick some slightly thicker then airline tubing through a hole I cut in the cap and it acts as a gravel vac Link to comment
teenyreef Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Nano Sapiens posted a nice article about this and he has a picture of how to insert a valve in one of the small gravel vacs to control the flow: Maintenance and the Nano Reef Tank Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 You could get the fluval one and cut the silicone tubing and add a ball valve to control how fast it drains the tank ? I think Petsmart has them on sale for like $8. Link to comment
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