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Pico/Small Aquarium Spot Cleaning Device that's Cheap and Easy


ajmckay

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I recently set up a Fluval Spec III (2.6g) as my first pico aquarium and I'm liking it a lot. One thing I noticed, however, is how obvious little piles of detritus can become in a pico. I can easily spot where my snail has been based on the trail of poo it leaves. So I decided to create a device that can very easily clean out this small amount of detritus before it breaks down and contributes to nuisance algae growth in the tank. I needed to do this without using much equipment and without draining my tank. It also needed to be clean and simple enough to use in my office during a short break.

 

So I created the Precision Detritus Extractor.

e4f57978-6887-4b2f-8e28-6a39209a97a5_zps

 

Materials:

- A length of rigid airline tubing that's a few inches longer than your tank is tall. In my case I chose 14" while the depth of my tank is 10.5"

- A length of regular flexible airline tubing long enough to have the end below the bottom of the tank (silicone is the best option)

- A plastic soda bottle (I used a 16oz but you could use any size bottle as long as it has an air tight lid

 

Assembly:

1) Trim the rigid tubing to length. I cut the tip at an angle so it would be easier to aim and get into tight spaces with.

2) Slide the rigid tubing into the flexible tubing about an inch or until it's pretty tight.

3) Drill a hole in the soda bottle cap slightly smaller than the diameter of the flexible tubing. Don't put it in the center.

4) Drill a small hole somewhere else in the cap with enough room around it to seal it with a finger.

 

Suggested operation:

1) Insert the rigid tubing into the tank, near the bottom while holding the soda bottle below the tank.

2) Squeeze the bottle slightly.

3) Cover the small hole in the cap with your finger and release the bottle. This will suck water up the tubing enough to start a siphon.

4) Use the PDE to suck up unsightly detritus on the sand and rocks. The suction is gentle enough you can get right next to corals.

5) Move quickly and use your free hand to pinch the tubing and stop the flow while you're moving the PDE to the next pile of poo. If you do this right you can clean the tank and only remove a small amount of water.

6) When you're done you can either discard the water and replace it with fresh SW or sometimes I'll just pour the water back into the tank through some filter floss and clean the floss later.

 

  • Like 10
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ReefSafeSolutions

Awesome! I like the idea of being able to suck out mainly poop with a tiny bit of sand...instead of mainly sand with a tiny bit of poop :lol:

  • Like 1
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Awesome! I like the idea of being able to suck out mainly poop with a tiny bit of sand...instead of mainly sand with a tiny bit of poop :lol:

 

Thanks! It's working really great so far... Interestingly if I fill the 20oz bottle and replace it with fresh SW that's roughly equal to a daily 5% water change on a 2.6g tank.

 

I think I might change the name up though... Something easier like "Pico aquarium cleaner" or something. I must have been feeling wordy when I made the thread/video.

What a cool idea!

Thanks!

  • Like 4
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ReefSafeSolutions

 

 

I think I might change the name up though... Something easier like "Pico aquarium cleaner" or something. I must have been feeling wordy when I made the thread/video.

 

 

You can't go wrong with "Poop Sucker 2000" or any variation of that, really.

  • Like 3
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Great idea! I've used rigid tubing the same way but never thought of using the bottle to get it started and collect the water. I always drag out a bucket and never use it that often as a result.


 

You can't go wrong with "Poop Sucker 2000" or any variation of that, really.

:lol:

  • Like 2
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Great idea! I've used rigid tubing the same way but never thought of using the bottle to get it started and collect the water. I always drag out a bucket and never use it that often as a result.

:lol:

Yeah I've only had this tank for a month and I was already getting sick of hauling out a bucket and hose! Using this I don't even have to get my hands wet. One last modification that I wanted to add is putting a roller clamp on the flex tubing - basically a flow control valve that you operate with your thumb (they're found on IV tubes usually). If my tank volume were higher I've thought about using a slightly larger diameter airline tubing and a 2 liter/gallon container.

 

Precision removal of single snail turds!

Lol! They're pretty obvious in a tiny tank! My 4 year old thought a snail turd was a worm :lol:

  • Like 3
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This is neat. Would be superb for someone with a BB pico as well.

 

Yes - detritus accumulates really quick in BB tanks as well!

 

I think I'll make a second one to use in my QT tank, which is bare bottom obviously.

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  • 1 month later...

So I loved this idea, and made my own but I used a sports water bottle instead. Just threw some airline tubing to the end and some rigid tubing and drilled a hole and done. I use it mainly to lower the water level slightly in my tank so I can get my hands in to work on it.

post-47692-0-98451000-1484581529_thumb.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks! It's working really great so far... Interestingly if I fill the 20oz bottle and replace it with fresh SW that's roughly equal to a daily 5% water change on a 2.6g tank.

 

I think I might change the name up though... Something easier like "Pico aquarium cleaner" or something. I must have been feeling wordy when I made the thread/video.

Thanks!

I love this invention and will be making one soon! How about calling it the PAC-VAC? Pico Aquarium Cleaner Vacuum! I would like a cut of the patent fortune, thank you very much
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I attempted to make my own and failed for now. I think what's missing is a squeezeball or something similar to get the siphon started since I'm using a glass Mason jar for collection. Any ideas? Here's a link to related video.

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  • 6 months later...

It's been a while since I've looked up this thread sorry!

 

Honestly I think using a plastic bottle is superior to glass...  Having the ability to squeeze the bottle and start suction is so much simpler.  The whole point of this thing was to make a super cheap and easy way to do some quick maintenance on pico tanks...  Cleaning it is not really necessary if you use it regularly - but it's as easy as recycling the bottle and rinsing out a new beverage container.

 

The other benefit of a plastic bottle is if you accidentally get something stuck at the inlet of the rigid tubing you can cover the hole and squeeze the bottle to pressurize the line and eject whatever gets stuck. 

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