General Care Discussion :: Tank Cleaning

[tonyandlala]

Hey All,
Recently upgraded to a 40G tank for our 2 RES and was looking for feedback on the best way to clean the bottom of the tank. Been researching the siphon vacuums that hook to a sink, are they any good? Are there any other products that work better?
Thanks,
Tony

[BlackAndChrome]

If you have a large enough canister filter I would just put a small hose on the intake and use it to suck the debris up. power siphons are nice for larger tanks but if it's just a few pieces of waste it would be a hassle to drag out the lines. manual siphon would be feasible. Also something like the Eheim quick vac although it looks like it would be nearly too large for a small tank.

-B&C

[PridgNYC]

The ones that hook to the sink work well as long as your sink is at the same or a lower level than your tank. I have the Aqueon, but I wouldn't pull it out unless I was doing water changes. Disclaimer, I have never really tried to suck up debris from the bottom of the tank since I have an FX5 and a sand substrate and don't really have to worry about crap accumulating at the bottom of the tank.

[tonyandlala]

B&C, that eheim vac looks cool, ever use it? Any good?

[happycamper]

For quick spot cleaning a turkey baster is super helpful too, and really cheap

[devilduck]

Wow this is a great idea! I never thought about that.

If you have a large enough canister filter I would just put a small hose on the intake and use it to suck the debris up. power siphons are nice for larger tanks but if it's just a few pieces of waste it would be a hassle to drag out the lines. manual siphon would be feasible. Also something like the Eheim quick vac although it looks like it would be nearly too large for a small tank.

-B&C

[penelope]

Love the turkey baster idea!

I just bought an Eheim Vac. It is helpful if you have a deep tank and need a longer reach, since it is fully submersible. Otherwise it is not any better than the "cheapie" I bought years ago.

For a 40 gallons tank, save your money and either use the methods above, or buy an inexpensive one.

[mukyo]

Just checking. Is canister filter able to suck poo?
I mean those big ones bigger than pellets?

[VeipaCray]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33171

Depends on your canister. A strong canister and sand substrate make for a fairly maintenance free tank.

[tonyandlala]

Thanks for the replies. I bought the Eheim Vac and after one use it seems to work fine.