General Care Discussion :: Cleaning the tank

[annie_]

I have a question..
When you clean the whole tank and do a 100% water change how do you take out all the water?
I use a syphon vacuum for aquariums and when the water level is too low it hasn't enough pressure to take the water out..
I'm new in the aquarium thing!!!

Thanks!

[blackforces get you]

bucket by bucket. thats how i do it. even though it takes like a hour or 2 its worth. gets your tank clean and a happy turtle

[BullDog]

My FX5 drains about 80% of the water out, then for the last bit I use a garden hose, get some suction going, and drain it with that. Still doesn't get all of it, but it drains about 99%.

[steve]

For my glass tank, I use a shop vac to suck everything out. For the stock tank, I just lift up one end and use a plastic cup.

[untsmurf]

I use a syphon to get out the majority of the water, then I scoop it out bucket by bucket. I used to use the shop vac, but it started leaking, then my dogs chewed it to pieces.

[annie_]

By shop vac what do you mean? A vacuum that can also suck water?

I use the syphon vacuum to get out most of the water and then I lift up one end and use a plastic cup as steve said. But my tank is a glass tank and I asked if there is another way to make it easier..

If the shop vac is what I understood, I haven't thought about it and I find it a really good idea!

[TheComputerGremlin]

A shop vac is a wet/dry vacuum typically used in auto shops and whatnot, hence the name. You can get pretty cheap models in the US, so you can probably find them in Greece.

Looks like they are running around $40-120 in the US.

One looks like this, but they all look pretty similar:

[ESG4Life]

i just use a siphon and when the water gets too shallow i lift up one end of the tank then siphon the rest out.......

[SpotsMama]

Every day, I net out the solid stuff and use this to clean up the crumbs and it works real well.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12753

[ESG4Life]

i have one of those!!!

[joeybsmooth]

I use the thing that Jax linked to. You but you have to dumb ever so often .

[annie_]

Every day, I net out the solid stuff and use this to clean up the crumbs and it works real well.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12753

And this gets out the whole water? Because it says something about 8'' to 16'' depth..

[EmperorTunaFish]

I had one of those things Spots linked. Unfortunately I got the motor wet, and it went beyond repair. I didn't think of using it as a syphon though... a good idea.

[SpotsMama]

Oh, the Mr. Cleaner gravel vac doesn't remove water from the tank - it just filters out the crumbs on the bottom. If you need to change the water, the best tool I know if is a Python. It's a fancy syphon. I have a Python with a very long hose and use it like a syphon to drain water from Spot's aquarium into the back yard, then I attach it to the kitchen sink to refill the tank. Here's a link, or you can get them at places like Petsmart or lots of other aquarium supply places:

http://www.pythonproducts.com/

If you have a small tank and just want to drain the water into a big bucket, you can get a very inexpensive, small, simple syphon from the aquarium section of any pet store.

[Simba]

I don't clean it all verty often, thouth on the special occasions like christmas :p when I do a full hardcore clean I use the aquaeon water changer or whatever it was called. Got it for $35 and it works an absolute charm.