How to Use a Gravel Vacuum

*Side Note* I was super excited to see that I'd gotten 20 page views since the start up of this blog 2 days ago. That is, until I realized that probably 75% of that was my own doing. I'm new to Blogspot, so of course I'm still learning the ropes. I figured out that you can disable tracking of your own pageviews. So I'm doing that.

Since then, I figured I probably at least got 3 pageviews that weren't my own. (I'm hoping!) Please, if you're out there...someone...anyone...give me a sign! (comment!) *End Side Note*


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Now for the meaty stuff.

If you're like me - a total beginner - you probably thought at first you didn't even need a silly gravel vac. In fact, I'm starting to suspect that many of my LFS (Local Fish Stores) don't even use them! The tanks are chronically dirty with black debris everywhere. Yesterday, I visited my local pet store chain (pet chain store?) and I saw a lady employee swishing her hand around in the tank and digging / mixing the gravel. As a result, a disgusting CLOUD of DEBRIS was expelled and covered the entire tank. It was disgusting. Rotting chunks of food and feces flying everywhere. Poor fishies. I'm actually surprised that they would do that in the middle of the afternoon when there were customers visiting. I'm assuming that she reasoned: "oh I'll just free up the debris and once it's waterborne, the filter will take care of the rest".

What's so bad about this? Well, first, it's completely insanitary! I'll bet she does this "shakedown" every month or so, maybe more, judging by the sheer amount of waste. In the meantime, think of all the disgusting filth building up in that little bit of gravel! It's a total breeding ground for disease. Hence why I see dead fish every time I go.

Secondly, the filter(s) there don't seem to work well at all. I see cloudy/debris-filled water in a couple tanks, all the time. When I entered the store last night to buy some tasty treats (see previous post), a couple tanks were already swarmed with gunk. By the time I left half an hour later, they were STILL completely covered in debris. Srsly. So much gunk I could barely see through the glass and find fish.

This rant is meant to convince you that gravel vacs are essential to tank maintenance! You don't want your tank absolutely crawling with nasty stuff do you?

How to Use a Gravel Vacuum

1. Buy a gravel vacuum ($8-$15) that suits your cleaning needs. Some are skinny for small tanks, others are big and fat for larger tanks. Obviously. I use the smallest size gravel vac for both my tanks so I can "spot clean" without removing too much water. As mentioned before, I like to clean. A lot. I'm obsessive about keeping my tanks as pristine as possible.

2. Remove all tank decorations. I have a self-starting vac. Basically, just plunge the entire thicker tube end (the one that does the suctioning) into the tank and give it 2-3 good tugs. You'll hear a little burbling and water will start flowing.

3. Before you even do that, put the other end of the tube into a large, TALL bucket. This prevents spills. Trust me, you need a tall bucket/container. I used to use a shallow tupperware container. It totally backfired. The end of the tube curved up and out, aimed for the furniture. Water. Everywhere. Since then, I gotten a 10g bucket.

4. As soon as water starts flowing, shove the vacuum end into gravel and you should see debris flying up the tube. Small bits of gravel will go up partially into the tube too. Don't worry, its' too big to get sucked up. Just shake the gravel vac a little and the gravel will fall out.

5. Tip: if you have a small tank like my 10G, then you'll want to start cleaning the dirtiest areas first. After a few cleanings, you'll notice a few areas get especially dirty. For me, it's the bottom left corners of the tank and under/around cave areas. Do this because you only have about 3-5 minutes to clean. I find that after 5 minutes, so much water (30%) is already removed that it'd be unwise/unsafe to remove more.


6. If you have a larger tank like my 29G, you don't need to worry about time. After about 10 minutes, I find that only about 10% of the water is removed. Just do a thorough job, as there are likely to be more nooks and crannies.

7. If you have a planted tank like I do, carefully vacuum around the plants, making sure you don't disturb the roots. Sounds tough, but it's actually not that hard. This is, however, assuming that you have at least 1.5-3 inches of gravel in your tank: enough to firmly bury and root plants with, and that the gravel is fine-grade pea gravel designed for ease of planting. I know this would never have worked with the old gravel I had which was neon blue and each piece was jagged and gigantic. It made planting a nightmare.

Nudge the plants around a bit because food bits and debris tend to get trapped in the fine leaves. Especially moss and fine needled plants like hornwort or cabomba.

Plants need fine gravel! Some people even add nutrient layers before they add gravel to promote growth.

8. Once you are satisfied, just lift up the gravel vac, point it to the ceiling so the rest of the water comes out, and dump the dirty tank water. You can also use this time to rinse off filter pads in the tank water.

9. Fill up the bucket with as much water as you just dumped, and a little more to account for evaporation. Add dechlorinator. Make sure the newly added tap water is roughly the same temperature as the tank water. Some people go as far as using specific heaters and thermometers. I just use my hand. I feel the tank. I feel the water. Feels about the same. We're good to go!

10. Gently and slowly add water to the tank. Some people prefer to pour the water over a plate or bowl so the disruption to the water/gravel/plants is minimal. I just pour it REALLY SLOWLY and a little trickle at a time. It makes as much disruption as my filter. Which isn't much.

11. Rinse off gravel vac and bucket. Store away for later use.

*Even if you don't have gravel for some reason in your tank, a gravel vac can be an easy and efficient way to do water changes. Just stick it in the tank, clip it to the side so it doesn't float, and it'll remove as much water as you need. This way you don't need to do what I used to do: water changes using large tupperware containers and REPEATED TRIPS to the sink. It was tiring to say the least.


*Please, save yourself the trouble and buy a self-starting gravel vac. Do not buy the kind where you have to suck on the other end with your mouth. It's absolutely DISGUSTING and puts you at risk for loads of diseases. Also you could end up swallowing some of the water. Yuck.