How To Make: DIY Gravel Vacuum (Aquarium Gravel Cleaner)
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- The powerhead used in this video: amzn.to/2aEgGHb
Pump for larger gravel vac's: amzn.to/2aKe4u4
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DIY gravel vacuum DIY gravel cleaner Aquarium gravel cleaner Aquarium gravel vacuum
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Hey I’ve noticed that you just add straight up unconditioned tap water to your aquariums and put in water conditioner in there as it’s filling. Is this safe? Seems dangerous to have chlorine in there even for a little bit. But you know more than me. I’d love to add my water that way instead of pouring bucket after bucket after bucket.
Is it safe? Or do you just not have time to “do it the right way”?
Jake Harris it can be safe if the tank is established and has a lot of beneficial bacteria in the filter or substrate, also he may be on a well where there isn’t any added chemicals so it would be safe to do that. Personally for me I’m on city water and I use the tap it works great for me I don’t need to treat it because of the bacteria I mentioned earlier. I just get as close to the tank temp as possible and the fish don’t seem to mind and none of them get shock and die from the temperature difference. Hope this answered your question.
Hi how do you prime the pump?i did it but after priming it loses momentum again
Just watched this video. I had a similar rig for my tank about 12 years ago. Instead of finding a smaller pump, use the ball valve to reduce the water flow and that should take care of the sand problem mentioned in the video. Sorry if this was already mentioned in another comment. Nice setup. Think I'll revisit this for the small aquarium store I work at.
Thats just what i was looking for to clean my pond. Thank you very much
Brilliant!!
I used to hate gravel vacuuming because I have to top up the water again with correct TDS.
This idea is cool 👍
Brilliant idea definitely going to be making one of these if the flow is too strong reduce the pressure with the Valve you’ve already put in line I would also be tempted to use a in-line filter instead of putting the floss in the neck you would be able to put it in the filter loads of cheap ones online
I just made this according to you instructions and it works great! I also use the ball valve to regulate the suction. Great and fun project!
chitradev what pump did you use? Struggling to find anything suitable
You can use it for sand as well. Reduce the suction power by decreasing the flow using a separate ball valve at the output section of the pump
I use an external filter connected via a pipe to a gravel vacuum attachment so that water is filtered & fed back into the tank. Works better if the external filter is on a chair or table so it's at a similar height to the tank which means it's not trying to pump water to the tank as hard.
I bought the pump from City Pets close to my work near Beltway 8 and Beechnut in Houston and they even did price matching to the Amazon price plus a few dollars which was still less than shipping. I found all of the plumbing parts and even a perfect 20 oz. bottle at my local Home Depot and the Poly fill at Michaels. I struggled at first with the siphon like someone else mentioned but after I had the siphon completely flowing to a bucket I was able to plug the pump in and just dead headed it with my thumb in order to bring it back to the tank for recycle. I have only had my 36 gallon tank now for around one month but the amount of crud this thing extracted was just incredible. I use larger size gravel and so the concern about sand getting entrained was not a problem for me but I imagine chocking off the flow with the ball valve may work to control the vacuum pressure. I am going to add a power rated rocker switch to the line for easier on off control and may experiment with adding a squeeze siphon inline to get things started. Thanks DIY AQUAPRO TEAM!!
If you use a t valve in place of one of the threaded pipe couplers you can open and close the valve to allow water to come in the t-valve as well as your intake allowing you to control the suction strength while not affecting or straining the pump.
For everyone using this specific powerhead, be sure to seal the intake cap portion on the powerhead. it has an O ring, and twists to lock tight, but the seal isn't great. Check the video at 5:15 and you'll see he's done the same.
I am an inventor working on this idea for awhile. I just tested it this very hour. The solution is simple and suck in everything faster with mesh screen ( to filter gravel from going into pump ) at intake. Put the tube with filters at the output right back into the tank filtered. I use porous foam plugs.
A wider bottle may reduce the upward flow rate, making it more suitable with sand. I haven't tried it, but it's an idea.
Or you could just close the ball valve slightly until you get the auction desired...
Yeah he is pretty dumb to not figure this out himself.
This was genius! I happened to be looking for a DIY wet/dry vac system to attach to my regular normal vacuum cleaner so I can wash out a window a/c without flooding my apartment and this video popped up and caught my eye. Having a 10 gal fish tank devoted solely to a quite now oversized goldfish bought 4 years ago to keep another goldfish company that my little daughter's teacher gave out, I'm finding myself doing a twice daily poop scooping with a net and a 40% water change 3 times a week to keep up with this monster's urine and poop production. I can't wait to rig something up like this. Thanks for the idea!
We built the vac ourselves after having seen your vid, works great! just wish i went for a larger pump (currently only doing 750L/H), I'd recommend at least a 1500L/H pump... that said, we do have a rocky substrate, not sand. works SO well!
This is an awesome idea, great job. What I did, since I already had one of those siphoning gravel cleaners and an extra water filter that came with the aquarium kit I bought (but I upgraded to a better one), I simply run the water through the filter as it hangs over a bucket, and dump that water back in. Rinse out the filter media for use next time. If you don't have an extra filter, just stuff some media in the vacuum/bottle like they did here.
It's nowhere near as convenient as this, though, but just an idea for others who aren't inclined to go through with this.
+Dave “The One and only” Gahan Yep, you can do that. Just plumb it into the middle of your hose, like what's done in this video. Then you can turn the valve to adjust speed, after you have the siphon going. If you are NOT using a pump to do this (meaning it's your basic gravel cleaner fed by siphon/gravity)... I'd put the valve closer to the output end of your hose. That way, if you need to close it for some reason (like answering the phone etc)-- you will not lose the siphon.
Steve Syed he shows the output going directly back into the tank. not a bucket.
Perfect. Now you can clean the bottom of the tank, even when your tank is standing right on the floor. The same with water changes. In my case, my paludarium is standing on the floor without closet. So I am going to make this! Thx. for the vid. Very clear.
That's another great application! Thanks for watching!
I have the same problem. The only place where I could find to keep my aquarium is on the floor. The usual gravel cleaners cannot suck up the muck at all.
This solution would probably go a long way in tidying up the substrate.
cleaned my tank with a gravel vac similar to your design.i must say it worked awesomely
Nice one, man.
Simple but very effective.
I can't believe some penarse has hit the 'dislike' button already - You're doing a great job with these videos.
Thank Richard!
👍👍👍
Pondguru
Wait????!!!! Your not going to make it for me??? Thumbs down..kidding great idea
Thumbs down are probably people who do water change every time they do this, but I love it and will make small adjustments for my usefulness.
Awesome video. Tempted to try this for my new tank
Brasileiro aqui na sua área irmão!
Adoro suas idéias!
Parabéns! !!
Holy cow, I need this. New project! Thanks so much!
I was so excited seeing your message, until I start watching the video. The video say that I need 6 new accessories like pcv pipe and 5 other different valves, cotton thingy and powerhead xD
I'm just gonna stick with my $5 siphon pump.
Great idea. Debris out and clean water is siphoned right back in.
New king of DIY coming to town;)! Great video, narration and content are top notch!
Cool! One thing I did differently was to just remove the bottle cap.
very important video, but the power head in the video is different from the pumps mentioned in the description, please please clarify, i want to make this, awesome idea. TIA
I think that if you partly close the valve, it would reduce the water flow, which would then reduce the suction and therefore, can be set low enough not to pick up the sand. Or at least, minimize it. Not a bad idea, but if you powered it with an air stone, it would be cheaper, and much more compact. No need for the hoses and just use a filter bag on the end to catch the debris.
Great add on idea!
Yup. clamp your hose to reduce the flow rate.
Larger bottle size if there is room might also help. 👍
When vacuuming gravel, use a wider bottle. It won't increase wear on your pump, but it will reduce vac inside the bottle.
if I'm correct what gravel vacuum available is so weak for this task so use this diy method for my own custom gravel vacuum much stronger and better than in the market.
good idea BUT you should never throttle the intake of any pump. You can safely throttle the discharge of a centrifugal (kinetic) pump, which most aquarium pumps are. So install the ball valve on the discharge side of the pump.
It is to stop the syphon while holding the syphon. You fill the intake with water and plug the end and let it go in a bucket. Then stop the flow with the ball valve then plug the tube easily into the pump. The pump is never on until they syphone is pushing water to the pump.
to slow the suction down why don't you close the ball valve down so it is reducing the flow ???
+rov furness
I agree with you! The solution is already built in that device. The intake suction can be regulated by adjusting the the ball valve as wished. These pumps won't break, even if the ball valve is completely closed and kept like that for a while.
Wow, nice design. I like that you have combined all classic vac types into one. This reminds me of something I've got in the works. I still don't know if my idea is plausible, but if it is I will make a vid.
I watched your ad. I hope that you get proceeds from that. :-) /thanks for the info. I have a pond that needs de mucking of plant matter. I think this will work.
Thanks Tasha, its very much appreciated :)
awesome Idea it saves on doing the BUCKET thing.
If you use a wider and longer bottle like a 2 liter you should still have enough pull to suck out the debris while letting sand and smaller pebbles fall back down.
I do something similar for sand ....2 power heads mounted inside on each end of tank, mounted 4 inch from bottom...same water bottle technic...turn on and wait 15- 20 min.... the current working against each other stirs up the sand throwing the lighter stuff up into the water..... it then gets sucked up into the water bottle....... I then do my water change as normal..... I still do vacuum the sand but it take a lot of extra work out.... 2 power head method is used on my 55 gallon but I only use 1 power head for my 30.....
Awsome ideas. Definitely a project I'm going to try. Good job.
Zak, you're the man, Thanks!
Great idea. I already have a lot of the parts for this so it's time to get busy with it. Thanks.
Heck yes! Easy to assemble VS buying one!
great video! similar to what i do except i put it back into the sump in my saltwater aquarium. subbed.
Hey Mike tried this on my 20gal aquarium but couldn't get the siphon action going in order to start the process every time I did it air would keep coming into the system....would really appreciate it if you did a small detailed video on how to start the siphon action....PS my tanks about hip height!.....PS only modification I did was I used the flexible 12" hose rather than PVC. Thank and hope to receive a feed back!
Rakesh Porob Sometimes the siphon part can be tricky... one of the downsides to the design. Just have to mess with it and be prepared to try it a few times, If you need more help lemme know
I just built this. Works great.
Hello buddy.. Thanks for sharing your idea...what is the power rating (W) you used here..
great tip sir. tried it, but no suction happened. tried submerging the pump, thats the time it started. what steps should i do so i wont need to submerged the whole pump?
The link you provided for the powerhead redirects you to Amazon and then to a powerhead that doesn't look anything like
the powerhead used in this DYI. Are you able to provide the make and model number for the unit you used, which includes the required threading for the attachments.
If you hadn't figured it out by now, when you pull up the link, just click on the option to change the style to a "bottom draw" and you'll see the one he used.
Can I use this system to clean a pond with lots of debris... Thanks for sharing this awesome idea
I tried such idea before. The biggest problem is that the electric pump won't start sucking by itself. You have to, as you said, prepare siphon first which is hell of a hassle. That is the main reason, when selecting gravel vacuum, people prefer ones that have self-start valve or bulb pump. Also the cost of the whole set could be quite expensive.
In any mature tank if you suck water from beneath the gravel and then return that water to the tank you will be adding toxic wastes such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide back into the tank. Especially in a planted tank as you showed in the video. It can get anaerobic at the bottom of a gravel column.
Fishman and that toxic waste was hidden in the sand/gravel, but now is more exposed to water, causing a bigger problem.
I was looking suchs a response like this cause I'm totally agree. Bad idea.
Great video! Predatory Fins suggested we watch this video.
Thank you for sharing this video 😀⭐
Mine was sucking air at pipe ends. Had to glue to stop. Siphoning to start is not easy but a few tries you can get it. Be prepared to change polyester often and restart siphon. You will get wet so have towels available. It's not as simple as the video portrays.
I just saw this and noticed that you have a ball valve that could serve as a flow adjustment, why didn’t you do that?
Is this necessary for small tanks for fish like bettas??
Why don't you turn the ball valve half open to adjust the pressure?
Only modification I would do, with this pump you can throttle back the suction to be able to use it with sand by adding a valve on the return end, that way you can slow it down.
Can we use sobo 1990 powerhead for 10 gallon tank?..i mean for gravel cleaning
What a brilliant idea good job
Yes very helpful now I can really save some money
Saves getting a mouth full of tank water :) nice idea
where do i get this power head from? i bought the one that is listed in the above link. it does not have input and output as shown in video.
five years ago?? and no response? i'm starting over.
Any tips on starting the siphon? Struggling with that part
OK, I know this has been up for quite a while, but I have a question. I followed the directions, got all the parts, but for the life of me I can't get it to work. My problem is with establishing and keeping the siphon going. Is there a trick to it? I can get it started but as soon as I try to put the discharge hose in the water I lose the siphon. How do you start the siphon, close the ball valve, put the discharge hose in the tank and turn on the pump with just two hands?
never heard of refilling too fast, why's that bad? otherwise, cool contraption. thx for sharing.
How would you recommend putting the water back rather than bucket by bucket akig the huge ess
Thanks for the video
When you hit sand use the ball valve to slow it down
Dave sent me here. Im pretty active on youtube, cant believe i didnt find your channel my self. Checking out all of yours. Subbed!!
Hey thanks! We are pretty new, (2 months or so) but a lot more vids to come!
Looking forward!
Probably had been suggested before but you could cut relief slots in the bottom of the cup and drill a few small holes in the top to only allow lighter than sand material to get cycled properly. Haven't done it ever but maybe it just might work.
What is the pump used in this video? I can't find any with female input and outputs. Please help ASAP
Is it safe to more fresh tap water in without using tape safe liquid ?
so can I leave the water pump outside the tank ? and can it pump the water as 15ft long ?
Is it okay for power head to ve turn on while it's not submerged at a water?
Is there an input and output on a submersible pump like the bigger one that is recommended? I want to build th his but the pumps with the two hose connectors are too weak for my gravel. :(
Hi I can't fined that pump u used in the video can u tell me of any other pumps that will work
many many thanks brother
good day DIY aquapros, nice tips, thank u for this...i really need it
Thanks!
A list in your description with item links would be helpful for either Lowes or Home Depot, as there are many items to choose from that match your description. For example, you list male risers but don't put how long they are supposed to be. It's not an easy build for me since I don't know what to get from your video (other than the pump).
***** they dont have these stuff in lowes of homedepot. u have to go to those local shops.
Actually they do have all the materials with the exception of the pump. I bought the pump online and it failed within a week. Once I returned that, I bought a pond pump at Home Depot. Less money, more powerful and it hasn't failed in two years. It also came with a bunch of adapters and attachments. I used those materials to build a better one than this guy did.
The pump you link to has on the in side no connection as you have in the video. How did you get that?
Dont wower head needs to be submerged in water to work, if not what kind of powerhead I need to get, please help
hey guys im a big fan of yours. i would like to know what pump.
Was it a power header or a submersible pump?
Obsoletely genius!
You already have a flow rate adjustment ......that ball valve! Just use it to reduce flow/suction of the pump.
The project is so great but I have a question : How powerhead can be worked if impeller running 'dry' ? That's external pump and it's not easy to make powerhead works unless you place it in the Aquarium tank
I brought 1 external pump with input and output and it doens't work, there no water flow coming in & out...You guys got any advices ?
Hai Phan prime the pump first.
im gonna attach a big hosse and use it for water changes! thanks!
What's the total cost for the materials to build it?
Wish you had written out the parts in the description....
If you don't want him to pull the sand, you can lower the power by reducing the tap
Use the ball valve to limit suction power by partially opening
I can’t get the siphon to start for anything. Is there a trick to it?
Can you link where I can buy the power head love this video by the way..
Why should we not fill up the tank using this vacuum?
als je nou filterzand op de bodem heb liggen dan blijft alle afval daarboven op liggen en bij grind zakt het afval erdoorheen
how did you install the second tubing?
Just what i needed! Thank you for this! GOD bless!
ADU Aquascaping sent me over here, so hats off to him. Really cool idea about the vac. I'm definitely going to be checking out your other videos soon. And just subbed as well.
Thanks Nick! We have a lot more content coming out soon, hope you enjoy!
Good job
How well do you think the Ecoplus 185 would work for this? Would it have enough power to do the job?
The pump in the link no longer match the pump in the video.
I was doing a water change and my siphon just stopped and I think the little circle that works the siphon got stuck or sumthing any help?
What a power this pump? 1200 or 1600 ?
Do you know if they still sell these pumps? The links take you to submersible pumps. Thanks!