Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

What is wrong with just sucking as much gravel as you feel comfortable
using a big size hose? The only think that I'd be worried is
releasing gases from the substrate into the water. So it makes sense
to remove gravel during a water change.

Putting the new gravel can be done with a big size funnel. That way
it will not freely fall tru the body of water, but it will end up
being released on the bottom. Make sure the tube of the funnel is big
enough to not cause cluttering of the gravel. It requires small
potions of gravel being poured tru the funnel, but that is exactly
what you want anyway.

If you want to use Fluorite you need to clean it very well. Fluorite
is not that hard to rinse to a level where it produces just a slight
hazing of the water. Browse to find out how to rinse it if you want
to use it.

-Nikolay

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

What is wrong with just sucking as much gravel as you feel comfortable
using a big size hose? The only think that I'd be worried is
releasing gases from the substrate into the water. So it makes sense
to remove gravel during a water change.

Putting the new gravel can be done with a big size funnel. That way
it will not freely fall tru the body of water, but it will end up
being released on the bottom. Make sure the tube of the funnel is big
enough to not cause cluttering of the gravel. It requires small
potions of gravel being poured tru the funnel, but that is exactly
what you want anyway.

If you want to use Fluorite you need to clean it very well. Fluorite
is not that hard to rinse to a level where it produces just a slight
hazing of the water. Browse to find out how to rinse it if you want
to use it.

-Nikolay

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank


"nikolay_kraltchev" wrote in message
om...
What is wrong with just sucking as much gravel as you feel comfortable
using a big size hose? The only think that I'd be worried is
releasing gases from the substrate into the water. So it makes sense
to remove gravel during a water change.

Putting the new gravel can be done with a big size funnel. That way
it will not freely fall tru the body of water, but it will end up
being released on the bottom. Make sure the tube of the funnel is big
enough to not cause cluttering of the gravel. It requires small
potions of gravel being poured tru the funnel, but that is exactly
what you want anyway.

If you want to use Fluorite you need to clean it very well. Fluorite
is not that hard to rinse to a level where it produces just a slight
hazing of the water. Browse to find out how to rinse it if you want
to use it.

-Nikolay

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank


"nikolay_kraltchev" wrote in message
om...
What is wrong with just sucking as much gravel as you feel comfortable
using a big size hose? The only think that I'd be worried is
releasing gases from the substrate into the water. So it makes sense
to remove gravel during a water change.

Putting the new gravel can be done with a big size funnel. That way
it will not freely fall tru the body of water, but it will end up
being released on the bottom. Make sure the tube of the funnel is big
enough to not cause cluttering of the gravel. It requires small
potions of gravel being poured tru the funnel, but that is exactly
what you want anyway.

If you want to use Fluorite you need to clean it very well. Fluorite
is not that hard to rinse to a level where it produces just a slight
hazing of the water. Browse to find out how to rinse it if you want
to use it.

-Nikolay

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
. ..
What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank

Depends on how high off the floor you have your aquarium. I would guess that
a hose of approximately 1" in diameter, with a 5 gallon bucket resting on
the floor would provide plenty of siphon power to vacuum out a considerable
amount of gravel.

A 1" inside diameter siphon hose about 4.5 vertical feet in length would
have a water column weight close to 1/2 pound. This translates into about
1/2 pound of lift at the bottom of your tank. It would be the gravellest
sucking siphon you've ever seen.

Smaller or larger hose diameters would have a proportional ability to pull
(less weight, but smaller area). It is not the diameter, but the vertical
drop from the tank that makes the difference. I would guess that a smaller
diameter hose might be easier to control than a larger one.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
. ..
What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank

Depends on how high off the floor you have your aquarium. I would guess that
a hose of approximately 1" in diameter, with a 5 gallon bucket resting on
the floor would provide plenty of siphon power to vacuum out a considerable
amount of gravel.

A 1" inside diameter siphon hose about 4.5 vertical feet in length would
have a water column weight close to 1/2 pound. This translates into about
1/2 pound of lift at the bottom of your tank. It would be the gravellest
sucking siphon you've ever seen.

Smaller or larger hose diameters would have a proportional ability to pull
(less weight, but smaller area). It is not the diameter, but the vertical
drop from the tank that makes the difference. I would guess that a smaller
diameter hose might be easier to control than a larger one.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks


"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
. ..
What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank

Depends on how high off the floor you have your aquarium. I would guess
that
a hose of approximately 1" in diameter, with a 5 gallon bucket resting on
the floor would provide plenty of siphon power to vacuum out a
considerable
amount of gravel.

A 1" inside diameter siphon hose about 4.5 vertical feet in length would
have a water column weight close to 1/2 pound. This translates into about
1/2 pound of lift at the bottom of your tank. It would be the gravellest
sucking siphon you've ever seen.

Smaller or larger hose diameters would have a proportional ability to pull
(less weight, but smaller area). It is not the diameter, but the vertical
drop from the tank that makes the difference. I would guess that a smaller
diameter hose might be easier to control than a larger one.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks


"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...
"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
. ..
What type of hose would produce enough suction to suck out the gravel?
Surely not gravel cleaner?

Thanks,

Frank

Depends on how high off the floor you have your aquarium. I would guess
that
a hose of approximately 1" in diameter, with a 5 gallon bucket resting on
the floor would provide plenty of siphon power to vacuum out a
considerable
amount of gravel.

A 1" inside diameter siphon hose about 4.5 vertical feet in length would
have a water column weight close to 1/2 pound. This translates into about
1/2 pound of lift at the bottom of your tank. It would be the gravellest
sucking siphon you've ever seen.

Smaller or larger hose diameters would have a proportional ability to pull
(less weight, but smaller area). It is not the diameter, but the vertical
drop from the tank that makes the difference. I would guess that a smaller
diameter hose might be easier to control than a larger one.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
...
OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks

Correct, no gravel cleaning bell. All you use is 1" tubing. You could
connect it to a length of 1" rigid tubing to make it a little easier to
handle than a soft hose like material. If part of it is rigid, you won't
have to reach down into the tank up to your armpits to reach where you want.

Be careful to avoid your fish. 1/2 pound of water suction is a lot and you
could easily kill just about any fish if it were to get pulled up to the end
of the siphon.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
...
OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks

Correct, no gravel cleaning bell. All you use is 1" tubing. You could
connect it to a length of 1" rigid tubing to make it a little easier to
handle than a soft hose like material. If part of it is rigid, you won't
have to reach down into the tank up to your armpits to reach where you want.

Be careful to avoid your fish. 1/2 pound of water suction is a lot and you
could easily kill just about any fish if it were to get pulled up to the end
of the siphon.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

Thanks Chet!


"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
...
OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks

Correct, no gravel cleaning bell. All you use is 1" tubing. You could
connect it to a length of 1" rigid tubing to make it a little easier to
handle than a soft hose like material. If part of it is rigid, you won't
have to reach down into the tank up to your armpits to reach where you
want.

Be careful to avoid your fish. 1/2 pound of water suction is a lot and you
could easily kill just about any fish if it were to get pulled up to the
end
of the siphon.

chet

Changing gravel "on the fly"
 

Thanks Chet!


"chet" chet-at-surewestDOTnet wrote in message
...

"Frank Mamone" wrote in message
...
OK. So it must be a straight hose, not a gravel cleaner type.

Thanks

Correct, no gravel cleaning bell. All you use is 1" tubing. You could
connect it to a length of 1" rigid tubing to make it a little easier to
handle than a soft hose like material. If part of it is rigid, you won't
have to reach down into the tank up to your armpits to reach where you
want.

Be careful to avoid your fish. 1/2 pound of water suction is a lot and you
could easily kill just about any fish if it were to get pulled up to the
end
of the siphon.

chet