Attention Common Pleco Owners

[Fishbros]

Hey there my fellow Common Pleco pals!

My pleco is about 10 " now and loves his 125 gallon tank.  I am wondering if when you guys vacuum your tanks if you have found a vac that can actually suck up the dense poop they give out or if you end up scooping it out.  I have tried several and some will start to go up and then fall back down eventually.  I don't really have the water pressure for one to do that way. Any ideas? Links are so welcome!  

[Fish Folk]

I am not a common place owner. Hopefully you'll get feedback from someone with experience. I'd suggest buying a long-handled net to serve as your "pooper-scooper." Siphon out a bucket of water, and then clean out the large fish poop with a dedicated net into the bucket. Flush that down the toilet.

One thing you could try to do is reach out to Ohio fish Rescue, and ask them how they handle waste in their large tanks. I think they've got 200,000 gallons with large fish. If anyone knows, they do!

[AK Aquatics]

Sounds like you need more pressure in your siphon. My fathers has had his common for years now and he uses a Powerhead connected to a Gravel Vac and that works a treat! Also Amazon has Electric Gravel Vacs  but I’m not too sure how good those work to be fair! 

[Fishbros]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:42 AM, AK Aquatics said:

Sounds like you need more pressure in your siphon. My fathers has had his common for years now and he uses a Powerhead connected to a Gravel Vac and that works a treat! Also Amazon has Electric Gravel Vacs  but I’m not too sure how good those work to be fair! 

Any idea on how you set it up with a power head?

[AK Aquatics]

On 7/16/2022 at 3:19 AM, Fishbros said:

Any idea on how you set it up with a power head?

The first link has quite a detailed breakdown of the full concept and build, I’m not the greatest of explaining step by step directions but I’m sure that video will help a ton!

[gardenman]

Siphons work on the difference in water pressure, so make sure your exit point is as low as possible. If your fish tank is on the hundredth floor of a skyscraper and you have a really long siphon hose that goes to the ground level, it would suck out anything. Your pleco could be pooping lead weights and they'd go down the siphon. I have a two-tank stand and the bottom tank on the stand gets nearly no siphon power as there's nearly no diffference in height between the entry and exit points. The more vertical distance you can put between the tank water line and where it exits the siphon will give you more suction.