diy non-water change aquarium vacuum designs

[HelplessNewbie]

I was wondering if anyone has tested various diy designs for recirculating vacuums (i.e. the water returns directly back to tank after sucking up debris)?

Sometimes, you see,  I just want to take out debris like dead leaves in between water changes. I have seen air pump and water pump or powerhead-driven ones on youtube.

I was hoping for pros and cons, including in speed, inexpensive cost, ease of use like least amount of bumping and dislodging things in small (10g and 20g) planted tanks.

Off the top of my head, here are some thoughts:

1. using a turkey baster and squirting into a fish net is cumbersome but least disruptive

2. if powerhead or pump needs priming, then I need room to maneuver in the tank for the hose and connectors, potentially hitting plants; also, fish that get sucked in accidentally might be injured if they go through the impeller

3. air driven seems it might use less room and sucked up fish suffer less injury; but maybe the bubbles might make visibility worse? will there be enough suction?

Edited March 16 by HelplessNewbie

[Rube_Goldfish]

I've never thought about this, and I'm not sure how to do a search for an off-the-shelf commercial product. Would it be good enough to siphon/vacuum into a bucket through a net or basket packed with sponge, to sieve the solids out, then pour the water back into the tank?

[HelplessNewbie]

On 3/16/2024 at 10:25 AM, Rube_Goldfish said:

I've never thought about this, and I'm not sure how to do a search for an off-the-shelf commercial product. Would it be good enough to siphon/vacuum into a bucket through a net or basket packed with sponge, to sieve the solids out, then pour the water back into the tank?

It is what my hubby has been doing, but I was hoping to contribute to the upkeep of our tanks, even though my disability severely limits my movements and how long and often I can do them. Bending down and lifting buckets is a restriction.

Edited March 16 by HelplessNewbie

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 3/16/2024 at 11:07 AM, HelplessNewbie said:

It is what my hubby has been doing, but I was hoping to contribute to the upkeep of our tanks, even though my disability severely limits my movements and how long I and often I can do them. Bending down and lifting buckets is a restriction.

So is your main goal water conservation? Because if it's okay to use the outgoing water to vacuum and then just dump it, then replace it with new water, you could do that with electric pumps or a Python, which are physical but not as much as buckets.

I wonder if you had a small, gentle submersible pump (I use this one) with the output directed through a sieve, or a small colander lined with sponge/filter floss, or something like that,* and that whole contraption was in the tank the whole time, would that work? It would be hard to "aim" the pump's intake, I guess.

*Maybe a quart-sized deli/soup cup with holes punched in the bottom, or maybe even the whole bottom removed if you had enough and fine enough floss in it?

[madmark285]

Get a cheap water pump from Amazon, put it in a bucket and cover it with gravel. Run a hose from the water pump back into the tank. A water pump with an intake on the bottom would be best. 

Use a siphon gravel cleaner to  suck up crap in the tank, dump the water into the bucket, pump it back into the tank.

If you have a dolly for the bucket  or an old cooler with wheel, use that. 

[HelplessNewbie]

I would rather not have to involve a bucket, even with wheels. Perhaps, it may help if I provide some examples of what I was thinking of?

 

 

If no one has tried these or similar designs, I might report on my findings later on.

Edited March 16 by HelplessNewbie

[HelplessNewbie]

On 3/16/2024 at 11:42 AM, Rube_Goldfish said:

So is your main goal water conservation?

No, my main goal is cleanup of detritus and plant debris.

Edited March 16 by HelplessNewbie

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 3/16/2024 at 12:22 PM, HelplessNewbie said:

No, my main goal is cleanup of detritus a plant debris.

If that's the case, then one of those DIY solutions you linked look like they should work pretty well, or a Python (or its equivalent). A Python could add new water back in at the end, too.

Or, you could get a bucket, put a pump in the bucket with a hose leading to your sink (or wherever you dump your old water), then siphon from the tank into the bucket. To replace the water, put the bucket-with-pump in the sink under the running tap, temperature match, and pump into the tank. This thread might be helpful.

[EggShappedFish]

I remember back when I was young, and worked in a LFS, that the manager had modified a large canister filter, to be used as a gravel vacuum cleaner. They basically just mounted a gravel vacuumer on the inlet, and used a valve to regulate suction.

This was of course most useful for cleaning hundreds of tanks, but if you have an old canister filter laying around, maybe it could be an option. As far as I remember, it only had sponges in it, in varying PPI.