Tank maintenance mistakes

Sand is lighter than gravel so highly possible it's going to clog. This also should make you hesitate with a DIY setup as well since you are at the mercy of the power head.
So instead of the " easier" way, you still have the option of putting a piece of clear rigid tubing ( I suggest a length as long as the depth of the tank) on the end of your siphon hose so that you can control where you are collecting the water and debris. Just keep the hose slightly above the sand bed in order to not pick up the sand. If you have a lot of siphoning you need to do, run that water through a filter pad or floss sitting in a net on a bucket so that you can replace that water so not doing a large volume water change.

Yeah it's definitely what I'll do if I ever have a similar issue. In fact, I might do it today on a small volume just to get used to doing it.

Most of the water I originally got rid of just went straight out the window in a panic.

I have got multiple buckets (one that's only ever been used for fresh tap water and one for removal, then one for anything else). I also buy filter floss in bulk due to using it to stem the outflow, so I could have easily done it.

pauldadams1984 said:

Yeah it's definitely what I'll do if I ever have a similar issue. In fact, I might do it today on a small volume just to get used to doing it.

Most of the water I originally got rid of just went straight out the window in a panic.

I have got multiple buckets (one that's only ever been used for fresh tap water and one for removal, then one for anything else). I also buy filter floss in bulk due to using it to stem the outflow, so I could have easily done it.

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Here's a hint:
I know people like to use larger diameter hoses to get the job done with as quickly as possible but when spot cleaning, using a smaller diameter hose with the rigid tubing attached can help you get what you are after without removing a lot of water more easily. And with the rigid tubing, a small swirl can be created more easily that will raise the debris off the bottom so you can collect it without draining a lot of water.

Andy Sager said:

Here's a hint:
I know people like to use larger diameter hoses to get the job done with as quickly as possible but when spot cleaning, using a smaller diameter hose with the rigid tubing attached can help you get what you are after without removing a lot of water more easily. And with the rigid tubing, a small swirl can be created more easily that will raise the debris off the bottom so you can collect it without draining a lot of water.

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I have 2 syphons, generally 1 for big tank, 1 for small tank. The bigger syphon removes larger volumes of water much quicker, whereas the smaller syphon is slower, but creates much more concentrated flow and is better at picking up and removing detritus.

Funny you should say that. A few weeks ago I bought a cheap thing from shein. Cost something like £1.49 (you need to buy quite a lot from there to get free delivery and make it worthwhile)

I was getting fed up with my old one that had no kickstart hand pump. So it was a continuous battle getting it started and I was constantly making a mess one way or another.

Anyway, this cheap thing is flimsy but a lot narrower and I noticed it's much better at picking up the dirt and I can concentrate where I'm sucking much better. As I say though, it's flimsy, so I might attempt to either swap tubing or buy a similar one that's better quality.

Plus they (Fluval) have a bypass issue the water goes around the edges of the filter material it is stiff and not always cut the same.. Most people replace it with floss to solve this. Another thing I saw several post on was the water never makes it down the filter most of it goes right out the first red hole it comes to. One guy blocked off all but the last hole. From what I have read just changing to floss an replace it each time and it should work fine. I would not want the filter to dry out all week anyway.

Airborne 82nd said:

I would not want the filter to dry out all week anyway.

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Yeah fair point that is. Obviously the only thing it will come into contact with is things from the tank, although something could go crusty and they get back into the water column etc. far to expensive to change cartridge every week.

Airborne 82nd said:

Plus they (Fluval) have a bypass issue the water goes around the edges of the filter material it is stiff and not always cut the same.. Most people replace it with floss to solve this. Another thing I saw several post on was the water never makes it down the filter most of it goes right out the first red hole it comes to. One guy blocked off all but the last hole. From what I have read just changing to floss an replace it each time and it should work fine. I would not want the filter to dry out all week anyway.

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I don't think you want to replace all the floss at one time. The good thing with pads ( and the floss) is that you can make layers so that you are only changing a smaller portion of the overall biological filter which is in/on the floss or pads. And when you do that, you want to allow for the bed to regenerate the lost microbes before adding any new life.

pauldadams1984 said:

Yeah fair point that is. Obviously the only thing it will come into contact with is things from the tank, although something could go crusty and they get back into the water column etc. far to expensive to change cartridge every week.

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As much as the cartridges are an easy way of filtering, they would not or should not need to be replaced weekly. For the most part, any carbon in them will have exhausted within the first 30 days but most tanks will do fine without carbon in the filter if you are doing routine water changes. Considering that, you would only need to lightly rinse them to get any larger pieces off so that the water flows through them again. They really don't NEED to be replaced until they are basically just falling apart and at that point, you would be better off changing to pads or floss in layers so that when they need cleaning, you are not disturbing the whole biological filter bed that developed in them.

Andy Sager said:

I like the concept but there appears to be a lot of hesitation from his fish at the disturbance by his hand in the water. The machine Aiken suggested comes with an extender for deeper tanks so it will be less intrusive on the fish. Just my 2 cents.

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Andy here is my plan. Let me know if you think there is anything you would change My 75g tank water is 18 to 20 inches. I have a long python tube that is cut down to 18in. so that keeps my hand out of the water most of the time. My sustrate is pea gravel so I have no issues with it getting suck up. My first test will be to use this tube with a small ball of filter floss in it. If the floss works its way up the tube I will cut the tube at the hose end and rejoin it with a coupler to get the floss out. I don't have a power head but I do have a large air pump that I can control the flow with but will need to get a couple of different size air stones. To figure out the stone size is my big questions do you think I should try large or small air bubbles? Do you think the length of the stone matters? My fish poos a lot so I might need a pre filter maybe cut the tube half way down put some stocking over it another coupler over that then the rest of the pipe. Can you tell I have to much free time retirement does that to ya.
Oh by the way I did get another Ocar he is small about 1 1/2in. when bought 3in. now.

Airborne 82nd said:

Andy here is my plan. Let me know if you think there is anything you would change My 75g tank water is 18 to 20 inches. I have a long python tube that is cut down to 18in. so that keeps my hand out of the water most of the time. My sustrate is pea gravel so I have no issues with it getting suck up. My first test will be to use this tube with a small ball of filter floss in it. If the floss works its way up the tube I will cut the tube at the hose end and rejoin it with a coupler to get the floss out. I don't have a power head but I do have a large air pump that I can control the flow with but will need to get a couple of different size air stones. To figure out the stone size is my big questions do you think I should try large or small air bubbles? Do you think the length of the stone matters? My fish poos a lot so I might need a pre filter maybe cut the tube half way down put some stocking over it another coupler over that then the rest of the pipe. Can you tell I have to much free time retirement does that to ya.
Oh by the way I did get another Ocar he is small about 1 1/2in. when bought 3in. now.

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I appreciate your ingenuity but I don't believe you are going to get enough suction power with an airstone. But I am not against trying it. I would get a coarse bubble airstone ( i.e. ) and crank up the air volume. I would try a small stone first and if it doesn't work, try to find a longer thin air stone with large/ coarse bubbles. ( Large bubbles move more water than small bubbles. ) I'd also consider cutting the tube at 22"-24" to keep your hands out of the water as much as possible.
Regarding using the floss, you would be better off using a pad vs loose floss and I would leave a bit of it extended outside the tube and rubber band it to the tube to prevent it from getting sucked up the tube. Cut the pad into a "T" shape and stuff the wider end up the tube. I would not cut the suction tube to retrieve the pad or floss. The more cuts, the more potential escape paths for the bubbles which will reduce the poo flow. I'd use a wire hanger to reach up the tube if necessary or use a zip tie through the pad to pull it out. ( Can you tell I've Rube Goldberged a few things in my day as well. )
Just remember, if all else fails, there is nothing wrong with spot cleaning just by gravity using a siphon hose. With a long enough hose you don't have to worry about sucking in water into your mouth ( if you move fast enough ) or else just fill the siphon hose with water and keep your thumb over one end until you put it into a bucket.
Yeah, Oscars grow quickly that first year so it's really possible to have a 12" fish in a year. Be careful what you wish for.

Oh I'm not wishing I'm hoping. I would get a coarse bubble airstone I didn't know the difference thanks. Large bubbles move more water than small bubbles. That is what I needed to know. The pad and rubber band sounds like the best idea. My cocern was removing it and making a mess but I could use a bowl and catch it. That is just one reason I don't like sponge filters the main one being they are BFU or just not pretty. I could watch Rube all day have even built a couple. I don't do spot cleaning I will do another post on how and when I clean. With a long enough hose you don't have to worry about sucking in water into your mouth. Learned that trick in the 60s trying to get gas for the mower It is like a lathe speed and feed go hand in hand.
Thanks for all your ideas I will give them a try and report back.

Airborne 82nd said:

Oh I'm not wishing I'm hoping. I would get a coarse bubble airstone I didn't know the difference thanks. Large bubbles move more water than small bubbles. That is what I needed to know. The pad and rubber band sounds like the best idea. My cocern was removing it and making a mess but I could use a bowl and catch it. That is just one reason I don't like sponge filters the main one being they are BFU or just not pretty. I could watch Rube all day have even built a couple. I don't do spot cleaning I will do another post on how and when I clean. With a long enough hose you don't have to worry about sucking in water into your mouth. Learned that trick in the 60s trying to get gas for the mowerIt is like a lathe speed and feed go hand in hand.
Thanks for all your ideas I will give them a try and report back.

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Hey, you suck and drink enough tank water, you learn a few things along the way. I'm shocked I never came down with Ick, fin & tail rot or Lymphocystis.