Habitat - Indoor :: How do you clean your tank?

[ataraxiamb]

This may seem stupid, but I feel as though what I've been doing is arduous and there must be some other way, considering they have tanks that are attached to cabinets. I take everything out of the tank, then I put a bucket right next to the desk the aquarium is on, and tilt the tank so that the water fills the bucket. (Repeat until drained.) I wipe down the tank, wash out the bucket, and then bring the water back in, bucket by bucket.

Does that tubing for gravel work to get water out?

[cutepanda86]

How many gallons are you removing? I use a shop vac (it's a strictly turtle vac, lol) to suck out the water. But then again, everything I have is suction cupped to the walls. There is no sand or decorations to worry about.

[ataraxiamb]

It's a 20 gallon tank half full.... so 10 gallons. Where did you get your turtle shop vac?

[steve]

I think she means she has a Shop Vac just for turtle use. I do the same... must a New York turtle keeper thing. I just use a cheap pump and hose to pump it into the sink. I also have a Python and it's a very handy product. But if you want to save money, you can just get clear airline tubes and the various sink adaptors at a hardware store.

[devilduck]

I use a hose and gravity siphon into a bucket.

[cutepanda86]

I think she means she has a Shop Vac just for turtle use. I do the same... must a New York turtle keeper thing. I just use a cheap pump and hose to pump it into the sink. I also have a Python and it's a very handy product. But if you want to save money, you can just get clear airline tubes and the various sink adaptors at a hardware store.

That's exactly what I mean, Steve. It totally must be a NY thing. lol I bought the 5 gallon shop vac at the good ol' Home Depot. Now I put it on top of a 5 gallon pail with a large flat rubbermain on top (this is for overflow in case of a whoopsie). It takes 3 turns to completely empty the 5 gallons I have but I can also lift a full vac and dump it out of the window nearby. lol

I got frustrated with siphons as I broke two of them, hence the shop vac.

[steve]

I have two tanks to clean but I only take out the shop vac when I want every last drop out of the tank. The pump is pretty quick and convent. I start draining one tank while I clean the basking areas. Once that's done, I can start to refill it and start draining the other tank. Once it's drained, the other tank is filled and I'm ready to fill the other. After all these years, I think that's the best I can do with these setups.

The siphons can take too long.

[ataraxiamb]

OK, I feel silly now about the turtle shop vac... My shop vac would be a "turtle shop vac" too, because I can't think of any other purpose I would have for a shop vac.

I'll price shop vacs but maybe use a siphon until I can afford one. I can't lift the tank with the water in it, so the edge of the table scuffs the edge of the aquarium everytime I change it. Who makes the best siphon?

[cutepanda86]

Plus once the ol' turtle poo goes into it, why use it for anything else? gross.

Mine wasn't too expensive but also think of where you have to empty it and then go from there. As far as siphons go, I don't know. I bought one from Pets Supplies Plus and from Petsmart and they both broke.

[steve]

How big is your tank? You shouldn't every try to move a tank with water and/or decorations in it. Wether you need a Shop Vac or not, depends on where your tank is (how far from a drain) and your main goal. They are fast, but very loud with limited capacity.

As for siphons... the best one is Python, though Aqueon is pretty similar. For simple draining, I just clamp one end of a tube to the sink, and the other to the tank and connect a pump.

[ataraxiamb]

The tank is 20 gallons, half full. I take all the decorations out when I empty it. It is about 15 feet from a drain.

[cutepanda86]

That's pretty close to the drain. Good stuff. That would make just about any device easy.

[penelope]

They also have cheap siphon/gravel hoses (I believe that may be what you referring to in your initial post). You would probably want the small size since you have to submerge it and shake, shake, shake to get the siphon. I used to use one and it did the trick. It was a pain in the rear to get going at times, but it sure beat the manual method of bailing water.
If you are looking for an inexpensive solution while you save for the power vac, they work.
As Steve mentioned it is not a good idea to lift a tank.

btw...if you have a good filter, you don;t have to drain the whole thing every time. Partial water changes to keep the nitrates away are all you need for standard maintenance.

[ataraxiamb]

I found a cheap shop vac online at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... Soc6KXCaSo

I could just suck up the crud on the bottom and use it one time per cleaning. Or I could always make 2 trips. It looks like it has wheels, so that'll make it easy. He's close to one of my bathrooms, so I can continue to dump the turtle water in the toilet.

[cutepanda86]

Excellent! Just check the weight because you don't want to hurt yourself trying to lift it.