Looking to vacuum tank water but for water to be pumped back into tank.

I have a lot of trouble with brown mold settling at the bottom of my 600 litre tank. Before I am able to vacuum all to waste the water level has dropped 25%. I was thinking that if only I could buy something that vacuums the muck up into a filter, like a vacuum cleaner, and returns the water back into the tank this would be a great asset.
Is there anything like this available?

 

Yes there is a battery operated model made by eheim. I sounds like you don't have enough flow/ inefficient filter. The mulm should be stirred up and moved to your filter by the flow in the tank.

 

Take a 20 l or bigger bucket. Place a water pump in the bottom. Ransack an old duvet for it's inner or buy batting at a material shop. Stuff batting in bucket and siphon the water onto the batting. Switch on pump and pump water back into tank.

 

My pump has been operating for many years. I have no idea what the flow rate is. Maybe it simply requires to be cleaned? I have multi layer filters so that cannot be the problem.

 

[FONT=open-sans, sans-serif]I have just read the following. [/FONT]

• Brown algae (caused by inadequate light) forms huge brown layers in your aquarium.
• My tank is in relative darkness until the light comes on at 2.30pm. Maybe I should try keeping it on all day?

 

I have just fitted toweling to the top of a 20 l bucket and fitted the vacuum hose end above the toweling.
I was going to experiment with this with the intention of pouring the water collected in the bucket back
into the tank. You are suggesting I place a pump in the bucket so the water is automatically pumped back into the tank.
There could be a problem if the pump delivers the water quicker than the incoming water. Adjusting the flow could possibly sort this out but may not be as easy as it sounds.

 

I would not leave the light on the whole day you will then eventaully get all other types of algae because of to much light.

I suggest you rather do the following which will be best in the long run, I would do small daily water changes removing small sections of the brown algae daily and then also replacing the water with nice clean water. This will be less of a hassle then what you want to try and do bud. Trust me this will be so much easier. Only my 2 cents worth.

 

Yesterday I tried out the bucket system. It worked like a charm. I only vacuumed the one corner of the tank and got
a liter of muck on the towel. The water in the bucket was pure and I returned it to the tank, putting out my back in the process. In future I will use a pump to return the water.
Daily water changes requires carrying water in and out the house and tap water has to be treated to remove chlorine and chloramine. Then there is also the matter of matching the water temperature. I agree that having the light on for 12 hours (which it now is) could cause excessive green algae forming on the glass sides.
I am going to replace the old pump with a more powerful one and hopefully this will provided better water movement
and finally eradicate this brown curse.

 

Even if you vacuum, your nitrates will continue to increase, so keep an eye on this

 

What water change percentage do you do weekly @Barrymore

 

Every two months I do a 25% water change and clean the filters, remove green algae etc. The entire process
takes half a day. I have been doing this for 15 years and only in the last year has this problem developed.
This weekend I will replace the pump with a new powerful pump and hope this does the trick.

 

Wow don't know of anyone who only does 25% every two months. I had a 600 liter tank a few years ago and did 160 liters every week. Had a 2700 liter pump which removed the water and then I used it to pump water back in the tank this took roughly maybe 20-30 minutes. You just have to have a good system. Previous night I filled black bins with water next day I heated it and then that evening all was ready for me. Currently I have a 4 foot I do 40liters twice weekly also put water in bins let it stand outside in bin and a few hours later water is at 25degrees. Sure fish has grown bigger and more messier reason for needing more frequent water changes.

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Water change should be done more often

 

Filter should also be cleaned every 4-6 weeks in tank water. Where filter floss should be changed every 2nd week. Just my 2cents worth bud

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I have a 75 litre container with a tap mounted and positioned above the fish tank. I have a pipe leading through the wall vent where I simply connect the hose pipe outside to it to fill the container and have a hose I connect between the container and feed it into the tank. My vacuum pipe also runs through the wall to outside the house.
The main problem is that I need more than 75 litres replaced, double that and whatever system one has it must become a bind over a period of 15 years.

 

That's a nice setup you don't have to do it all in one go you can do 2 x 75liter water changes a week that's better then only doing it every two months

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You HAD a 600 liter tank and did weekly water changes. What happened. Did it become a bind like it has for me?

 

No stopped the hobby a bit

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