i recently bought this:


it says that it automatically starts. but, well... it didn't. i put the tube into my water with a bucket on the other end of the tube. obviously, nothing happened. i feel like i'm supposed to buy some other part to actually get it vacuuming, but i don't know what. i mean, the description makes it sound like this tube is ITSELF the vacuum. i'm so confused. please tell me i'm not an idiot!

You have to suck the air out from bucket side of the pipe while the other end is in the tank. When you see the water is coming, just put the end into the bucket. Good Luck!!!

Hmm, shouldn't it give you instructions on the back of the package?

you can suck the other end.. or in some of them, if you pump it back and forth a few (or 10) times the tube starts to fill with water. no icky tank water in the mouth if it's that kind!

the big tube have this flap that acts like a one way valve on the top. it only allows water or air to flow out...but not back in. just start jerking the big tub in the water up and down a few time to "pump" the water into the tube. as enough water is in the tube gravity would finish the rest.

Don't feel bad, I was totally confused about how it would work when I bought mine too. I don't have the same brand you do, but the way mine works is that you just stick the thing in the tank, make sure the large part of the tube is fully submersed and all air has escaped, turn it upright (should still be full of water) and then raise and lower it rapidly until water starts flowing out the end in the bucket. Works like magic.

As long as you make sure that you don't lift the bottom of the large part of the large tube higher than the water line in the tank (getting air in it) it'll work great. I'd also recommend turning off any bubblers that you have going, it can screw up your suction if you run it over an air stone and get it full of air.

Don't feel dumb, I promise you are neither the first nor the fortieth person to ask this, myself included!

What I do is use a large oral syringe. I stick the "big" end of the tube in the tank and make sure it fills with water, lower the small end over the bucket, and stick the oral syringe up against the small end of the tube and press hard, trying to seal it, then I draw back the plunger. It works great for me and no fish water in your mouth! If you want to try that, go to your local pharmacy and ask for a catheter tipped 60cc syringe, or any 60 cc oral syringe should do (no needles involved here-these are the kind of syringes you use with feeding tubes or to give little kids medicine in their mouth).

You can also dunk the big end in the tank, move it back and forth until it is totally full of water and then lower the other end into the bucket and wiggle it more until gravity takes over, but this can take some practice (L.E. Pirin describes this method better above). Sucking on it with your mouth will start it too, but you risk fish water!

Good luck, you will get the hang of it I promise!

Is it worth having a video of this? I've got a water change tomorrow afternoon and if I can get my mom to hold the camera for me, I can probably get video of the start up action if anybody cares to see it.

I think that would be a great idea as this question is asked a lot!

I used to have that for 3 years on my first REAL tank, which was 10 gallons. What I did was... Put the large tube in the water hortionally (cant spell) to make sure it fills up with the water and then lift the tube out of the water without having the water spill out. Let it drain into the bucket, but stop the other end with your thumb as soon the water starts going into the bucket. Then, (while thumb on the other end) put the big tube in the water and make sure it fills up (repeat as previously) and release your thumb. Allow the tube to suction the water and gravels.

I use Python for all my water changes, but I do wish that the big tube of Python was smaller, so I can work my way around decorations and plants.

As mentioned previously, I present to you...

How to Start a Gravel Vacuum hosted on youtube

If you have an aversion to youtube you can find other download options here

I hope that at least gives a bit of visual for the explanation I posted previously. Our video camera is ailing and my editing skills leave a lot to be desired, but maybe it'll help someone at some point.

I have that one.. you have to pump it up and down really fast and once it gets going it's good.

Pirin, thats interesting. Never learned about that method. I should try it some day. I will still need to buy those tubes, because I just might need tank water in a bucket.

*hands you a bucket of tank water*

I have more than enough, for some odd reason my fish keep pooping and making more dirty water... I think it has something to do with the fact that I keep feeding them. :P

Thanks L.E. Pirin, that was really helpful.

I like Daryl's method the best:

You submerge the entire vacuum, hose and all, in the tank, allowing the water to fill the whole tube and hose. Then put your thumb over the end of the hose and lift it out of the tank. With your thumb still on the end, put the end of the hose into the bucket. Release your thumb and viola! You have flow and suction.

If you have to stop to empty your bucket, put your thumb back on the end, bring it up and put the end of the hose back into the tank so it stays full of water. Empty the bucket, place it back by the tank, put your thumb back on the end of the tube and bring it back to the bucket and release.

I use this method because my fishies wouldn't leave the siphon tube alone and I was afraid I would hurt one of them when pumping the tube up and down like they do in the video. I also needed a way to restart the siphon easily between bucket dumps.

Also, with this method, you can vacuum out all but about a half a cup of water if you are ever draining the entire tank, as long as you don't lift the vacuum end of the tube above the water line it sucks like crazy.

I also use the syringe method at times, but only for the initial start of the syphon. Then I use Daryl's method.

I'm not entirely sure what happened with it today, but when I put it in the tank, I let the air out, and all of a sudden it just started flowing out of the tube and into the bucket, no pumping needed... it was AWESOME.

When I first got that type of vacuum, it took me forever to perfect the "technique," but you just wiggle it back and forth in the water and the force of the large volume in the "vacuum" part will put tons of force on the small area of the tube and cause the water to flow through the hose.

Just make sure that your bucket is lower than the tank and be careful about overflowing!!

Amen on that overflow thing!!!! I think it's happened to all of us at least once. You can get so focused on watching what you are doing in the tank that you forget to watch the bucket!