I was pondering last night of a better way of cleaning tanks and came up with this


[Power Head] <- tubing - [cartridge with foam insert to collect waste] <- tubing from gravel vac [gravel vac itself]

If my understanding is correct, you could clean your gravel without ever taking water out of the tank. Sure you'd still have to do water changes ever week but this way you could thoroughly clean your gravel without having to stop become too much water has left the tank. The cartridge could be made out of some kind of cylinder cut vertically then rejoined with a hinge of some sort so you can easily insert foam blocks then lock the cylinder back into place.

Maybe if i have some time this summer ill try to create one.

mm... i think it's a great concept, but it kinda defies the point of cleaning the tank.

if you've got enough poo and other debris in the bottom of the tank making it unsightly, it's probably time for a water change anyway.
this method you're talking about will only remove the poo which doesn't do anything about the nitrates.

in my opinion, if you're going to remove the poo, you might as well clean out the "toilet".

vac the tank makes for a good water change

true, but your gravel could be completely clean and you could still do a water change afterwards and the result would be nothing decomposing in your gravel making your water all murky.

That is more work than I have time to do.

I can completely clean my bottom with a water change and still have to wait for as much water to be out of the tank before I can refill. There is another good reason to have little to no gravel in the bottom of a goldfish tank.

Even in my 10 gallon tropical tank I don't have to worry about getting to much water out before I am done cleaning.

It's not a totally dumb idea to think up but I do think 98% of people would do a water change. Then on the other hand there are all kinds of things on the market to help clean a house... and a that a lot of people buy off late night t.v.! Like that dish scruber that you put batteries in and the brush spins in a circle. Why in the world would someone need their pot scruber to spin in a circle??? Why not just use your hand and a scrub sponge or a scruber on a stick? That way soap suds won't slap you in the face from the spinning. hahaha! Thats just one example. I do think the whole water change would be the way to go but I do like your idea.

I remember years ago seeing a pre-made device like you mentioned at a local pmart store. I think it was made by PennPlax. I tried it, but all it did was grind up the poo and other debris to such a degree that it passed right through the filter bag (which was just a fine mesh bag, like the media bags that would go in a canister filter. Not to mention it had a tendency to suck up the gravel and jam up the impeller.

It's a good idea for people who are dealing with Ich. You'd want to suck up all the nasty parasites, but you'd not want to keep changing water and having to add more salt to keep the salinity levels at a certain level, and then running out of salt really quickly. My local shop only sells one type of salt that states what's actually in it, and it's the most expensive one. The other salts don't say if they have additives - they are cheaper, but I wouldn't risk it. I have to buy the most expensive one and I wouldn't want that to run out really quickly.

Home Depot..blue bag solar salt

That fixed that problem right up!

Maybe just me, but if you are gravel vacuuming & it takes longer than a decent weekly water change either you have too much gravel OR you aren't doing it right! Doing my weekly water change I can get the gravel real clean & even dig into all the nooks & crannies.....still I have more water to remove. I always do really decent water changes though, 25% to 30% is my MINIMUM water change!

I have seen something like you are describing. It had a bag attached to it and did not take water out of the tank.

ETA: Here is a link to something you are talking about. Click here.