Ehiem Quick Vac PRO - Automatic gravel cleaner

So my previous post I didn't rate the Ehiem Quick Vac Pro very highly however thanks to a great suggestion from one of my fishy friends I do believe that it can be modified. OK so as I said the middle piece where the waste collects doesn't seem to be able to trap fine bits of waste or mulm. So the suggestion was to place some filter wool into the collection bag and bingo you can go ahead and use this for small tanks no problem. Actually this would be a great problem if you for instance had a small fish bowl and didn't want to get your hands dirty by removing all the gravel etc etc. You might need to replace the filter wool every couple of cleans but at least you clean the gravel without having to totally remove everything in the bowl.

So there is hope after all... I will post pictures soon

Dan

Ehiem Quick Vac PRO - Automatic gravel cleaner

So i got suckered into purchasing a Ehiem Quick Vac PRO - to be 100% honest  I have been curious to trial it out especially since I was experimenting on how to speed up cleaning/filtering detritus off a glass tank bottom which didn't contain any gravel. I have to say for picking up the small pieces it does seem to work rather well however, keep in mind if you have a large amount of detritus it will get clogged rather easily.

It works by sucking up water through the siphon part at the bottom then pushes it up into the clear bag portion (between the handle and siphon - which I think is semi porous) which traps the detritus and lets the water back in the tank. Don't shake it to hard or the detritus will follow the water back into the tank especially the smaller particles.

So the first unit i opened up was faulty .... so I sent that one back and got another - this seemed to have way more suction however, nothing major i.e. it isn't even strong enough to lift one tiny piece of gravel off the aquarium floor however, lighter bits of detritus gets sucked up easily enough. Operation is rather simple and assembly is as easy as pie. To turn the unit on/off there is one button on top of the handle - you don't need to hold it - it just stays on and then press again to turn it off. It doesn't function well if you take it out of the water whilst still on and then plonk it back in the water as it seems to get air locked therefore you need to turn it off and on again to get it going.

I used it on a area that had a small build up of detritus and, it seemed to function well and, to clean it I just took the bag out and rinsed under tap water. However, in the tank with large amounts of detritus I just found it useless as it kept getting full really quick and I spent more time going back to the sink to to clean it.

OK so I rate this device a 6/10 - the concept is great however, the suction power isn't..... and the bags can't handle much detritus.... seems to trap larger particles well  but, no so good with the smaller ones.... Also tried it on a gravel based tank and to be honest the traditional gravity feed gravel vacuum works 100 times better. 4 hours battery time - so make sure you use rechargeable ones :)
So save your money for when they bring out a automatic gravel vac with some real vacuum power.

Aquarium toilet

David Saxby wicked reef aquarium

Nudislugs of the sea

Spanish Dancer in mid swim

So a good friend put me onto this web page which has some pretty amazing pics of some really nice sea slugs a.k.a. Nudibranchs. Probably not something many people keep in the aquarium because, some can tend to eat your soft corals and be toxic to your fish if harmed + aren't really that easy to keep either and when they die will pollute your tank water with toxins. Been diving in Sydney many times and even when there a no fish or corals/sponges to look at these guys can keep you entertained for a long time. In Sydney they seem to populate certain underwater areas endemically - by this I mean you can swim around for 20 metres and only see a ones species than another 20 metres down that species is non-existent and you find another type. I do believe they have short life spans which probably has something to with this.

I do remember a while back when Spanish Dancers where available in Sydney however, I haven't seen one in ages.... Anyways go and check out this link:

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-stunning-multicoloured-splendour-sea-slugs-nudibranchs