Yes I too have had a gravel vacuum mishap...
Nowadays my gravel vacuuming tecnique is to
control the follow of water though the syphon
with my finger on the exit or thin side of the tube.
I place the syphon entrance scoop on top
of the gravel and open, pushing though to the gravel,
to the acuarium floor plate, pull the scoop up
and close as soon as the detitus uplift separates from the
gravel in the scoop. I move to the next gravel opsition and
repeat methodicaly in furrows alown the narrow direction
of the acuarium foot print.
If any thing that I dont want out of the gravel is
in the uplift like: fish, plant, decotaration, snail etc;
i close, it then settles out, down the scoop tube.
It helps to have a back lit tank, to see
the separation the volume of the syphon scoop tube.
When I get arround to it, once a week, I manage to
change the water on one 60 galon (227 liter) tank in one hour.
I usualy vacuum about 2/3 of the tank gravel surface area,
each week, reserving 1/3 to plants or rock habittat,
these get gravel vacuumed about every second or third week.
The gravel bed is about inch and a half deep gravel uncoated,
fine river roled, about 3/16 sieve, natural colored glassy gravel,
wich actualy is hard to get.
Regards
Ed
******
At 07:57 PM 9/1/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I recently had a small Tri get sucked into the gravel cleaning siphon... it
>died... was this something I could have prevented? I am not certain how
>this little devil got himself caught in the darn thing...
>
>(real question ----->) Also, has anyone converted their tanks to salt
>water???? I am thinking about doing that with an extra 180 gallon tank I
>have laying around... if yes I will ask a few follow-ups...
>
>Belzebub... the person who taugh the Rooster everything he knows....
>
>
>------------------------
>Larry Stein
>301-924-0824
>
>