# Turkey Baster for Cleaning



## Cargo (May 25, 2012)

Does anybody else use a turkey baster for cleaning?
Gravel vacuums cause a tidal wave in my smaller five gallon tank, so I use a turkey baster. 

My african dwarf frog misses a lot of his Top Fin frog, newt and toad pellets, so they grow white fungus on them. I found a turkey baster can suck them up, but it also sucks up the water too, so you have to dump a bit of water out when doing it... but I guess its okay if you're doing a water change.

Someone also mentioned cleaning gravel with it on another forum- how are you supposed to clean gravel? It sucks it up, then you have to baste the water, including the gravel down the sink? Then you are losing gravel? X_X


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I use a turkey baster for spot cleaning in all of my tanks. It's a great idea. They make siphons that are the right size for a 5 gal tank. Mine works just fine with a 5 gal, but I had to make sure they were small enough. If I put the siphon I use on my 55 gallon tank into my 10 gal, it would completely ruin the aquascape and remove all the gravel. 

As far as how to clean the gravel, you use a vacuum. If your gavel vac isn't too big for your tank, it won't remove the gravel from the aquarium, but it will move it around. If you put the vac in the gravel and start the suction it will suck up the icky bits as well as the water. Most people do a gravel vac when they do a water change. I can explain the physics of how it works, if you want, but just know that you put the bucket on the floor and drain the water from the tank. 

Top Fin® Aquarium Gravel Vacuum - Aquarium Maintenance - Fish - PetSmart You're going to want this, but in the small size. The siphon shouldn't be any larger than a silver halfdollar.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

I use a small siphon (got the smallest they had at Pet Supermarket). I have heard of the turkey basters, but since I change the water every three days the siphon does a great job vacuuming up all the dirt from the gravel, and mine is small enough to not cause any trouble - it is pouring the new water in that causes all the trouble.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

My PetSmart sells Betta turkey basters for their little Betta cubes. I think its funny because they are like $6 for one when u can get a "non-betta" baster at the super market for like $2 lol.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

Maybe they are marked up because they get them at the supermarket.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I hang a coffee filter sometimes over the tank propped open with my giant prining tweezers. I dump whatever the turkey baster picks up inthe filter. water goes back in... and gunk stays out


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

A couple of my fish think the baster is a great toy. I squirt them (gently) every time I spot-clean. They love it and come back for more. 

A few of them like playing in the refill water, too. If I pour too slowly, they ignore it. But if I pour faster they come over and play in it.


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## SageMyster (Jul 13, 2011)

I find the turkey baster incredibly helpful. I use it to scoop out poo and gunk at the bottom every now and then while still using it for my water changes. It's laborious, but it gets the job done.


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