Shop Vac suggestions??

[Sobo's Reef]

Hey guys, I’m in the market for a shop vac so I can easily clean out my sump. What’s everyone using? What do you recommend is best for constant water usage? Thanks!!

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

The lid shop vacs from Home Depot work great for that purpose.

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

They fit on top of a 5 gal bucket

 

[Sobo's Reef]

Oh really?? I’ll have to look into that. Thanks!

 

[Pmj]

Bucket shop vac. Buy the set of accessories that make the nozzle smaller so you can suck detritus and not a ton of water at the same time.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

^^^^ 2nd that and also get a 7 gallon bucket.

 

[Sashaka]

Yes. It's called a Bucket Head and it's from Home Depot. I paid about $19.99 for mine. I did buy the smaller heads, but it still sucks up FAST! The hose only loosely fits in the head though. I've knocked it out while I was suctioning a few times. I've got to figure out how to attach it better or get a different hose than the one that comes with it. I STILL like it though.

 

[Forsaken77]

Depends on the size sump, imo. The Bucket Head unit is great for up to 7 gallon buckets and is cheap if it breaks.

If you have a bigger sump, want something with large wheels, an elevated handle like a hand truck, and a drain at the bottom, I use the 16 gallon Ridgid plastic unit. Comes with all the accessories as well. They also make a metal one, but you don't want that with saltwater.

There's also a 14 gallon one but it doesn't have the hand truck type of handle up high, the storage bag for the accessories, or the large wheels. It's just handy if you need to tilt a full 16 gallons of water and roll it smoothly. The vacuums fill up very fast.

It's also good for going up stairs with a heavy load for uses outside the aquarium (or you overflow your RODI in the basement, lol). Just in case you want it for an all purpose utility. Works flawlessly as long as you hose it out right after use.

 

[Sobo's Reef]

That’s the exact one I was looking at. But it’s only a 32g sump so I don’t think I need anything extreme. I can probably get away with a shop vac lid and 5 gal bucket

 

[Forsaken77]

That’s the exact one I was looking at. But it’s only a 32g sump so I don’t think I need anything extreme. I can probably get away with a shop vac lid and 5 gal bucket

Try to use a 7 gallon bucket. The vacuums will fill up a 5 gallon, and even a 7 gallon, in about 30 seconds. So you have to work fast. The bigger the bucket, the more you'll accomplish in 1 shot. Most 7 gallon buckets have the same top dimensions as a 5 gallon. But you'll see what I mean.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

If you get a shop vac get one that rolls very easy ie quality, I have one that has a handle and when my sons tank spilled all over his room I vac it all up and carried the wet/dry out and the clips failed and I dropped all of the water again on a different part of the rug, yeah I think I noticed a spot of the ceiling when I was looking straight up for about 3 minutes.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Homedepot Bucket Head vac here as well. Need to get another since mine disappeared years ago.

 

[ca1ore]

I've got a pair of bucket heads on old salt buckets. One is almost 5 years old and still going strong - pretty good for $20.