Bucket Head wet/dry vac great for water changes

[6Speed]

just discovered this at home depot. it's a wet dry vac that can attach to any standard 5 gallon bucket. the cool thing for me is that my normal wc is 5 gallons so this is the perfect volume for me.

with this I can simply attach it to my old instant ocean bucket (the one I already use to siphon out old water) and suck out 5 gallons of water from the tank and/or sump, and when the bucket is full it will auto shut off.

it says it has a blower port but not sure if that means it has the ability to blow out what it sucked up or if it's just the exhaust. if its the earlier then that makes it even cooler!

I also like that it's small and won't take up the space that a normal shop vac does. I can stack my buckets like normal and the just hang the top vaccuum portion on the wall in my garage.

anyway thought I'd share in case anyone wanted to pick one up.

 

[6Speed]

 

[A_CoupleClowns]

How much did that cost? Thats an awesome sump cleaner!

 

[6Speed]

it was 22.00. not bad! (doesn't include a bucket.)

 

[mussel and hate]

The standard small shopvacs also happen to fit perfectly in a standard 5 gallon bucket. If like me you already have one with a damaged resevoir just cut off the bottom and nest it up.

 

[6Speed]

The standard small shopvacs also happen to fit perfectly in a standard 5 gallon bucket. If like me you already have one with a damaged resevoir just cut off the bottom and nest it up.

good to know!

 

[6Speed]

FYI, this won't fit a instant ocean bucket because of the threads on the bucket. I mistakenly thought it would.

also, I'm not sure that it will suck up 5 full gallons before the auto shut off kicks in. it uses a float valve and the valve hangs down in the bucket further than I had imagined.

I need to test it out to see exactly how much it will take before valve engages.

 

[Fishbulb2]

Keep us posted. I think this is a really clever idea that a lot of people might enjoy. I love it for sump cleaning purposes.

FB

 

[mwminer]

cool idea i just got one from ace that will pump out thru a garden hose $100.00
it was worth it for my 450 and 165

 

[nivram]

FYI, this won't fit a instant ocean bucket because of the threads on the bucket. I mistakenly thought it would.

also, I'm not sure that it will suck up 5 full gallons before the auto shut off kicks in. it uses a float valve and the valve hangs down in the bucket further than I had imagined.

I need to test it out to see exactly how much it will take before valve engages.

It will fit unless the reef crystals bucket is different. I used it on one last Tuesday to unclog my AC drain.

I've been using this to drain water and detritus out of my sump.

 

[DHyslop]

If it doesn't fit a proprietary salt bucket then you can buy a regular bucket at HD or Lowes for about $5.

I have one that I use for cleaning up dust and salt creep, but I don't think it's useful for water changes. An 8' python hose and tube do the same thing into the same bucket with a lot less noise and mess, and allow you to vacuum all the detritus out of the sand as well.

 

[6Speed]

yeah I'm sure it fits the standard bucket. not sure if the instant ocean is dif than the reef crystals. are the RC buckets threaded on top with screw on lid?

I hope it will hold 5 full gallons before shutting off. will let you guys know once I test!