Making an aquarium siphon yourself.
A regular siphon is easy to make yourself from a plastic bottle of a suitable size (0.5-1.5 L). The diameter of the drainage hose and the diameter of the siphon should be chosen in such a way that substrate particles rise slightly and seem to “boil” in the upward water flow in the wide part of the siphon, but do not fly into the hose. At the same time, debris lighter than the substrate will be sucked out and removed along with the flowing water. Using a larger diameter bottle, for example, 1.5 L or 2 L, is also impractical, because such a wide cup will not provide proper water pressure. And weak water circulation in the siphon itself will not allow normal suction of silt from the substrate.
The neck of the bottle is shaped to fit such a hose, so that the bottle fits tightly onto the end of the hose. If the hose enters the bottle too easily, it can always be wrapped with electrical tape. The siphon is put onto the end of the hose used to drain water from the aquarium during water changes. Cut off the bottom of the bottle, and there you have your ready-made siphon. The height and width of the bottle are suitable. Substrate stones, circulating in the water flow at such a height and, most importantly, width, do not rise above the required level. Dirt and silt go away – stones fall back to the bottom after circulation. Still, the edges of our siphon are quite sharp. Although, for those who don’t mind, the edges can be melted using an ordinary lighter.
If someone considers the procedure of starting the water flow by sucking or siphoning to be unesthetic, then you should fill the hose with tap water. If you haven’t forgotten, the end of the hose with the bottle must be located in the aquarium. It should stay there, submerged. Through the free end of the hose, we pour water into it, completely filling the hose, wait until it reaches the aquarium, then lower it into the toilet/drain, and the water starts to drain by gravity, simultaneously sucking water out of the aquarium.
More about interesting and useful siphons.
Since cleaning the substrate with a siphon is one of the most frequently performed maintenance tasks, a variety of tools to ease this work have gradually appeared in this area. The idea is brilliant in its simplicity. A long hose has a standard siphon cylinder at its front end, and a short distance away from it, a special valve is installed on the hose to reduce or completely shut off the water flow. The most interesting part is at the end of the hose. There is a part that attaches to any water tap using a set of adapters. Let’s turn on the water. The water flow from the tap creates a vacuum that sucks water out of the aquarium. In this case, the aquarium can be located below the water drainage level – even on the room floor. After the required amount of water has been drained from the aquarium, with a single flick of the wrist, by turning the special valve, the water flow can be redirected in the opposite direction – from the water supply into the aquarium.
How and with what to siphon the substrate in an aquarium.
Aquarium substrate care. What to do if the aquarium is very “neglected”? 
