Cheap (free), easy-to-locate turkey baster alternative

[Aristotle]

Figured I'd throw this out there because I've found it really useful. When I first set up my tank I didn't want to buy a gravel siphon (expensive, dangerous to axolotls, noisy, useless), and I noticed that turkey basters were virtually impossible to find (maybe it's an Australian thing, we're not big on turkeys here.. mmm.. i miss turkey bacon.. god bless america). The only one I found was made out of stainless steel and cost more than my laptop.

Anyway, I thought about it for a while, I figured hey, I just need a giant syringe thing. So, did some research, walked down to the hospital, and kindly asked a pharmacist I knew if I could obtain a "catheter syringe". It's a plastic disposable device that's virtually the same as a turkey baster, except free, easy to locate (a hospital), no sharp edges and yeah..

 

[Abrahm]

Anyway, I thought about it for a while, I figured hey, I just need a giant syringe thing. So, did some research, walked down to the hospital, and kindly asked a pharmacist I knew if I could obtain a "catheter syringe". It's a plastic disposable device that's virtually the same as a turkey baster, except free, easy to locate (a hospital), no sharp edges and yeah..

Good suggestion with the syringe! As long as the opening is big enough it should work just fine. My animal room is full of syringes, pipettes and various vials. The joy of working in a laboratory.

When I first set up my tank I didn't want to buy a gravel siphon (expensive, dangerous to axolotls, noisy, useless)

The battery powered siphons may be everything you say, but the common siphon is anything but that. They are quite cheap, mostly noiseless (besides splashing water), not dangerous and very easy to use. I think a regular gravel siphon should be in every aquarist's arsenal.