bigger tanks... bigger rocks, become a problem, long term???

[Magnum Man]

I've got 2 - 55 gallon tanks one ( my Hillstream tank ) has a rock pile on each end for habitat, and that the lucky bamboo roots into... these rocks aren't huge, but around 2 inch stones in piles 3-4 stones thick, at the deepest, and a similar pile, at the base of a rapidly bubbling, bubble waterfall in my Cichlid tank, that has sand as substrate in the rest of the tank, it looks cool, and holds the air bar in place... initially they were great... but long term there is getting to be an icky buildup I haven't been able to vacuum out, in the deeper nooks and crannies, that I have concerns about...

at 2 inches I can pick them out one by one, with my tongs, and rinse the stones, in one of my aquarium dedicated dish pans, and then vacuum those areas, while the stones are out, with a normal gravel vacuum and put the stones back, but that would be a lot of work, and very time consuming... and would likely have to be done every 6 months or so...

I'm curious if anyone has stone piles long term, and how you deal with accumulations in them???

I've got a hose with a hard tube reducer on one end, I planned to use on the rock piles, but it keeps losing syphon, either from an air leak at the reduction, or I suck up too much air from the bubbles ( now that I have my manifold all labeled, I can shut the air off, while trying to syphon those areas ) if I keep playing with it???

 

[Magnum Man]

in an experiment, I added 5 dwarf crayfish to the pile in the Cichlid tank, as that tank is 24 inches deep, and will be the biggest challenge, they were the natural blue color ( not the orange ones ) so I was hoping they might be more "durable" they all disappeared into the rock pile, and I didn't witness any getting snacked on... I don't think they are social, so I expected the pile might be big enough for 2 or 3, and the others would be in one of the other hidy spots... there are plant tangles, and driftwood they could move to... in a couple days I haven't seen them again... so, maybe there is just an abundant source of food down there, and they have no need to go out in the open, or the Cichlids snacked on them, while I wasn't around, or they died down there, compounding my problem??? too early to tell yet...

regardless, I wouldn't want to add them, until they prove to be effective to the Hillstream tank...

anyone ever tried Cambarellus diminutus ‘blue'???

a blue dwarf crayfish... I have 5 coming, and a river rock pile in a tank, I'm hoping they will inhabit... but lots of other hiding places as well... they may get eaten, if they come in too small, and don't hide well enough, but they weren't so expensive to keep from experimenting... Adult Size...

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[GaryE]

I just came in from the fish palace. My just dried hands are still cold from the air between the house and the garage. Why?

There I was, taking apart, cleaning and reassembling a couple of rock piles. I have a couple in deeper tanks where the air doesn't get to the sponge filters unless I put them on rock platforms. The sponges are backup filtration supplement for canisters or HOBs. Once a month or so, the supports have to come apart and get reassembled. Today was that day.

Then I came in and saw this.

A word from the peanut gallery - when too large rocks get algae/biofilm covered, they are very slippery. And that makes them dangerous to glass tanks during cleaning. I have a beach across the road with an entire kilometre plus long zone of larger, beautiful rocks. I'll pick up three or four smaller, flat rocks instead of bigger ones. They look so convenient, but they are tank busters. Eventually, one will slip out of your hands, just by Murphy's Law.

 

[Magnum Man]

I had a buddy 25 years ago, that used to completely disassemble all his rocks weekly in his rift lake Cichlid tank, there was 100's of lbs. of lime stone slabs... but by nature those were easier to handle... I used a lot of them myself back then... these round rock are challenging to get with my big tank tweezers

as high as this 24 inch deep tank is ( like 40 inches off the floor ) this is a challenge... i can reach some of the top layer, with my arm pit on the top edge ( I try to make sure I don't have antiperspirants on ) but need a tool for anything more than the top layer... this is why I'm trying a more natural solution, like the dwarf crayfish...

I also thought a canister filter used to vacuum the rocks only, might be the ticket... if it had more suction, than gravity alone, and I had a couple specific tool ends

 

[Magnum Man]

I'm looking at canister filters in 250 - 500 gph... not sure I want a built in UV sterilizer, unless I was going to run it more than just rock pile sucking... my initial thinking is powered water changes, and not returning the water back to the tank, so no real need for filter media... but if it had a easily removable filter cartridge, I could just fill with coarse foam, or Japan matt, I could return water to the tank, while sucking out loose mulm, when cleaning hob filters... but wouldn't run it continually

any suggestion for a durable basic canister filter, for the use listed above???

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Magnum you know this and you had a H.O.T. Magnum as per your thread from Oct. 2023 here https://www.fishforums.net/threads/retiring-my-old-hot-magnum-filters.490451/

There used to be a filter to which one could attach a normal siphon vac. It was the H.O.T. Magnum Canister by Marineland.. H.O.t. stand for Hang On Tank. This filter has two ways to load it it. One used a basket which would hold whatever one wanted- usually carbon. The othe way was a cartridge they sold which was a pleated micron material that would filter down to 10 microns of so, You could add a nit of Diatomaceous earth and it filtered even finer.

They made an adapter that fit into the intake and which had a barbed end. this let one attach the hose from a normal tank vac to the dilter using the barb. The micron cart would be used. I began using this set-up in my Hi tech planted tank. The intake suction vacuumed fine but was not as string as if it was used with just gravity. It was great for cleaning the ground cover and other plants if they gota bit dirty since they would not get pulled up using the H.O.T. vac.

I can vaccuum as slowly and as long as I needed to and no water would be removed from the tank as the filter returned it. There was only one consideration. When the canister got full from vacuumimg, it needed to be empty and the micron cart rinse. Then it was back to work. OI had another way I used it. I had a carpet of dwarf hair grass at one time. I used to prune it with a scissors like a barber cutting hair, and that made a mess. But. with a vaccum in one hand and the scissors in the other I could suck up the cuttings as I created them. One could use a small brush or algae pad on rocks and use the vac. to suck the algae and/or muck being brushed off.

There is only one problem. They have bot made the H.O.T, magnum for some time and the current micron carts for the rest f the line no longer fit in the old H.O.T.s. Thes have a rubber gasket at either end of the medi to seal or well to the bottom plate and to the top. To use the new micron carts I have to remove on of the two gaskets. I still have on H.O.T. running and a box of a number more.

I think I still have more than one adapter for the Magnum to convert it to a vac. If so and you still have your H.O.T., I would be happy yo send it to yoiu with the shrimp of that still works out. A number of years back my friend Rachel used to do a summer weejkend part at her place. It was for her fish club member and her other fish friends. The roasted a while pig- delicious. People would bering equipment to trade or sell making the arrangements before they came. I bought a box of used H.O.T.s and spare parts/ I still ave most of it.

Here is a pic. Notice the small piece on the right side between the return and intake pieces. That is the converter that lets one turn the filter into a vaccum. You can use a longer hose if needed between the vacuum and the intake.

 

[Magnum Man]

mine were old enough, they never had the bio wheel, but I had one floor model canister, and a few of the H.O.T. models... if I remember right the floor model was "rated" at 330 gallons, and I think the HOT's at 250 gallons...the 250 would likely make a good vacuum...

now with more mechanical advantage, rather than filling buckets, I'll be using a pump, and hose, with the intention of being able to vacuum the gravel as well... an in line ball valve can reduce or increase the flow as needed