How do I prevent a build-up of fish poo in a quiet corner of the tank?

[Yossu]

I have a 24" cubed tank (approx 220 litres), and have an external filter in the cupboard below it. The water goes out of the tank at the bottom-left back corner, and comes back into the tank at the top-right back corner. The inlet is aimed upwards to provide some surface disturbance. I don't want to point the inlet downwards because a) I want the disturbance to help get oxygen into the water and b) because I have freshwater tropicals and my understanding is that they don't like a lot of water movement.

My problem is that the bottom-right back corner (below the water inlet) has a permanent pile of fish poo, which looks unsightly.

Is there any way to avoid this without creating strong currents? I do clean this up when I do a water change, but would like to avoid the problem altogether if I can.

Anyone any good ideas? Thanks

 

[Magnum Man]

if you had some plumbing skill, you could divert the inlet water to come in, in all 3 corners, that don't have the filter inlet... would probably be beneficial, for several reasons

 

[Yossu]

@Magnum Man Hmm, that's a very good idea. Doesn't actually need much plumbing skill. It's just a case of running some tubing around the tank.

The only thing is that I don't think the filter would have enough pressure to allow me to have some surface disturbance as well (apart from the problem of balancing the various outlets). I would like to keep the water disturbance.

Any thoughts? Thanks again

 

[Ram419]

This little device might help. It pushes water down towards the bottom of the tank. Amazon (OASE Indoor Aquatics CrystalSkim 350 Skimmer)

 

[MaloK]

Move your water inlet to be at the right bottom under your outlet as deep as you can.

This way the water instead of going from one side to the other.

Will create a circular flow pattern from the top to the bottom aiming directly at your inlet.

 

[Yossu]

@Ram419 Hey, that's a great idea! So I could run the water inlet down to the bottom to keep the bottom clear, but use the skimmer to keep the water moving at the top. My only concern is, would that be as effective as the disturbance I have now? It doesn't look like those skimmers would disturb the water surface much.

@MaloK Hmm, interesting idea. Would need a bit of playing to see how effectively I could modify the flow.

 

[MaloK]

@MaloK Hmm, interesting idea. Would need a bit of playing to see how effectively I could modify the flow.

I use mostly Aquaclear Filters and I always install them completely to the right of the aquariums.

This way the water flows toward the front glass then moves from right to left in the front part of the tank, hits the left glass then goes from left to right in the back portion of the tank.

It creates a slow moving swirl-pool that has a good area in the center where the movement is reduced.

Of course it still has dead spots. It's impossible not to occur, flowing liquids in a rectangular enclosure. But it limited a lot accumulation in general, or it's more evenly distributed and doesn't show as much.

 

[Magnum Man]

the cube, being that deep, may take a little creativity... 24 inches is a deep tank... my deepest currently set up is 45 gallon "tall" ( several ) that are that deep... when I set up my 250 gallon, that's 30 inches deep...

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Do you have the means to vacuum the area? Otherwise, as long as you're following an aggressive water change routine, the fish waste will dissolve in the water like everything else does and a large water change will remove it.

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[Yossu]

Thanks again to all of you.

@10 Tanks Yes I can vacuum it, I was trying to find a way to avoid the need, as there is quite a significant build-up there. Doesn't seem to dissolve, just sits there until I clean it up, or stir up the water, making the muck fly around until some of it gets sucked into the filter. I don't like doing this as it mostly just distributes the muck (which then re-collects in the corner) and is probably quite unpleasant for the fish.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. Actually, everything in the tank that's covered by the water is in a constant state of dissolving. By just removing and replacing the tank water, you've removed everything that has dissolved in it. The best means of reducing the material is to reduce the amount you feed and to pay close attention to the plants and remove anything that is dying or otherwise discolored. You can gradually increase the amount of water you change out. This will improve the water conditions for the fish and plants. I change half the water in my tanks over a period of roughly five days, so dissolving waste material is constantly being removed.

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