How Do You Clean Your Aquarium?

[Tsi_User]

I usually manage to gravel vac pretty well around my plants, you can always change the size of input on your gravel vac to get into those harder to reach places. For the java moss carpet I just stick the gravel back to the bottom of the slate that they're on and shake the crud out of it.

As far as gravel vaccuming with things in the tank, altholugh I too don't think it's necessary to remove stuff I did have one of my Amano Shrimp go for a little water ride down the tube and into the bucke once he was fine though, still alive today lol.

 

[moeldner]

I have 2 heads for my gravel vac - one is a large square openeing that has a plastic cap with many small holes in it that can be used for large open areas. The other has a narrower oval opening I use around my plants.

For what it's worth, I don't take my fish out or my plants, and while I have had a few inquisitive fish when I'm vacuuming (even had my bristlenose hanging off the side of the gravel vac a few times while I'm using it), if you watch what you are doing when doing the vac, and keep the head in or very near the substrate, I don't see how you can hurt or kill any of your fish.

Also, you wont stress your fish too much if you take things slowly and smoothly, don't be tempted to rush the gravel vac head around the tank t get every bit of muck - anythig left floating, your filter will probably pick up and you can remove it at your next filter clean.

 

[goldfish]

I used to remove all my fish for cleaning because when I started keeping fish somebody told me this is what needs to be done. But about 4-5 years ago I tested out both ways and the fish were far happier staying in the tank.

As for cleaning the substrate, I use a python for the non-planted bits and a small piece of tubing (as a mouth-powered water remover [technical words!]) for the planted bits so I can get into the delicate bits and not disturb too much.

 

[crazie.eddie]

I have 2 low tech planted tanks. All I do is perform water changes, I never do any gravel vacs. This is becuase I have lots of RCS (Red Cherry Shrimp) that feed of the detritus and mulm at the gravel bed.

A gravel vac is good for cleaning the gravel and helps keep the water clean. I wouldn't advise using it with the plants in the water whether they be real or fake. So if you want a gravel vac I advise that you remove ALL the plants first. Second remove a few gallons of water and replace it with clean water. (dont forget to condition the clean water that you put in...tap water can kill your fish)...so use a good water conditioning agent. Let the filter run it through a about 30 min. then add your plants and fish back in the water. (It's best to take the fish out when you clean the tank so you dont stress them out while cleaning the tank). ***Make sure you don't replace ALL the old water with new clean water because the fish will die...they need some of they're old water to swim in....it's just a rule so remember that.***
Hope this helps you out. It's not as hard as it seems just remember all the guidlines and you should have a nice clean tank with healthy little fishies!

Bad advise. Why would I take out all my real plants that have rooted in the substrate and disturb everything? Secondly, theres no need to take out the fish, it would stress them out more than leaving them in when you vac. Maybe you should do more research before giving people advise.

I agree it is a bad advise. They will feel comfortable hiding in the other side of the tank. If you remove them, you have to worry about the water parameters, tank temp, etc. Plus being in a new area will stress out the fish. I would also assume that the tank it will be a smaller space, so it will be overcrowded, causing more stress.

If you're LFS killed their fish from a gravel vac, I would have to figure it could be the water they introduced into the tank (different temps, no dechlorinated, etc.). I would NEVER buy any fish from him anyways if he did that, becuase he did not do things properly.

 

[Dutchie]

A gravel vac is good for cleaning the gravel and helps keep the water clean. I wouldn't advise using it with the plants in the water whether they be real or fake. So if you want a gravel vac I advise that you remove ALL the plants first. Second remove a few gallons of water and replace it with clean water. (dont forget to condition the clean water that you put in...tap water can kill your fish)...so use a good water conditioning agent. Let the filter run it through a about 30 min. then add your plants and fish back in the water. (It's best to take the fish out when you clean the tank so you dont stress them out while cleaning the tank). ***Make sure you don't replace ALL the old water with new clean water because the fish will die...they need some of they're old water to swim in....it's just a rule so remember that.***
Hope this helps you out. It's not as hard as it seems just remember all the guidlines and you should have a nice clean tank with healthy little fishies!

Wow, glad your shop is overseas and not in Australia. Never heard so much rubbish in over 40 years.........I've kept fish all my life and even with Coldwaters your comments just dont make sense.
Don't get me wrong, I'm only a newbie with Tropicals, but i think you need to research before posting such feedback. Just my opinion.......

By the way, what do your employees do? Impale them with the vac??!!!

 

[millym]

good grief!!!
anyway back to the topic, we have a heavily planted tank & i gravel vac weekly with a 25% ish water change, i thoroughly vac the open areas & just go very gently near plants & their roots. i move alternate big rocks every other week or so to clean in the caves.

 

[Dutchie]

Imagine doing the water change and then removing fish number 63, or was it 64............and that after only 6 hours.....ohh and ive run out of bags....or do you you have them lying on the kitchen bench lying on little fish stretchers? OMG !!!

good grief!!!
anyway back to the topic, we have a heavily planted tank & i gravel vac weekly with a 25% ish water change, i thoroughly vac the open areas & just go very gently near plants & their roots. i move alternate big rocks every other week or so to clean in the caves.

Thats the way..........no need to pull out any rooted plants.........or the fish.......

Damn, my fish need therapy now as they overheard me talking to my wife about this post.............oohh well, get them out of the tank again.............NOT !!

 

[SuperColey1]

I have to clean sand with loads of plants and very inquisitive fish.

Very tricky because with sand as we all know you have to stay an inch or so above it otherwise bye bye substrate so I have to be careful as the glolights get very close to the end of the tube whilst I'm 'circling'.

I ignore the poop around the plants as they will take care of that (and they hide it whilst its turning into plant food)

 

[cafai0627]

If you're worried/concerned about the hassle/troubles of cleaning plants,wood- try sectioning off your tank. I use black tahitian sand for 75% of my tank and one corner of the tank I use large smooth pebbles as a "fence" and in that area i use pea gravel and it creates a nice look as its one level higher than the sand substrate so it kinda resembles a garden well not quite...i call it a garden though. All my plants are in that section with a small piece of driftwood that can be lifted easily, and one large amazon in the other back corner in the sand substrate. If you use large driftwood (i have one small and one big, i usually dig a tunnel (if you have fish that dig, let them do it themselves) underneath it creating a cave, and right behind the wood is my intake tube to the biowheel filter. I got pics but too lazy to do that photo bucket thing. So if you wanna see a pic i'll send it to your email. One thing very cool about fish keeping is that you can always rearrange your tank the way you want it to look, it may involve a lot work, but the outcome is most rewarding. Or if you like, attach javafern to wood and they grow like crazy. Just buy a little as they start attaching themselves to other things in the aquarium and then voila another plant. I'm lazy so i just bought java already attached to wood. I'm no expert on plants or fish for that matter - but i do know Java and anubias are very easy to keep.

 

[StuCarr]

I have just cleaned my tank, did a 40% water change, cleaned the glass with an algae magnet, vacced the substrate. My tank has only been set up for a week, I have a sand substrate, I shoved the vac right in the sand and there was a lot of air trapped in the sand. I lost a tiny bit of sand out of 40 litres of water. Left all my plants in, and my 6 danios, which I think have a death wish, they seem to love the open end of the gravel vac. When I test my water I use a syringe to get a sample, as soon as I put it in the water they come up and have a play with that.

Fish seem happy, plants are still rooted, tanks clean, that way works for me, try a couple of methods and find out what works best for you and your fish, they may not liked getting vacced or fresh water poured onto them.
Stu.

P.s love this thread, for reasons other than the topic

 

[chibi]

Before I start cleaning, I use a long algae scrubber and stir my plant leaves around a little to get anything that is sitting on it. I also have bogwood, so I move that to where it normally is. Then, I siphon the gravel. It's always best to move things that just sit in one place because stuff gets under it and, if left uncleaned, builds up pretty quickly. If you haven't cleaned under that castle or rock in a while, do it and see just how much stuff you get up!

I siphon as much as I can without removing too much water. Usually, I've siphoned my entire 29 gallon and only 30% of the water is gone. In my 10 gallon, as much as 50% can be sucked up. I have a Python No Spill Siphon System that connects to my sink. If you are one that doesn't have a lot of time to change the water, I highly reccomend it. It takes me less than 10 minutes with that thing to siphon and add water back into the tank. It connects to the faucet. I don't reccomend it for any tanks smaller than 10 gallons, though. The siphon tube is pretty big and sucks up a lot of water quite quickly. I just use it on my 10-gallon because my fish are hardy and can tolerate large water changes.

As far as siphoning with plants, get around the base of the plant but not directly on it. It can break the roots and the plant could die.

In a nutshell: Move decorations (rocks, wood, etc.) before siphoning. Try not to siphon where the plant roots are. Move the decorations back when you're done.

I hope that answers your question! If you're new and haven't gotten a tank yet, I suggest a 29-gallon. Not too big, not too small. Many people suggest bigger, but I think 29-gallon is a perfect size.

Edit: Wow, there's a lot of drama on this topic! I don't think that one user is totally stupid because they've vaced up fish; I've done it a few times, but managed to free them before they've gotten a chance to get very far. It's mostly my corys; they actually swim up into the tube! They're curious little buggers.

And here is a picture of my tank to give you an idea of what I mean: http/www.ratemyfishtank.com/enlarge.php/5593 I actually have more plants in there now. Real plants are great!!

 

[Annastasia]

I've split off all of the drama. Please, let's try to keep this on topic. If there is an issue with a member, please forward the offending PMs/messages to a mod, and we will deal with it. Thanks.

As for the original question - if the tank has live plants, I leave those be, and siphon as close as I can to them. If it has rocks, or fake plants, I take those out maybe once a month, and clean them with an electric toothbrush. You can laugh, but it really works.

 

[Josiah]

I've split off all of the drama. Please, let's try to keep this on topic. If there is an issue with a member, please forward the offending PMs/messages to a mod, and we will deal with it. Thanks.

As for the original question - if the tank has live plants, I leave those be, and siphon as close as I can to them. If it has rocks, or fake plants, I take those out maybe once a month, and clean them with an electric toothbrush. You can laugh, but it really works.

A toothbrush! brilliant! thank you you have no idea how much you just helped me.

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

I've split off all of the drama. Please, let's try to keep this on topic. If there is an issue with a member, please forward the offending PMs/messages to a mod, and we will deal with it. Thanks.

As for the original question - if the tank has live plants, I leave those be, and siphon as close as I can to them. If it has rocks, or fake plants, I take those out maybe once a month, and clean them with an electric toothbrush. You can laugh, but it really works.

i use a toothbrush not an electric one though

 

[chibi]

The best toothbrushes are the small, crappy ones they give you at the dentist. I usually ask for a few. They reach those hard-to-reach places in the wood, filter, and other places.