I don't think I'm doing the water changes right

[Kiara]

I'm using the gravel vacuume to do the water changes, but after I vacuum the rocks and pour in the water, there is a whole lot of junk floating around in the water, am I not vacuuming right? or is this normal (junk includes pieces of old food and fish poo) can someone help before I do my next water change in a couple of hours. thx,

Also, I have two algie eaters in there ( I know bad, but I didn't know better) can I do smaller water changes so that they still have something to eat I'm afraid of vacuming up the algie thins.

One more stupid ( ) beginner question. What exactly does cycling mean, what's involved and what does it do, thanks again

 

[FishFun]

This link will take you to and explanation about cycling.

http/www.fishforever.co.uk/cycling.html

Yes, it is normal for there to be junk floating around in the water after you vacuum the tank. Usually, the filter will remove the yuckies in about 30 minutes so no worries. (also, you can use a very fine net to scoop up the yuckies after you vacuum)

What kind of algea eaters? Chinese algea eaters are bad in a community tank, but not all fish that eat algea are bad. Pleco's are good in a community tank assuming that your tank is big enough for the type of Pleco you have.

 

[dwarfgourami]

You will want to feed your algae eaters anyway; try algae wafers and cucumber and other greens. No need to cut down on the water changes for their sakes

Cycling is the process of growing beneficial bacteria which turn the ammonia (from fish waste) into nitrites and then into nitrates. When you put fish in the tank it starts cycling; the bacteria which are naturally present in the water will multiply until they are able to deal with all the waste in the tank- when this happens the tank is said to be cycled.

The tank can also be cycled without fish, adding ammonia from a bottle, until water tests show that there are enough bacteria in the tank; then you can add all the fish at once.

Also, I have two algie eaters in there ( I know bad, but I didn't know better) can I do smaller water changes so that they still have something to eat I'm afraid of vacuming up the algie thins.

One more stupid ( ) beginner question. What exactly does cycling mean, what's involved and what does it do, thanks again

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[Kiara]

thanks, that helped, I have two pleco in 55g tank...that's why I was worried because my tank isn't cycled yet and I was worried about them not having enough food since I have to do a water change everyday. How long will it take my tank to cycle since I have all my fish in there already?

And after it's cycled, how often do I have to do the water changes?

 

[rdd1952]

The time required to cycle depends on what you have in it. The more fish you have, the longer it will take. Plecos are very messy so they may make it a little longer than normal fish would. As for water changes, I do a 15 to 20 percent change every week. Some people do them every 2 weeks. I just don't like to let the tanks go that long.

 

[FishFun]

I love Pleco's! They are so pretty! I want an albine bristlenose one day. Pleco's are usually onmivores and are therefore not picky about what they eat. You do want to make sure that they have enough to eat besides what is leftover in your tank. You can feed them sinking pellets and algea wafers.

You don't necessarily have to vacuum the bottom everytime you do a water change, if you are doing it daily til your tank cycles. Sometimes I just remove my hood a scoop out water into a bucket, set it on a towel so I don't drip water everywhere, then dump it into my yard for fertilizer.

Once your tank is cycled, once a week water changes, about 10 - 20%.

 

[rdd1952]

You don't necessarily have to vacuum the bottom everytime you do a water change, if you are doing it daily til your tank cycles. Sometimes I just remove my hood a scoop out water into a bucket, set it on a towel so I don't drip water everywhere, then dump it into my yard for fertilizer.

Once your tank is cycled, once a week water changes, about 10 - 20%.

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True. You won't have that much waste every day to clean up. Also, if you use one of the smaller vacuums (like 1" in diameter) as opposed to the medium or larger sizes (2" or larger) you have much more time to actually vacuum. The suction is about the same so the pull up just as much trash but not as much water so it takes longer to vacuum out 5 gallon (or what ever amount you are changing.

I use the small one on my 29 gallon since I am usually only changing 5 gallons. That gives me about 10 minutes to vacuum (plenty of time) The medium size vacuum I have can syphon 5 gallon in about 3 to 5 minutes so I can't get the bottom clean. I use the larger one on my 75 gallon since I am changing 15 gallons usually. I still have plenty of time to clean the bottom.

 

[Kiara]

I think that's the problem I'm having, I have a medium gravel cleaner, and a 55g tank. It doesn't even take 10 minutes to clean it, so it seems like I'm not cleaning right, I'll get a smaller one for tomorrow's water change. Thanks