Sand & A Common Plec

[jailawes]

Hey.

I've recently upgraded to sand in one of my aquariums and i think that its better than gravel because of holding waste on the top and basically i just like the look of it. But one problem i'm having is that my common plec loves to burrow into the sand and knock it everywhere, which leads to my filter flipping out and i've had 2 unclog it 3 days in a row now. The filter is about 3 inchs from the sand & in the corner, but my plec loves to dig in the sand in the middle of the tank which results in the build up of sand in filter and underneath.

I don't think there is any1 can do anything, but i just wanted to share this problem.

Thanks

Jai

 

[miggi]

Hey.

I've recently upgraded to sand in one of my aquariums and i think that its better than gravel because of holding waste on the top and basically i just like the look of it. But one problem i'm having is that my common plec loves to burrow into the sand and knock it everywhere, which leads to my filter flipping out and i've had 2 unclog it 3 days in a row now. The filter is about 3 inchs from the sand & in the corner, but my plec loves to dig in the sand in the middle of the tank which results in the build up of sand in filter and underneath.

I don't think there is any1 can do anything, but i just wanted to share this problem.

Thanks

Jai

would it help to raise the intake of the filter?? - is it internal or external??

 

[jailawes]

Hey.

It's an internal filter, and old fluval 2.

 

[Bloo]

Why do you have your filter that low ? It will definitely clog up with sand and break if you have a plec kicking up sand Raise it to just a few inches from the top water line.

 

[PlecMama]

Maybe it won't raise up any more because it runs out of tank? the Flu4 would only just fit top-bottom in one of my tanks, I had to dig a hole in the gravel so the top was still under water.

 

[Bloo]

That would be very worrying if the little Fluval two doesn't fit into the tank any other way than a few inches from the bottom. Are we talking common plec here ?

 

[jailawes]

Hey.

Its a common plec and the filter is about 2/3 inches from sand, i'm going to move it higher and see if that works, but its close to top now. Only way is to have the top above the water level, but that should be ok.

 

[Nina]

All of our plecs love to garden and frequently burrow in the sand and send it flying. When we first changed to sand i spent about half hour every night moving the sand back to find that about 10 mintues later the plec had decided that he didn't want the sand where I had put he wanted it were he had put it.

This went on for about 3 weeks until I gave up and just left them to do what they want with it.

If you are unable to move your filter up try taking a small amount of the sand out. Of course this does depend on whether you have plants growing and the amount that is already in there.

 

[Bloo]

Hey.

Its a common plec and the filter is about 2/3 inches from sand, i'm going to move it higher and see if that works, but its close to top now. Only way is to have the top above the water level, but that should be ok.

The filter will break if you raise it above the water line. It sounds like you'll have to get a diffrent filter or a higher tank - and with a common plec that will grow much much larger than a fluval 2 filter, I suggest you go for the latter option

 

[Swart Skaap]

...or you could replace the trouble maker!!!

but, with what im not sure!

 

[jailawes]

Can't replace the plec because the misses won't let me sell her and i've not got any where else to put it.

 

[Squid]

Hey.

Its a common plec and the filter is about 2/3 inches from sand, i'm going to move it higher and see if that works, but its close to top now. Only way is to have the top above the water level, but that should be ok.

The filter will break if you raise it above the water line. It sounds like you'll have to get a diffrent filter or a higher tank - and with a common plec that will grow much much larger than a fluval 2 filter, I suggest you go for the latter option

Apart from the top part.. techie description now... the twiddly bit that lets the air in if you want bubbles (ventri type thing).... so you must be allowed a bit of the filter out the top of the water.. !

But not a lot.. i agree

Squid

 

[Ginge]

Dont like to nag at all but you have a common plec in a 28G with a fluval 2 filter. Man he/she will have to go at some point, eventually the fish wont be able to turn in the tank.

 

[smithrc]

Dont like to nag at all but you have a common plec in a 28G with a fluval 2 filter. Man he/she will have to go at some point, eventually the fish wont be able to turn in the tank.

and the filter wont be able to cope either...

sounds like a new setup is in order if your not aloud to get rid of the plec (sounds like good leverage to me)