Step-by-step Guide To Weekly Maintenance

[Pl*co]

This is the best thing I've ever read in regards to fish. Its really easy to understand for a newbie like me. I hate how some guides that are specifically made for newbies are complicated and just confuse them more

 

[LimeGreenPuppy]

The more hygienic way is to purchase a self-starter kit

Ten minutes ago I had was vacuuming my tank and I wasn't paying attention and got a mouth full of water.....I might be looking into one of these kits.

I would like to add another bit of advise on gravel vacuuming...

Make sure you're FULLY aware of EXACTLY how full your bucket is or you may end up happily vacuuming away, oblivious to the dirty tank water overflowing all over your carpet.

I only mention this because I've done it. Twice.

GreenPuppy

 

[Tim80002]

Thanks for the info... good read, I was wondering how those Gravel cleaners work...

 

[dstev]

So would you say ONLY clean your filter if the flow becomes reduced?

This may be where I have been going wrong...

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Pin this thread please

 

[Zoepop]

Hi,

great info thanks, very new to this (my tank hasn't even been delivered yet!!) but getting everything together and very excited for when it does. I like the idea and look of having sand at the bottom of my tank but will this be more difficult to clean? Can you still use a gravel cleaner with sand or would the sand just be too fine and end up in the bucket too?

Sorry probably a really simple and obvious question but just wondered.

Thanks
Zoe

 

[waterdrop]

Hi,

great info thanks, very new to this (my tank hasn't even been delivered yet!!) but getting everything together and very excited for when it does. I like the idea and look of having sand at the bottom of my tank but will this be more difficult to clean? Can you still use a gravel cleaner with sand or would the sand just be too fine and end up in the bucket too?

Sorry probably a really simple and obvious question but just wondered.

Thanks
Zoe

Welcome to the beginners section Zoe!

As you finish making your tank and filter decisions and prepare to cycle the new tank it'll be good to start your own thread (with the new topic button) and then we'll have a better place to help you for the startup period of your tank.

Both gravel and sand can work out fine for beginners. Each takes a bit different skill to master but the members here will be great at helping you out with it. Its true that small amounts of sand do tend to go out with siphoning and other activities but sand is so plentiful and cheap that it doesn't matter. During weekly water change maintenance sessions you'll learn the skill of holding the siphon hose just high enough above the sand (with you thumb stopping it from siphoning until you're ready) that you'll be able to wave your other fingers and stir up the debris, allowing you to then uncover the siphon and vacuum up the debris as you move it around. It takes some practice but it works.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Zephyrkaze]

As long as your bucket is lower than the tank, you don't actually need a self-starting kit to get suction started: all you need to do is to move the end of the gravel vac that's in the tank up and down so you get water flowing from it into the tank, then quickly put it down into the tank when the flowing starts and it will continue to flow. This works for me even with a simple piece of hose (without even a gravel vac head). Absolutely no need to suck on anything, gravity does the job.

This is true. I thought the article was great with many good pointers but it fails to address that you don't need a self-starter or to suck on the end of the tube as long as the bucket is lower than the tank. Although to be more specific, sometimes I have to jiggle the vac in an up-down motion to get it to work. Its not a pumping up-down more of a short jiggly motion. And this is all underwater, not an in and out of the water up-down motion.

 

[waterdrop]

As long as your bucket is lower than the tank, you don't actually need a self-starting kit to get suction started: all you need to do is to move the end of the gravel vac that's in the tank up and down so you get water flowing from it into the tank, then quickly put it down into the tank when the flowing starts and it will continue to flow. This works for me even with a simple piece of hose (without even a gravel vac head). Absolutely no need to suck on anything, gravity does the job.

This is true. I thought the article was great with many good pointers but it fails to address that you don't need a self-starter or to suck on the end of the tube as long as the bucket is lower than the tank. Although to be more specific, sometimes I have to jiggle the vac in an up-down motion to get it to work. Its not a pumping up-down more of a short jiggly motion. And this is all underwater, not an in and out of the water up-down motion.

Very interesting comment Zephyrkaze, I may have to experiment with my siphontube some! I've always felt I needed to fill the cylinder and lift it higher above the surface to get the water to start dropping and then fairly quickly lower it beneath the surface to ensure it can continue to flow continuously, but maybe I'm being impatient! Mine may be a special case though as my siphon tube goes 40 feet or something down a hall to a catch-bucket in the tub so maybe there's more resistance somehow.

This maintenance article from 06 is pretty good but I'd still have a few quibbles with it, looking at it today:

on (2) it probably needs more writeup "depending on type of heater" (since inline heaters would not need to be turned off, whereas testtube heaters usually would etc.)
on (4.v) I think its a bad idea in a beginners article to say they should siphon out 20 to 25% as one is quite free to vary that range to a larger extent (whatever is needed).. perhaps 20 to 50% should be mentioned...
on (5) probably some filter maintenance article should be referenced as there are many more aspects to fitler maintenance...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Juwlz792]

I'm having issues with my tank. It is an established tank for well over 5 years.
But every time I test my water the NitrAte is at least 40. Never 0.

I'm always told to do at least 25% water change. When you are doing your water changes are you digging deep down into the gravel. Or are you just hardly touching the gravel getting the loose "stuff" off the top.

And if you are doing the water changes so often aren't you taking out the good bacteria?

I'm so frustrated.


55 Gallon Tank
Tropical
1 Angel Fish Black (5 years old)
1 Red Tailed Shark
2 Rainbow Fish
2 Albino Cory Catfish
2 Mickey Mouse Platy
3 Marigold Variatus
3 Silver Dollar
3 Black Molly
5 Yellow Tailed Guppy

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Juwlz792.
Don't let that typical misconception prevent you doing proper water changes. You should deep clean the gravel with each water change and you should do regular water changes. The size water change is determined by the nitrate tendency to build up. If you are having trouble keeping the nitrates down, your water changes are not big enough. The beneficial bacteria are not floating around loosely in the water, they live mainly in the filter media in your filter with a small amount living on the tank surfaces where the water flow is highest. Deep cleaning the gravel removes a major source of ammonia which means you will be producing less nitrates from it being processed. That should also help you bring down the nitrates.

 

[Juwlz792]

Welcome to the forum Juwlz792.
Don't let that typical misconception prevent you doing proper water changes. You should deep clean the gravel with each water change and you should do regular water changes. The size water change is determined by the nitrate tendency to build up. If you are having trouble keeping the nitrates down, your water changes are not big enough. The beneficial bacteria are not floating around loosely in the water, they live mainly in the filter media in your filter with a small amount living on the tank surfaces where the water flow is highest. Deep cleaning the gravel removes a major source of ammonia which means you will be producing less nitrates from it being processed. That should also help you bring down the nitrates.

i've done frequent water changes in the past 25%-50% when the nitrate is high. and after that i would get an ammonia and nitrIte spike. and i would have casualties.

Doesn't alot of the bacteria live in the gravel too???

55 Gallon Tank
Tropical
1 Angel Fish Black (5 years old)
1 Red Tailed Shark
2 Rainbow Fish
2 Albino Cory Catfish
2 Mickey Mouse Platy
3 Marigold Variatus
3 Silver Dollar
3 Black Molly
5 Yellow Tailed Guppy

 

[waterdrop]

A very minor percentage of the bacteria live in the tank outside the filter and those in the gravel will hang on tightly and still be nearly all there after even a vigorous gravel-clean-water-change. I suspect the reason you may have seen ammonia/nitite mini-spikes after gravel cleaning was that you may have been to timid about it prior to that. If quite regular and significant gravel cleaning is not kept up on a regular basis or if the tank is heavily stocked enough, the levels of nitrate and debris in the gravel can kick off mini-spikes when the gravel is finally disturbed. Its also possible there are filter issues, but that's another topic.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Juwlz792]

Thank you OldMan47 & waterdrop for clearing up my issue I pray that doing more frequent water changes and following the steps outlined at the beginning of the topic and using your advice that my tank will do well once again

55 Gallon Tank
Tropical
1 Angel Fish Black
1 Red Tailed Shark
2 Rainbow Fish
2 Albino Cory Catfish
2 Mickey Mouse Platy
3 Marigold Variatus
3 Silver Dollar
3 Black Molly
5 Yellow Tailed Guppy

 

[OldMan47]

The only time that I have seen ammonia produced as a result of a gravel vac is when I was running tanks with simple under gravel filters. When using those, you must be careful to remove every bit of waste that gets dislodged during the gravel cleaning. Even with another filter type, you will want to limit how much mulm gets stirred up and becomes an ammonia source. I plunge my gravel vac through the entire depth of my gravel so that I can watch the mulm move through the tube before moving my vac to a new location. That way, I am fairly well assured that I am not releasing any waste into the water column where it can become an ammonia source.