Step-by-step Guide To Weekly Maintenance

[Skins]

Very helpful topic, thanks.
Skins.

 

[chrisodapz]

hi,
Stupid question , can you use the gravel vac when refilling the tank or something else sorry im new to all this.

chriso.

 

[Skins]

hi,
Stupid question , can you use the gravel vac when refilling the tank or something else sorry im new to all this.

chriso.

I believe there is some devices on the market which allow you to remove+gravel vac and add water.

Keith.

 

[Matty_]

Great thread

 

[funkyboots]

Really helpful, thank you for taking the time. Fishies will love you forever x

 

[Noahs ark6]

Strange it may be, but i do a 25% water change on my 5ft(350L) planted tank without dechlorinating the water, i just drop the hose into the other end of the tank to the intake of the filter and fill it back up to the line, i have not had any losses, fish all seem to be happier than they were before.

Smaller tanks require dechlorination, but larger don't in my opinion

apparently, if your tank is very ell established and you only do a small water change, it wont cause that much harm

 

[Shari]

This is great - and I hope lots of beginners read it!

Just a quick point - when you refer to refilling and you mention the "bath" being much faster, what do you mean? If it's that people should use water from a bath tap, I have read that this is not necessarily so great. I'm told that this is because indirectly heated water is stored in a copper tank, and this is not good for fish. Not certain how true this is, but when I was starting out I suffered a fatality everytime I changed the water, and I was using hot water from the tap mixed with cold.

I now use cold mains water mixed with boiling water from the kettle. It means several boiled kettles for the change process, but I've never lost a fish since.

Irf.

Great advice! I never even thought of that!

 

[LittleMolly]

Brilliant, thanks for all the info!

 

[jute]

what a very helpful guide, i have not seen this on the other forums i belong to, well done you lot, you would have to be an idiot not to understand this xxx

 

[elaineylane]

How do I keep from getting my new little balloon mollies into the syphon? I need to get the plastic grass cleaned off. They are venturing out alot more though. 

 

 

 

 

[fluttermoth]

to the forum, elainey
 
Plastic plants are usually better cleaned out of the tank, rather than still in it. Take them out, wash in hot water, and 'plant' them back in.
 
For the rest of the time, keep your gravel cleaner/syphon either right in the gravel, or very near it, and your fish shouldn't get sucked in. If they're very tiny fry, a piece of net over the end will help but, of course, you won't be able to suck up any big lumps of dirt then. 

 

[seacreature]

Great job guys.!

 

[Vibora]

What about sand? How will the maintenance change? I would imagine the siphon cannot be used.

 

[xion0374]

I watch a youtube video on syphoning water out from the tank in terms to cleaning by Dr Tim Aquatics, that the bacteria lives in the gravel/substrate, so if you vacum deep into the gravel/substrate your practically taking out the bacteria or distrubing the bacteria. I think there is another way to safely remove poop and what not but im not sure how atm.

 

[Noahsfish]

Siphoning the gravel will not remove the bacteria, unless you actually take out the gravel/sand. The bacteria isn't removed that easily, just larger waste particles are. As for sand, most sand won't be sucked up, the lighter debris will. So just skim the surface of the sand carefully making sure not to "plunge" the siphon into the sand to avoid sucking it up.

Also, this post is 7 years old FYI....