This is my 55 gallon cichlid tank aim have a problem of poop getting behind rocks and

[jaytanked212]

 

[SonicsDC25]

With that kind of scape, you're bound to have dead spots and trouble with waste in the back and between crevices all over. Either re-scape and have the wavemaker create a circular current in the tank to push waste to the intakes or be on top of your game when it's time for weekly maintenance.

 

[Bmac1972]

You can also take the wave maker and use it to blow out all debris behind the rocks.. I have 200 lbs of holey rock and once a week I take mine and blow out all around and it works great... Good luck!

 

[jaytanked212]

I just redone the scape

 

[Wy Renegade]

Hhhmmm . . . personally I liked the other scape better, but that is just my opinion. Regardless, with that much rock piled, you still are going to have issues with poop accumulation in the cracks and crevices. This one does look like you will get a bit more circular movement of the water which may help.

 

[jaytanked212]

What about know

 

[squirrilah fish]

Some solutions, (I had the same problem)
What I did, was put a sponge filter underneath it all, it helps digest those chasms and gives more aeration

OR

An under gravel filter,

I don't particularly like under gravel/sand filters because it can create a mess, trap nitrogen pockets that hurt the fish when released, and if you want to clean underneath it, well let's just say it's more trouble than it's worth IMO, maybe someone else has something better to say about undergravel filters.

 

[SonicsDC25]

You'll always get waste stuck somewhere with rockscapes. To minimize it, using a few big rocks in the middle with a few medium/small rocks around them (to give height/width contrast) will allow complete circulation in your tank with nothing blocking the current. By having those rocks on the side, you'll still get waste in that area and it blocks the circulation.

Just get a turkey baster and blast out any waste hiding in the crevices during weekly PWC, it's what I do and I have a heavy rockscape.

 

[snowman17]

Powerheads work pretty good I have one on each end creating circulation

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[FrankoQ]

power heads or a pump with a media bag to use a vacuum.
Feeding less is another option.

 

[SonicsDC25]

Feeding less doesn't solve the issue though, just means less will be trapped, but trapped nonetheless.

 

[FrankoQ]

No one wants to deal with poop. LOL, but the less you have to deal with... the better.

 

[jaytanked212]

this is much better scape

 

[Wy Renegade]

Better in terms of trapping poop, but significantly less hiding places for your fish, which are extremely important.

 

[Wy Renegade]

An under gravel filter,

I don't particularly like under gravel/sand filters because it can create a mess, trap nitrogen pockets that hurt the fish when released, and if you want to clean underneath it, well let's just say it's more trouble than it's worth IMO, maybe someone else has something better to say about undergravel filters.

Undergravel filters can only be used beneath gravel, not sand, as sand doesn't allow an unrestricted enough flow of water.

 

[Maridia]

You'll always get waste stuck somewhere with rockscapes. To minimize it, using a few big rocks in the middle with a few medium/small rocks around them (to give height/width contrast) will allow complete circulation in your tank with nothing blocking the current. By having those rocks on the side, you'll still get waste in that area and it blocks the circulation.

Just get a turkey baster and blast out any waste hiding in the crevices during weekly PWC, it's what I do and I have a heavy rockscape.

Would it also be good to blast out the waste during normal operation and have the filters catch it and then when the time comes around for a PWC, just clean the filter media in used tank water?

 

[SonicsDC25]

The waste will still be in your tank if you put it into the filter, only way to not have it affect your water is to remove it. It's what I do after every feed, suck up the waste in dead spot with the turkey baster and pour it into a cup. I have my wavemaker pushing 80-90% of the waste to one spot, so my nitrates are usually low by the time I do my weekly PWC.

 

[jaytanked212]

Much better now

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