aquarium tear downs - Aquarium Advice

Meredith · 01-01-2006, 01:13 AM

I am in the process of moving out fish from my 55 to a 20 gallon, the 55 is going to be totally redone. But I noticed that it seems like no matter how many water changes I do, the tank always looks scungy. I realized that even if I were not drastically changing the look of the 55, I would probably need to do a total tear down and clean the thing out (the last time this happened was about a year ago) Does anyone else do this on a regular basis?

DeFeKt · 01-01-2006, 01:44 AM

lol funny that, just did it about 1/2 hr ago on a 20 [acronym:68e7385aba="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:68e7385aba] gt breeding tank.
but had another tank and filter to put straight in it's place so it was relativly easy besides having to wait for the painted black background to dry.

on average I probly do it once every 8-12 months just to freshen things up and get the algae out of all those hard-to-reach places.

Although the 100gal needs one now as I have been a bit lazy with maintanace over the christmas break, but nothing a couple of quick water changes and rub the gunk off the glass couldn't fix. Not looking forward to trying to get something down inbetween the side drop filter glasses though. the 3mm gap is going to be the killer..

Matt.

Lonewolfblue · 01-01-2006, 01:46 AM

Nope, I don't. Need to be aware that everytime you do a complete teardown, you may need to re-cycle the tank, and if you don't, could have some dead fish. (Unless you keep your cycled filter going in another tank til it's time to install in the cleaned tank)

What do you mean by scrungy? Is it too much fish poo or excess food, or is it just mainly cosmetic, like wanting a new look?

Also, have you thought about pool filter sand? Looks natural and you can do some really nice setups with driftwood, plants, ornaments, etc.

Meredith · 01-01-2006, 02:07 PM

I like the moon sand, it will be moved to the 20, and play sand will go in 55 when its ready. The whole thing just looks dirty to me. I know I will go through another cycle in the 55 (hopefully it will be quick though, I am not changing out any of the filter media) I am sure my dislike of the tank right now has a lot to do with my snail outbreak and the darn BBA.
It just looks like it needs a good scrubbing. Thats the best way to describe it.

01-01-2006, 01:13 AM	#1
Meredith Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 3,184 Images: 17	aquarium tear downs I am in the process of moving out fish from my 55 to a 20 gallon, the 55 is going to be totally redone. But I noticed that it seems like no matter how many water changes I do, the tank always looks scungy. I realized that even if I were not drastically changing the look of the 55, I would probably need to do a total tear down and clean the thing out (the last time this happened was about a year ago) Does anyone else do this on a regular basis?

01-01-2006, 01:44 AM	#2
DeFeKt Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: perth australia Posts: 1,435 Images: 18	lol funny that, just did it about 1/2 hr ago on a 20 [acronym:68e7385aba="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:68e7385aba] gt breeding tank. but had another tank and filter to put straight in it's place so it was relativly easy besides having to wait for the painted black background to dry. on average I probly do it once every 8-12 months just to freshen things up and get the algae out of all those hard-to-reach places. Although the 100gal needs one now as I have been a bit lazy with maintanace over the christmas break, but nothing a couple of quick water changes and rub the gunk off the glass couldn't fix. Not looking forward to trying to get something down inbetween the side drop filter glasses though. the 3mm gap is going to be the killer.. Matt. __________________ Dimidiochromis compressiceps, Astatotilapia latifasciata Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos Labidochromis caeruleus Cynotilapia afra 'Cobue' Pseudotropheus acei 'Msuli Point' Aulunocara stuartgranti 'chipoka' Labidochromis freibergi Oreochromis mossambicus Etroplus suratensis

01-01-2006, 01:46 AM	#3
Lonewolfblue Planted Geek Community Mentor Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Wenatchee, WA Posts: 7,871 Images: 7	Nope, I don't. Need to be aware that everytime you do a complete teardown, you may need to re-cycle the tank, and if you don't, could have some dead fish. (Unless you keep your cycled filter going in another tank til it's time to install in the cleaned tank) What do you mean by scrungy? Is it too much fish poo or excess food, or is it just mainly cosmetic, like wanting a new look? Also, have you thought about pool filter sand? Looks natural and you can do some really nice setups with driftwood, plants, ornaments, etc. __________________ 26G Medium Planted Community - 65W CF Lighting - Emperor 280 Bio-Wheel - Established Feb 2004 55G Aggressive Community - Filstar XP3 - Established Dec 2005 75G Heavily Planted - Pressurized CO2, 520W Lighting, Filstar XP3 with spraybar - Established Feb 2006 29G Planted - 130W Lighting, Filstar XP2 with spraybar - Established May 2006 5 10G Tanks - Various setups - Tanks Established May-Sep 2006. 3 currently empty. 5.5G Crypt/Java Fern Tank - Established Oct 2006 My 29G Thread : http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=78469 My 75G Thread : http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=70764 My 75G Makeover Thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=87691

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01-01-2006, 02:07 PM	#4
Meredith Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 3,184 Images: 17	I like the moon sand, it will be moved to the 20, and play sand will go in 55 when its ready. The whole thing just looks dirty to me. I know I will go through another cycle in the 55 (hopefully it will be quick though, I am not changing out any of the filter media) I am sure my dislike of the tank right now has a lot to do with my snail outbreak and the darn BBA. It just looks like it needs a good scrubbing. Thats the best way to describe it.