Cleaning out fish tanks

[heavenly]

Is it safe to remove the fish, take all the rocks, plants and what nots and actually rinse the whole tank and set it back up on a regular basis. I thought that wasn't safe at all. My neighbor does that because she doesn't have a vac and she wants to get rid of all the waste and old food; but wouldn't that upset the balance and get rid of bacteria and stuff like that?

[astroguy]

That's the dumbest thing she can ever do.... It essentially upsets the fishes (-> stress!). Depending on how she cleans, since most of the bacteria are on the filter, it should not get rid of the bacteria.

Strongly suggest her to buy a vacuum cleaner (a few bucks or tens of bucks...)

[heavenly]

Is that what that nasty brown stuff is on there?? If so, should I stop cleaning that and changing filters when they are too old?

[astroguy]

No the nasty brown stuff is decaying food, decaying feces, or decaying plants if you have some. The bacteria are not so visible. You should clean your filter with *water* tank every month or so (depending how fast it clogs), and put it back. That will not destroy the baterial colony. However, if it becomes too clog, consider changing it ***but*** put a new filter together for 1-2 weeks so that the bacteria migrate from the old to the new filter. If you forget this step, you will essentially start your cycle again.

[heavenly]

Whew! Thanks. you had me scared there for a minute. I was afraid I was harming my fish and I don't want to do that.

[Menagerie]

I disagree, if you throw away you old filter (as suggested by the manufacturer, which has you replacing them far too often ), from an established tank, the tank will be fine with a brand new filter. There are tons of bacteria in the water, on the substrate, decor and fish themselves that a cycle will not restart. However, if you are thinking ahead, you can seed your new filter from the old filter. Bacteria will not migrate from an old filter to a fresh filter. The "offspring" of the bacteria on the old filter will colonize the new filter.

[astroguy]

Menagerie, on the second part I agree, it was a misconception. On the first part, I disagree. Not that I personally know the solution, but from many websites and forum I read and participate, where (apparently) knowledgeable people claim that a negligible amount of bacteria is available in the water, on the substrate, decor, and fishes. I made the personal mistake to forget to seed the new filter and (despite the same tank and water) I now am cycling my tank again....

[heavenly]

How often should you change a carbon filter??

[millipede]

""offspring" of the bacteria" makes me think of all the bacteria that are crawling over each one of us at the moment... Yeah, cheap gravel vacs don't cost a lot. It is a good idea to keep decaying food to a minimum but emptying the tank is not a good idea, not to mention extremely time consuming. I bought one of those vacs that are operated by an air pump, they don't remove water just the waste... still takes a little work, but less than emptying the entire tank and it's fun to watch how much waste you take out, well, I guess it might be more gross than fun to most people...

[astroguy]

Carbon filter: several people in the hobby think that the carbon filter is of no use since its effect disappears in a few days. So, I guess my recommendation is to get rid of the carbon, and do not care about it.