Tank cleaning

[rdneck21]

New to the aquarium hobby, how often do yall clean your tanks and does anyone have a home remedy for foggy tank water??

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[enrgizerbunny]

New to the aquarium hobby, how often do yall clean your tanks and does anyone have a home remedy for foggy tank water??

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That's a loaded question, actually. Tank maintenance is very subjective, but the two key elements are regular(usually weekly) water changes and periodic filter cleanings. Another would be gravel vacuuming. The types of fish you have and how stocked your tank is are going to heavily influence this.

For example :My 55g with 3 fish will require far less maintenance than a 55g fully stocked with goldfish.

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[rdneck21]

I have a 36 gallon tank and don't have a vacuum yet, do you clean all your water weekly or just so much of a percentage

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[NigelK8485]

I change about 40% of the water weekly, vacuum the top of the sand each time. Rinse the filter media in used tank water maybe once every two or three months. And scrub down the walls of the aquarium as needed.

For cloudy tank water, is it a newly setup tank? Cycled? Could be a bacteria bloom or dust from the substrate that hasn't settled. Purigen in the filter clears up tank water.


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[rdneck21]

I have gravel in my tank which I think catches some Un eatin food which I know is one cause, I guess I'll have to clean all the water out and rinse out the gravel thanks for the info

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[enrgizerbunny]

I have gravel in my tank which I think catches some Un eatin food which I know is one cause, I guess I'll have to clean all the water out and rinse out the gravel thanks for the info

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A gravel vacuum/siphon is not costly and is far easier than what you are suggesting. Reduce feeding to every other day to start. What is your stocking on that 36?

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[NigelK8485]

If you pull all the gravel out and wash it it'll disrupt the beneficial bacteria on it and start a mini-cycle. I'd suggest using a gravel vacuum or if you're set on rinsing the gravel just do like 20% every few days or every week. I remember you have that new bichir so one thing you may want to look into is switching to sand substrate. Gravel can be kind of rough on them and sand will keep uneaten food at the top which makes it easier to clean up.


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[enrgizerbunny]

Please don't be offended, but you've only got half the story right. Substrate doesn't carry enough beneficial bacteria to affect the cycle, except in under gravel filtration systems. It does, however, contain pieces of waste and food that can be disturbed and broken/dispersed. This increases the surface area of these nitrogen sources allowing them to be broken down faster, sometimes faster than the good bacteria can process the subsequent ammonia that results from this expedited decomposition.

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[rdneck21]

Lol I don't mean to sound dumb but could you brake that down a little better so a country boy can understand

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[fishy14]

What fish are in the tank


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[NigelK8485]

Lol I don't mean to sound dumb but could you brake that down a little better so a country boy can understand

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Basically there are pieces of decomposing food under your substrate. If you go and remove the substrate you'll release this food into the water column and it can cause ammonia and nitrite spikes.


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[rdneck21]

I have a bichir, black ghost knifefish, tropical shark and 2 danios

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[rdneck21]

Would it be alright if I cleaned all the water and evetything n out?

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[NigelK8485]

What size is this tank? Also, danios should be kept in groups of 5 or more.

You're really making it a lot more difficult than it needs to be. Try just using a gravel vacuum and cleaning the substrate and changing 30-50% of the water.


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[NigelK8485]

Oh I see where you said it's 36 gallons. The bichir, knife, and pretty sure every type of tropical shark requires more space than that. I'd recommend getting a larger aquarium very soon and not waiting for them to outgrow the space. You're risking stunting them, aggression issues, and a larger tank will also help dilute the amount of toxins in the water.


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[enrgizerbunny]

Lol I don't mean to sound dumb but could you brake that down a little better so a country boy can understand

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Broken down Barney style:

Poop+uneaten food= ammonia
Beneficial bacteria + ammonia= nitrate

Nitrate+ fish= relatively harmless, but in high concentrations it can be deadly
Ammonia+ fish= death in low concentrations

The amount of ammonia present depends on the amount of waste that the other bacteria and microbes that cause it to rot can eat. If theres too much ammonia and the beneficial bacteria can't eat it all then it can be harmful to the fish.

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[rdneck21]

Yes I am aware of the tank size being to small I do have a 55 gallon tank but am trying to find a bigger one than that, thanks for the barney style by the way now your speaking my language

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[fishliker]

Would it be alright if I cleaned all the water and evetything n out?

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I just want to say do not change ALL the water at a time. That messes things up and the changes will shock the fish. Ok... That's all I can add, someone else address this please, he has asked about it twice, thanks.


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[Catfish Lover]

Lol I don't mean to sound dumb but could you brake that down a little better so a country boy can understand

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Do you have live plants? What type of fish do you have and how many? This all. Plays a part in maintenance. Rule of thumb for most is change 50% of water weekly. As far as scrubbing down the walls of the tank, you would not want to do that if say for instance you have a bristlenose pleco as the algae on sides of tank is a food source for them. If your planted you don't want to over siphon the substrate as the fish poop is fertilize for the plants. Just siphon the extra debris that might be down there. As far as your filter media just rinse in tank water as needed. This could vary, it might take a few weeks to gunk up or maybe only a week.

 

[rdneck21]

I do not have any live plants I've only had the tank for a week, I'm working on getting some stuff for the tank to help out with maintenance, my tank is a little over stoked right now I'm in the process of getting another tank to separate what I have

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