Best way to clean the tank?

[echoDreamz]

So far on my 29 gallon tank I have been doing 10 gallon water changes about once a month. I inherited this from a friend when he went to college and he explained how to do the changes etc. + reading around.

I have heard from some that I should not clean the gravel at all, some say I should just skim it, others say I should clean 50% of it, others say do it all... I know the bacteria lives in the gravel, so would it be best to just skim the surface?

The tank has a large filter / pump on it (Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75 400GPH). It has 2 filters in it, should I change both or just alternate them? Can I clean the filtration unit completely?

As far as the decorations should I take them out and rinse them in aquarium water, or just set them aside?

The live plants can I take them out while I do all this?

Thank you!

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome!

What fish are in the tank?

Some bacteria are in the gravel and on decor and plants but most is in your filter. Old fish food and waste can get into the crevices in gravel and decompose and cause water issues so it's best to keep it clean. Do you have a siphon/vacuum? When you do water changes, stick the siphon in the gravel to suck up the muck underneath.

During water changes about once or twice a month you can take out the media from the filters and rinse it out in old tank water (don't use straight tap water) then put them back in. You can clean the gunk from the filter unit, yes.

You can clean decorations if you want; again just rinse them off in old tank water.

Most times you can leave everything in while you clean the tank; if for some reason you want to do a deep clean you can take stuff out. Any reason you want to clean it or just maintenance?

I'd also bump up the water changes; 10% a month isn't much at all. 50% weekly is better practice.

 

[echoDreamz]

I am not 100% sure on the fish. I inherited this. From what I have researched this is what I have in the tank

5 - Tiger Barbs
2 - Kissing gouramis (they are small)
3 - Corydoras (also small maybe 1.5")
3 - Fancy Guppies
1 - Bala Shark
1 - Red Tail Shark
1 - No idea... It is a clear fish, completely see through (cept for his head), small - thin and about an inch long.
1 - Black widow tetra
EDIT:
2 - Dwarf Gourami

I am almost sure this is too many fish...

I do have a gravel siphon. I was curious as to how much gravel I need to clean. The whole tank? Do I go all the way down, or just a little ways into the gravel? So basically I should never change the filters?

 

[Tetra1990]

I am not 100% sure on the fish. I inherited this. From what I have researched this is what I have in the tank

5 - Tiger Barbs
2 - Kissing gouramis (they are small)
3 - Corydoras (also small maybe 1.5")
3 - Fancy Guppies
1 - Bala Shark
1 - Red Tail Shark
1 - No idea... It is a clear fish, completely see through (cept for his head), small - thin and about an inch long.
1 - Black widow tetra
EDIT:
2 - Dwarf Gourami

I am almost sure this is too many fish...

I do have a gravel siphon. I was curious as to how much gravel I need to clean. The whole tank? Do I go all the way down, or just a little ways into the gravel? So basically I should never change the filters?

Yeah, I would rehome the bala shark and the red tail shark ASAP. Are the guppies male and/or female(they will breed like rabbits).

 

[Bbarb27]

The beneficial bacteria live on the surface of the gravel and most of the other surfaces in the tank, but they are sticky and don't easily vacuum off. Waste will accumulate in the gravel and increase your nitrate levels, so you do need to vacuum the gravel with a siphon periodically. In my tanks with gravel, I skim all the surface each time I do a water change, and then pick one quadrant of the tank to do a deeper vacuum. I change 30-50 percent twice a week in each tank to keep nitrates at a healthy level.

Are you testing your water parameters? If so, let your testing guide your water changes. While ammonia and nitrite are converted by beneficial bacteria, the only things that can reduce nitrate levels are live plants and water changes.

I don't rinse my filter media with each water change, but do so at least monthly.

Quite a few live plants prefer not to be moved much, so I would just siphon around them rather that remove them.

 

[echoDreamz]

Is there a specific kit I should get? Any one better than another?

 

[Tetra1990]

Is there a specific kit I should get? Any one better than another?

If your looking for a water testing kit, the vast majority of people here recommend the API master freshwater test kit.

 

[echoDreamz]

The bala and red-tailed sharks are small right now - maybe 3 - 4in max. Are they ok for now?

 

[librarygirl]

Replies in blue....

I am not 100% sure on the fish. I inherited this. From what I have researched this is what I have in the tank

5 - Tiger Barbs - these can be aggressive to each othter and other fish; large numbers of these fish are often recommended to mitigate aggression. A 29 gal isn't really large enough for a good sized school of TBs. You can watch them and see how they fare though.
2 - Kissing gouramis (they are small) - these get large; at least 6"; a 55+ gal tank would be better suited to them. Plus the TBs are likely to attack them or vice versa. I'd try to rehome them.
3 - Corydoras (also small maybe 1.5") - these are fine. Once the tank is situated and stocked more properly you could increase the number to 6; they do better in groups
3 - Fancy Guppies - these are fine (although um might become a snack to the TBs, gourmi and/or sharks if kept in there with these fish long-term)
1 - Bala Shark - these need a group and a very large tank; I'd rehome
1 - Red Tail Shark - 29 is too small for even shark; rehome
1 - No idea... It is a clear fish, completely see through (cept for his head), small - thin and about an inch long. - can you post a pic?
1 - Black widow tetra - these do best in groups but I'd wait until the tank is more appropriately stocked
EDIT:
2 - Dwarf Gourami - again should be ok once some of the other fish are moved. It's generally not recommended to keep tiger barbs and gouramis together so if you wnted to keep these (and the tetra and the guppies) you might want to consider rehoming the tigers. Also the other gouramis are likely to attack these

I am almost sure this is too many fish... Yep, that's an understatement lol

I do have a gravel siphon. I was curious as to how much gravel I need to clean. The whole tank? Do I go all the way down, or just a little ways into the gravel? Go all the way down; stick the siphon into the gravel as far as it'll go; you'll see crud getting sucked up. I'll link to a video below.You can do half the tank at once if all of the tank is too much to do in one go.

So basically I should never change the filters? Yep, not unless the media is falling apart and even then only change out small portions at a time. What filter is on the tank? With all those fish it's likely it isn't being filtered enough.

So basically you have some decisions to make here. First the kissing gouramis and the sharks need to be rehomed; a 29 isn't large enough to house them.

Then you'll need to decide between the group of tiger barbs and the other fish (tetras, guppies and dwarf gourami) as they likely won't get along in the long-term.

How to clean your aquarium with a vacuum gravel cleaner. - YouTube

 

[echoDreamz]

Awesome post!

I have been watching them all for about 3 months now, and I have not seen any sort of "fighting". The guppies have incredible rear fins (very big silky looking), I have not seen anyone nipping at them or picking on each other. The TB's stick to chasing themselves it seems.

I am looking to get a bigger tank (once I get this one figured out). I was looking for 55 - 75G.

Also the clear fish I found out was a Glass Catfish.

The filter is an Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75 400GPH. It has 2 filters in it, which I have been alternating (changing the other one each month).

I will see that everyone gets the proper homes / tanks!

Are there any recommendations on brands of declorinator, bacteria etc. I should use? I have been using Tetra branded products thus far. Are they good? Bad? Is there better?

 

[Tetra1990]

Awesome post!

I have been watching them all for about 3 months now, and I have not seen any sort of "fighting". The guppies have incredible rear fins (very big silky looking), I have not seen anyone nipping at them or picking on each other. The TB's stick to chasing themselves it seems.

I am looking to get a bigger tank (once I get this one figured out). I was looking for 55 - 75G.

Also the clear fish I found out was a Glass Catfish.

The filter is an Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75 400GPH. It has 2 filters in it, which I have been alternating (changing the other one each month).

I will see that everyone gets the proper homes / tanks!

Are there any recommendations on brands of declorinator, bacteria etc. I should use? I have been using Tetra branded products thus far. Are they good? Bad? Is there better?

Glass catfish do best in groups.

 

[echoDreamz]

I see now that not much thought went into the fish picking process...

 

[librarygirl]

Awesome post!

I have been watching them all for about 3 months now, and I have not seen any sort of "fighting". The guppies have incredible rear fins (very big silky looking), I have not seen anyone nipping at them or picking on each other. The TB's stick to chasing themselves it seems.

I am looking to get a bigger tank (once I get this one figured out). I was looking for 55 - 75G.

Also the clear fish I found out was a Glass Catfish.

The filter is an Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75 400GPH. It has 2 filters in it, which I have been alternating (changing the other one each month).

I will see that everyone gets the proper homes / tanks!

Are there any recommendations on brands of declorinator, bacteria etc. I should use? I have been using Tetra branded products thus far. Are they good? Bad? Is there better?

It's not your fault; at least you're trying to do what's best for the fish and trying to improve their situation.

A larger tank would be great! You still might have some problems (e.g. 4 sharks wouldn't fit in a 75) but it would help a lot, especially with the TIger Barbs if you wanted to keep them; adding more to their group should mitigate their aggression toward each other but I'd wait until you got a larger tank.

If the fish are small and still growing that could be why you aren't' seeing much aggression yet. As they mature they're going to get territorial and feel very cramped for space so it's best to try to upgrade soon or start rehoming fish if you can before a war breaks out

The Aqueon might be ok; you're very heavily stocked though so another filter wouldn't hurt. Aquaclears are great filters; an AC 70 or 110 on that tank with your current one would help a lot. If you think yo'ure going to be upgrading to a larger tank fairly soon though you could wait and get a canister filter for the larger tank (Eheim or Fluval make good canisters).

Best brand of dechlor is Seachem Prime. Most hobbyists use it.

I wouldn't bother with the bacteria products; they're hit and miss at best and by now the tank should be pretty well cycled. I'd stop replacing media though; just swish it in old tank water during water changes every couple of weeks. If you're constantly changing the filters you're removing the bacteria that the tank needs to keep the toxins down.

Do you have a test kit? If not, it's really a must-have. I'd recommend the API Master liquid kit. They have test strips which are cheaper up front but are often not accurate and they don't last long so you'll end up spending more in the long-run anyway.

 

[echoDreamz]

I only have the 2 sharks, not 4, but I will def find something better for them. Yes I love the TB's, they are actually my fav. I would like to get more of them.

Is it possible to add a second filter? I have a second Aqueon filter (it is for the tank, but he bought the bigger one). I see no way to add it though, there is no spot in the hood for it. How can I add it on?

 

[librarygirl]

Can you cut the hood? Sometimes they come with spots that have ridges on them so you can just cut those off for more space, or if you have something to cut the lid (if it's plastic? glass might be more difficult). If not you could look into an internal filter.

 

[echoDreamz]

It only has 1 spot to "cut out" and it was already removed. I will look into an internal filter.