hello all

[judy4760]

my name is judy and my husband's is randy. we dont actualy have a tank right now, but we r hoping to start a micro soon. we do get to take care of a friends tank and so i come to ask about bristle worms. he has like wht i would call an extreme case of them. and he only has 2 fish and a brittle star i was wondering if it would b a bad thing just to take it down to clean or should i just get a lot of crabs or something like that? it is a 150 gallon tank and it has been up for around a year.
we were gone from the area for a bit and when we came back it was this way. it does not have a trickle on it or anything other than the whispers on the back.

for any and all help and i will answer any questions

 

[redsea]

Welcome to the forum! What is your definition of tank down and clean? (You don't want to lose the beneficial bacteria) .

 

[George9]

Welcome!!

Dont take it apart clean! Leave the fish in and take out 25% (or more, just not all the water) of the water out and wipe the glass, and use a siphon to suck all the crud up.

 

[judy4760]

by take down im talkin down to empty sift the sand with fresh water to kill the worms and start over new.the rocks and all are infested with them, i know they r benificial and all but there r a lot

 

[redsea]

by take down im talkin down to empty sift the sand with fresh water to kill the worms and start over new.the rocks and all are infested with them, i know they r benificial and all but there r a lot

If you did that, almost all the beneficial bacteria would be lost, which could kill your fish if you put them back in after the cleaning. Beneficial bacteria's job is too brake down ammonia into less harmful substances like nitrite, and nitrate. If there is no bacteria, then you will essentially have to cycle again. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!