New to the hobby

[Smo4]

Hi,

I just started this hobby about three weeks ago and bought the Fluval Vista 23 gal freshwater tank. It's been fun and I thought I was doing great and then had a nitrite spike and lost some fish. I guess my tank is not fully cycled yet as I have been reading and watching many videos about all this. I've constantly been doing water changes now, but hopefully that will slow down as the tank cycles. I don't want more fish to die, but I also hope I'm not prolonging the cycling process by constantly changing 50% of the water 2-3 times a week. I posted in the equipment forum about using an electric vacuum and was curious to see if anyone has had a good experience with them in a 23 gal tank.

 

[dcutl002]

Cycling can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. Live plants can help shorten the process because they help establish the tank biological process and act as little mini filters extracting impurities from the water: floating plants are actually the best for this. During Fish-in cycling, change about 1/3 of the water twice a week until Ammonia and Nitrites are ZERO and your tank starts producing Nitrates. Add fish slowly so that you bioload will not overwhelm your tank balance. Once your tank produces Nitrates instead of ammonia and nitrites then you can add a few more fish.

Once cycled - change 50% of the water every week. Partial water changes prevent numerous tank problems and illnesses!

I am writing this somewhat in a hurry, so I apologize if this post is somewhat incoherent.

 

[TrueGrit]

The electric vacuums are cool but, IMO, a bit of a maintenance redundancy because using a traditional vac cleans the substrate and drains the tank for a PWC in one fell swoop. Considering that you already need a traditional vac to drain your water, an electronic vac just becomes yet another piece of gear and an additional expense. I get the appeal of the bells and whistles; I was intrigued by the Fluval electrovac at my LFS the other day. But I can't justify spending the $50 when the purchase saves me zero time or effort. Most of us should be changing our water more anyway. Why add an extra step when you can drain and vac at the same time? Plus, a traditional vac leaves you no filter sock to clean and dry after; just toss out the old water which you have to do anyway when draining.
Pardon the pun but those new fangled electric vacs are for suckers! Stick to the $8 old school vac and a bucket and save the extra money for a cannister filter.

 

[dcutl002]

As TrueGrit stated, I would skip the electric vac and purchase something less expensive like this Python vac. Ensure that you get a size for the height of the tank. https://www.amazon.com/Python-Pro-C...583364127&sprefix=aquarium+va,aps,293&sr=8-18

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.