Tank upkeep

[Kinili]

So I'm on the last leg of cycling. And I have decided to get a pair of Bolivian ram and ten tetras. Now I'm wondering what is the best way to care for your tank and fish?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

So I'm on the last leg of cycling. And I have decided to get a pair of Bolivian ram and ten tetras. Now I'm wondering what is the best way to care for your tank and fish?

Feed them, keep up on your pwc, scrub the algae of the tank, change your filter cartridges, change the lights every six months. Do you know this stuff already or are you talking about something else?

 

[Kinili]

Feed them, keep up on your pwc, scrub the algae of the tank, change your filter cartridges, change the lights every six months. Do you know this stuff already or are you talking about something else?

Yes I do in a sense. But I was wondering how often I need to do tank upkeep.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Oh ok. Well I change my water biweekly 10% because of evaporation, but you should change yours just every week or so, about twenty five percent, and then a monthly water change of forty prevent.

 

[Kinili]

And what about cleaning the gravel?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Get a gravel vacuum. Theyre about five dollars and all you do is stick it in the gravel and start getting the water flowing, and all the crap comes out from under the gravel. I dont think that was the best explanation.

 

[eco23]

change your filter cartridges,

I have to disagree with this one. The majority of your beneficial bacteria lives in your filter media, and when removed or replaced it Is almost a guarantee to cause a mini-cycle. During pwc's, fill a bucket with water from your tank (not tap), swish the filter around to remove loose debris and then put it back in. You never want to switch out media until it is literally falling apart, and always seed a new piece of media before replacing by sticking a new filter directly against the old for as long as possible.

 

[reefdiver]

I agree with Eco. What kind of filter do you have? For the rams I would recommend you wait at least a month after your tank is cycled. I say this because they are very delicate. It would suck to loose such a nice fish

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Well, my filter is different. It has three different types of mediums, so I change each one every different month.

 

[eco23]

Once a tank is established, the only maintenance normally required is weekly pwc's (percentage is normally judged by nitrAte level, try to maintain your no3 at or below 20), occasional cleaning of debris from mechanical filtration (as mentioned), monthly cleaning of filter housing (again, with tank or dechlorinated water and an algae sponge) and LIGHT gravel vacuuming. If you have a heavily planted tank and do not overfeed, substrate cleaning can be done very rarely.

The only type of media that needs to be changed monthly is carbon, and it is not necessary to use unless you are tyring to remove meds from the water column or odor (clean tank = no odor). If you choose to run carbon, it is a good idea to buy the granules and place them in a mesh media bag, as opposed to the filter cartridges with carbon inside, because again, you do not want to replace anything unless absolutely necessary.

 

[warthog76za]

Eco23 explains it perfectly. Most of these,manufacturers come with all these instructions of buying this and that every few weeks, really uneccesary. What I do, do is when I do PWC, I rinse out filters sponges, whatever parts...in the water, Ive just taken from the tank, so Im not losing any useful bacteria needed to keep the tank going.

I too, do changes once a week, which includes cleaning the filter/cartridges as well as the Impeller, which sometimes can clog because of food/waste.

 

[eco23]

Most of these,manufacturers come with all these instructions of buying this and that every few weeks, really uneccesary.

Exactly . Monthly filter changes = more $ for the pet store = bad for your fish

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Ooooh sorry ive just been following the instructions that came with the filter. Good to know!

 

[warthog76za]

Ooooh sorry ive just been following the instructions that came with the filter. Good to know!

Just looking out for a fellow Aquarist!