MrDaytona
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I maintain my tank and make sure the PH levels & temperature is just right but as with most tanks the gravel needs cleaning every 6 weeks or so.
Advice by most is to change a portion of the water on a regular basis also.
I have in the past combined both of these tasks into one. I have used a siphon action with a plastic tube and tubing to stir the gravel and thus remove the dirt from it. This worked quite well for the cleaning but it also depleted about 1/3 or 125 gallons of water from my tank.
Using the logic that I should be able to clean the gravel and not lose any water I have now continued to use the siphoning action BUT instead of having the water drain outside I now have it go to my wet-dry filter.
This method has helped me avoid losing fish due to changes in PH and/or temperature while eliminating the need to keep a 55 gallon drum of water on standby to replace the "lost" water.
One important note: I do have to keep my wet-dry pump running while I am doing this so the water is recirculated and not overflowing the filter's capacity. The cleaning of the wet-dry filter every 6 months is relatively simple.
I post this message hoping that it will help others that may have the same problems.
Advice by most is to change a portion of the water on a regular basis also.
I have in the past combined both of these tasks into one. I have used a siphon action with a plastic tube and tubing to stir the gravel and thus remove the dirt from it. This worked quite well for the cleaning but it also depleted about 1/3 or 125 gallons of water from my tank.
Using the logic that I should be able to clean the gravel and not lose any water I have now continued to use the siphoning action BUT instead of having the water drain outside I now have it go to my wet-dry filter.
This method has helped me avoid losing fish due to changes in PH and/or temperature while eliminating the need to keep a 55 gallon drum of water on standby to replace the "lost" water.
One important note: I do have to keep my wet-dry pump running while I am doing this so the water is recirculated and not overflowing the filter's capacity. The cleaning of the wet-dry filter every 6 months is relatively simple.
I post this message hoping that it will help others that may have the same problems.