proper way to vacuum gravel?

[Jherr]

Ive noticed a small outbreak of planaria on my aquarium (most likely due to someone overfeeding my fish while I was away this past weekend), and Im gonna try to clean them off the glass and do a quick gravel vac to get rid of a bit of them. Problem is, Im not really sure how to gravel vac correctly. Last time I tried it on my old aquarium, the water turned brown, and it sucked out more water than dirt itself. Maybe I'm missing something? Any tips are appreciated.

Also, what algae eaters would be compatible with Angelfish?

 

[FawnN]

Are you just using the self starting vacs or a python? Do you have any live plants?

When I had gravel before in my tanks, I would actually hold the hose straight down and keep it there until the tube looks clear. And would continue to do that through out the tank.

If that doesn't work for you, you could stir the gravel around a bit to bring up whatever waste is there and then suck it up.

Now, with the sand and my python, I will stir things up and suck everything up that floats in the water.

To get rid of the planaria, I would suggest you do your water change and not feed for a day.

As for the Algae eater, how big is your tank? How long has it been up and running? What are your water parameters. And lastly, what other fish do you have in their besides your angelfish?

 

[madasafish]

I did a water change yesterday on one of my planted tanks. The water was quite dirty adterwards, but the suspended particulate matter had settled almost entirely by morning. This is to be expected after vigorous vacuuming.

To avoid stirring up a lot of dirt, try slipping the vac into the gravel slowly and making sure that all material being sucked up has left the vac tube before moving on to the next area. When you retract the vac, do it slowly and carefully.

HTH

 

[deeni0z]

If you have gravel, you could use a gravel vac that doesn't take out water. They hook up to your air pump. I have one; it takes a while to vac my whole tank... but then again.. I'm a neat freak.

 

[Jherr]

the tank is 39 gal, i only have the 4 angelfish in there, no other fish.

 

[Nystina]

I've been told not to push the vacuum all the way down to the bottom of the tank... rather 1/2 way or so. Also, not to vacuum the whole tank at one time.. rather 1/2 of the tank on alternate cleanings. My local fish store (which info is becoming more and more inaccurate) said it can disrupt the cycle. Any truth or thoughts on this?
Thank You!
Nystina

 

[mattrox]

It depends.... It will only disrupt the bacteria if your filter is not adequate for the size of your tank. ie does not have enough surface area for bacteria to grow. It takes quite a bit to knock all bacteria off the gravel. It is hard to clean everything out in one cleaning anyway..... Just do your best to get most of the excess mulm out.

My opinion is that not much oxygen gets between the gravel compared to the filter. Or rather, is used up. If there is rotting matter and it is left to build up it can go anoxic and produce rotten hydrogen sulfide. Better to get it out when you can and let the filter have the biological fitration role.... that is even if the bacteria in the gravel are indeed disturbed too much.

Getting solid waste out during the initial cycle will prolong the cycle. You want to keep ammonia/nitrite concentrations low with water changes while the bacteria establish.