Cleaning a Small Tank

[blang]

I clean my 10 gallon tank every week with a good gravel vac and a 30% water change. After I clean and I pour the fresh water in, the water has a million particles floating all over the place. After about 30 or 60 minutes, everything settles down and the tank looks clear. I have two cory cats that are cleaning the bottom. Am I overfeeding or is this expected with a smaller tank. I have a 15 gallon tall and it doesn't look this bad right after a cleaning. There are some particles floating but everything clears up in about 15 minutes or so.

 

[Menagerie]

My 29 gal gets cloudy, but partly that has to do with the sand substrate. Even with a good gravel vaccing, the water you put in will disrupt the particles on the bottom of the tank. The reason you see less of it in the 15 gal, is the water going in slows down more before it hits the bottom and disrupts less particles.

 

[An t-iasg]

My 5 gallon tanks also have lots of particles floating around after a water change. I was a little worried at first, but now I'm not. The parameters are fine, the fish are fine, and the water settles down like you say, in about a half hour. After the particles settle, my tank looks great all week. It is a little unsettling to see all that stuff floating around at first, but it's not harmful and there is nothing wrong with your tank (as long as your parameters are fine, of course )

 

[TankGirl]

This is also a big problem for me with my 5gal. I think the aquatic plant substrate contributes to this, but since the tank is small I can't seem to vac up enough debris before I have removed enough water. As long as your tank params are stable and you keep up with the maintenance it should be fine.

 

[BASSNMAN]

Try putting a saucer or bowl in the bottom of the tank tank and pour your new water into it. It really helps from stirring up the bottom.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

Sometimes this will happen.

Several ways to make less mess while your cleaning are vaccuming using a pinch method. Sticking the vaccum in letting go of the pinch then pinching and moving the vaccum. you'll cover more ground and pick up more debri with less water this way.

Pour the water slowly into the back of the filter if you have a HOB type filter then the water doesnt disturb the left overs on the bottom so much.

and like what was said above using a small dish to pour the water into. Be careful that the dish does not have ANY SOAP on it!!