first big tank cleaning( i might have screwed up)

[rokinrandy]

my 55 gallon is now cycled after 6 weeks.. the rocks are full of brown algae and the filter pads are mucky.. my big rocks and the fake plants show algae as well (i do have a pleco).. i also have been doing 20%-25% water changes every three days until the cycle..it is now time for the big once a month cleaning..ok!

now i take out all my fake plants and big rocks out and the tubes for the whisper hang on back filters to soak in bleach diluted with water..
i also remove the fish into a ten gallon with water the same quality and readings as the tank i am cleaning..i take my filter pads and swish them through the tank water to remove the brown gook and return them back into the chambers

ok now i remove the gravel and put in a big plastic strainer and rinse it outside with a garden hose until all the algae is gone..
now i take my shop vac and suck up the crud on the bottom of the tank and remove 75% percent of the water as well because the water is so murky..

i then return clean tap water tested and and treated to get the levels as the same as they were so there is no shock.. including the temp so they are the same as the aquarium the fish are in.. the tank is then decorated and fish are placed back in...

i guessed this is the fastest and most effective way, but after reading stuff in this forum i think i might have screwed up. especially when i rinsed off all my gravel.
now the water is also more cloudy after 12 hours and i did use accu clear ,nitraband,stress coat,salt with instructions...also i cycled with a nitro-zorb patch and i have it back in it's container recharging as i speak...
thanks and i appreciate any input on this...

 

[Zagz]

It isn't necessary to remove the gravel to do a cleaning, nor removing the fish. Removing the fish stresses them unnecessarily. Vac the gravel, rinse the filter pads in tank water that you remove and reinstall. Doing a cleaning of everything in the tank at once can cause a mini cycle. Do the gravel and ornaments at one time. IMO it isn't necessary to remove the ornaments and bleach them but if you do this remember to rinse them with dechlorinator. On a different day rinse your filters and replace your filter floss or carbon whichever you use.

Using clear or other water clear items will work only partially and only temporarily. The cloudiness will go away on it's own. It's caused by all the disruption.

Keep testing closely over the next couple of days to make sure you don't get an ammonia or nitrite spike. Also what fish do you have? Salt doesn't bode well with some fish.

 

[rokinrandy]

Keep testing closely over the next couple of days to make sure you don't get an ammonia or nitrite spike. Also what fish do you have? Salt doesn't bode well with some fish.

i just introduced the
(7 surviving fry 2 months old) and an algae eater from the 10 gallon to the 55 gallon with the following.


7 female fancy guppys
3 male fancy guppys
2 female black mollies
2 plattys
5 lemon tetras,
the bottom dwellers:
includes 1 algae eater,(OZZY THE SCUMSUCKER)
2 corries
but i will be sure to get one of the algae eaters a better home because i know 2 is to many???
they all seem to be doing well with the salt

my next question would be what about the gunked up algae on the rocks??? seems like it needs to be washed or it would just get worse a day later ..
and when using a vacuum while fish are still in seems like the water would just get so murky and nasty from stirring of rocks that the fish would get sick or something????

 

[Zagz]

Algae on the rocks are normal. To clean take rocks out of the water and use an algae scrubber to remove most of the algae. The fish won't get sick from gravel vac's. How often are you planning on doing gravel vac's? When done weekly the gunk isn't as bad as when you've waited through a cycle.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Washing the gravel like that would have killed off the bacteria as well. So you are in for another cycle. As for the brown algae, it's diatoms and will go away on their own. Don't worry about them. In a new tank, they usually hang around for 3 or 4 weeks, then disappear completely. Now that you have fish, you will need to do daily PWC's to keep ammonia below 1ppm, preferably below .5ppm or lower. It may not take as long as the initial cycle, but it will probably take a while.

 

[rokinrandy]

thanks guys...this sounds fun.. so far i have the nitro zorb pouch in again .
the ammonia levels are not there (probably due to having three filters and the small fish in such a big tank) but the nitrates are at 10 (today) already ...
if these levels persist does this mean that it's ok for a break on the water changes ????
but i will definitely start vacuuming once a week,the only reason i did not vacuum before is because i was told by a fish owner it was not necessary ...
thanks for all the correction and keep it coming,bye