...and All The Rubbish From The Gravel Flies Into The Water!

[Jallen]

Right, so today I did a large swap around of some ornaments in my aquariums. In my 15 gallon, I removed the big bit of wood and replaced it with a smaller bit. I also took out the large pebbles and put them in the large tank.

However, when I do this, I get a LOT of rubbish in the water from the gravel, and it takes an hour or so to settle... Is this detrimental to the fishes health? The water doesn't change colour when I do this, there are just hundereds of bits floating around (brown).

 

[rabbut]

I assume you have a gravel vac? If so, it might indicate that it is time to put it to use, if not, you need to get one for the long-term well-being of the tank.

If a large ammount of mank builds up in the gravel, the pH of the tank can crash It needs a lot in there to do this, but none-the-less, it is a good reason to keep on top of gravel cleans on waterchange day

All the best
Rabbut

 

[OldMan47]

Jallen, to answer your original question, most of the stuff you see floating around in the water will be fish excrement and decaying food. By exposing it to the water, it will be able to decompose faster and could give you a mini-cycle. Keep an eye out for any ammonia developing so you can do a partial water change if needed. When doing the PWC, it would be a good idea to gravel vac so that stuff won't be there next time something gets moved.

 

[Jallen]

Hmm... I guess it's time to get a gravel vac then. Up until now I've just kind of stirred up the gravel a bit with the siphon which sucks up a bit of the stuff.
Thanks.