Cleaning And Water

[Twinklecaz]

I just changed some of the water in my tank (about 50%) to try and up my PH a little bit again and I have to confess I had a lot of trouble with it. I just can't seem to be able to syphon without making a huge mess and I can't seem to find a way to hoover the gravel properly, it just doesn't seem to work? I ended up going back to using the first syphon I got (which doesnt really hoover) because for now the issue was merely changing some of water. Is there a knack to this? Coz at the moment I don't see how I'll be able to do it without really upsetting my fish once I get them. I also can't believe the amount of crud that's come out of teh gravel and is now floating around bearing in mind there's no fish in there yet!

ANY tips would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have a question about the water.........along the water line is a big white mark(and drips that I get down the front of the tank turn whiteish too). Does that mean my water is hard and will that be ok for the fish I want?

 

[SchottayB]

I stick my syphon all the way down through the gravel till it hits the tank... let it mix abit and pull it back up and do it in a differnt place... then hover over the whole tank getting any bits that were kicked up and resting on the top of the gravel.

Not sure if thats how you're "ment to do it" but that's how I do it and i've never had any problems with water quality etc...

Hope this helps

 

[IAmATeaf]

From what I've read you're supposed to dig the siphon into the gravel and then pull it up so that it sucks the gravel and dirt up, hopefully the gravel being heavier will settle and the dirt will get caught in the flow and be siphoned out.

Well that's the theory, I've not had a chance to try it out as I'm still awaiting a siphon that I ordered yesterday online.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks guys. I guess it's just gonna be practise.

Does anyone know about the hard water thing?

 

[rdp50734]

What would you like to know about hard water?

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hiya

I'd like to know if the white marks mean my water is hard and if this really matters when I'm thinking about what fish to get? Apparently both Pygmy Corys and Honey Gouramis like soft water so I'm like waaaaaaaa nooooooo!

 

[rdp50734]

Sorry I don't understand what you mean by little white marks? If you dont have a hardness test kit the LFS should do it for you! But have your tap water tested it will give you your starting point!

 

[OldMan47]

The white marks are called calcium deposits and indicate that you have at least some hardness in your water.
My siphon is also a gravel vac so I use the large end of the gravel vac as my siphon inlet. I also use it to move water back into my tank. I just lay a board across the top of the tank frame and set up my bucket on top of the board to get the water back in. It looks something like this when I am doing it, although the picture was a new tank setup.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks. Do you think I should get a test kit for it so I know what level of hardness I'm dealing with? Which one is that the KH?

 

[waterdrop]

To me, you seem like you're really getting in to the hobby caz, so you might want to order an API GH/KH kit or Tetratec or Salifert equivalents just out of curiosity about your general hardness and temporary hardness. It may not be entirely necessary but couldn't hurt as long as it didn't feel too expensive. That would certainly give you some real numbers to discuss and know about and compare to later.

One thing about gravel cylinders on siphons is that they come in different sizes and matching the right size to a given tank situation can make all the difference. I don't actually know how I would describe the right size but like other things you eventually form opinions about what's too big or too little for maneuvering around in the tank. They are easiest to operate in medium sized tanks and get harder in smaller tanks and unwieldy in bigger tanks with bigger cylinders. A too-big siphon in a smaller tank can just finish the process too fast! Having a little extra hose to coil some in the catchbucket can help you not worry about that end of things.

WD