Cleaning

[dutto73]

hi fish friends, i have had my tank for 5+ years, 3 months ago i changed stones for sand (looks great)problem now is unsightly waste on top i've tried the lot, siphon, sieving it through my net, i have just put sludge buster in, becuause i keep up-rooting my plants, how long will S/B take with 2wk dosage's..... sorry for sounding like an idiot......thanks

 

[Jamepsss]

hi fish friends, i have had my tank for 5+ years, 3 months ago i changed stones for sand (looks great)problem now is unsightly waste on top i've tried the lot, siphon, sieving it through my net, i have just put sludge buster in, becuause i keep up-rooting my plants, how long will S/B take with 2wk dosage's..... sorry for sounding like an idiot......thanks

Never heard of the SB but my sand stays clear. I use an external filter and a powerhead, (lots of flow). It's a heavily stocked tank too with light play sand.

 

[Caprichoso]

hi fish friends, i have had my tank for 5+ years, 3 months ago i changed stones for sand (looks great)problem now is unsightly waste on top i've tried the lot, siphon, sieving it through my net, i have just put sludge buster in, becuause i keep up-rooting my plants, how long will S/B take with 2wk dosage's..... sorry for sounding like an idiot......thanks

You don't sound like an idiot!! This is the problem with sand. It takes much longer for waste to penetrate it, if at all. It helps if you have a very powerful filter to stir up the bottom. Otherwise, you are forced to siphon the waste out. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with sludge buster, I just suffered with the siphoning when I had sand substrate. I now have gravel again.

 

[dutto73]

hi fish friends, i have had my tank for 5+ years, 3 months ago i changed stones for sand (looks great)problem now is unsightly waste on top i've tried the lot, siphon, sieving it through my net, i have just put sludge buster in, becuause i keep up-rooting my plants, how long will S/B take with 2wk dosage's..... sorry for sounding like an idiot......thanks

Never heard of the SB but my sand stays clear. I use an external filter and a powerhead, (lots of flow). It's a heavily stocked tank too with light play sand.

thanks.. S/B is from "interpet" it says it speeds up the breakdown of solid organic waste,(dead plants,uneaten food and fish waste)i have a jewel media filter(the box one)which leads me to my next question(sorry) i got some "cirax" would it be ok to still use the carbon/nitrite sponge till i get fine/coarse blue sponge...thanks

 

[dutto73]

hi fish friends, i have had my tank for 5+ years, 3 months ago i changed stones for sand (looks great)problem now is unsightly waste on top i've tried the lot, siphon, sieving it through my net, i have just put sludge buster in, becuause i keep up-rooting my plants, how long will S/B take with 2wk dosage's..... sorry for sounding like an idiot......thanks

You don't sound like an idiot!! This is the problem with sand. It takes much longer for waste to penetrate it, if at all. It helps if you have a very powerful filter to stir up the bottom. Otherwise, you are forced to siphon the waste out. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with sludge buster, I just suffered with the siphoning when I had sand substrate. I now have gravel again.

i get most of the heavy waste with the net first the sand seives through it just seems the siphoning bit, most of it falls back out, then when its all finished and fresh water is in, it looks like i've just put more waste back in( the bucket has been cleaned)....thanks

 

[Henry21]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

 

[dutto73]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

 

[Jamepsss]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

 

[dutto73]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

 

[Jamepsss]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

 

[dutto73]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

 

[lowthy76]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

hiya in my experience i have always had a sand substrate, but i have also always had an external filter too, i have never had waste problems and my personal opinion is its down to my spray bar which creates a cylindrical filtration and not allowing waste to settle!
works a treat for me

 

[dutto73]

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

ive had sand in my tank for the past year, looks great however takes more looking after in my opinion, i was looking to change back to gravel this week but i did upgrade to a fluvel 105 yesterday and it is doesnt let the waste settle on the bottom so you might try upgrading your filter.
good luck

thanks...looking at tank this morning am thinking i might of over done it with the sand, it looks about over inch high, i have 2 grass plants, one of them has liked "spawned" other plants( i'll take a pic wen i get time) my bro-in-law has told me too change filter aswell...my stock....2 phantoms 5-6 neons 1 blind cave fish 1 plec 5 harliquins 2 goramis....thanks again

An inch high isn't too much, mine is deeper than that, up to 2.5 inches in certain places.

just looked at your tank..(speechless)i got 18-20 gal,( on your experience) is it worth gettin an external filter ..thanks

Thanks! And yeah, it's definately 100% worth getting an external filter. The more filtration the better

hiya in my experience i have always had a sand substrate, but i have also always had an external filter too, i have never had waste problems and my personal opinion is its down to my spray bar which creates a cylindrical filtration and not allowing waste to settle!
works a treat for me

thanks......time to buy an external filter...for now though i've taken the plastic tube piece off, but left the (i'll call it the adapter piece)to the hose and the "muck" gets sucked right up