Dirty Tank

[mushting]

Hi I have a couple of questions...

My tank has lots of alge excuse the spelling also the gravel has loads of dirt in it I was wondering if its safe to empty the water out of the tank into a bucket and then put the fish in the bucket clean the tank out throughly I was also thinking of putting sand in and getting rid of the gravel at this stage and then filling the tank with water and then putting the fish back in. Which sand do I use just any sort like play sand or does it have to special aquariam sand I have heard sand makes the water cloudy?

Also when I do a Nitrate test its always bright red (about 40ppm) but even after water changes it doesnt seem to change but also a couple of my friends hardley ever do water changes and their fish breed however mine have never bred (I have mollies and platys) I have heard they only breed in a tank that has perfect conditions so should I not do water changes as often?

Thanks

Karina

 

[nataliabeds]

Hi I have a couple of questions...

My tank has lots of alge excuse the spelling also the gravel has loads of dirt in it I was wondering if its safe to empty the water out of the tank into a bucket and then put the fish in the bucket clean the tank out throughly I was also thinking of putting sand in and getting rid of the gravel at this stage and then filling the tank with water and then putting the fish back in. Which sand do I use just any sort like play sand or does it have to special aquariam sand I have heard sand makes the water cloudy?

Also when I do a Nitrate test its always bright red (about 40ppm) but even after water changes it doesnt seem to change but also a couple of my friends hardley ever do water changes and their fish breed however mine have never bred (I have mollies and platys) I have heard they only breed in a tank that has perfect conditions so should I not do water changes as often?

Thanks

Karina

Hi there,
I usualy syphoning gravel at every water change to keep it clean. I`m using play sand in some of my tanks and my water is never cloudy. I`m not sure about puting fish in the bucket, never done that before, that may stress the fish.Do you have a spare tank that you could use while you do cleaning?About nitrates, I would recommend to keep doing water changes. Did you check nitrates in your tap water?Your tap water may have 40ppm nitrates so thats why you cant keep it any lower.Live plants would help ,they would use nitrates for food.Hope this helps

 

[kj23502]

ooooo...on this I'm not sure...Cleaning the tank too thoroughly could kill some of your good nitrifying bacteria (which is mostly in your filter), depending on how long the filter is off. You could probably put the fish into a bucket with aquarium water...just make SURE the bucket is totally clean...no residue from ANYTHING! Put in an airstone too! What about leaving enough water in the aquarium to leave your filter running and then cleaning the algea? I don't know your tank size but bristlenose plecos stay small and are awesome algea eaters!

If you want to switch to sand, I would scoop all the rocks out w/something that is SAFE, ie no chemicals previously used on it or anything like that. Then dump in sand. I've heard that playsand is alright, but needs a TON of rinsing(not fun). I used the aquarium sand. I had a special kind that you didn't need to rinsed(african cichlid stuff, which doesn't apply to yours). I would think of using sand that has a little thicker particle. It'll sink better and I'm guessing should not cloud your water as much. You could turn your filter off while dumping in the sand b/c it's not good on the filter to suck up the sand. I suppose depending on the filter type, you may be able to move that to the bucket to keep the water flow going through it. Depending on the size of filter and bucket it may turn it into a whirl pool though!

As for the nitrates: have you tested your tap water? maybe it's in your tap water at that level. If not you may need to change a lil extra water when u do your changes. A good rule of thumb is about 20% water change once a week.

These are just some ideas. Hopefully someone else will comment and give us much better ideas if what I'm telling you is OK!!

 

[Tom1035]

40ppm Nitrate might just be your waters normal attributes, I know my tap has 20ppm Nitrate, I just deal with it, as long as you maintain that 40ppm your fish will adapt (Most, I'm not talking about keeping discus or anything fancy).

**Edit** When you go to put sand in, look up the article (It's around here somewhere) about adding sand, you must rinse it via a bucket and a hose outside or in your bathtub (Outside preferred). You fill the bucket up 3/4 of sand and then stick the hose all the way in to the bottom and then turn it on, the water will overflow and all the light particles and so forth that you don't want in your tank will float to the top and out of the bucket. Takes like 5-8 minutes per bucket. DO NOT get public beach sand, because there is all kinds of pollutants in it. Like I Said, go look up the article.