Excessive Fish Waste On Sand

[bobbo]

Hi
i have a 200L tank with a good layer of sand ( and did have a load of plants itll they got eaten by tthe silver dollars) , bohg wood rocks etc. I do water chagnes ever 2-3 weeks and algea removeal weekly i.e. on the glass. I have an external filter sized correctly (or so i think) wihyt a typical inlet pipe about 2" from the sand in the back and a spray bar on the surface as retrun. It is a n Enhiem tank and quite deep versus others

however i still seem to have , at time, significant levels of fish waste on teh surface of the sand. In the tank i have
5 Clown loaches various sizes
3 Botia lochaes
3 Corys ( small only 3cm long)
1 big Angel fish 5 years old
1 large silver dollar
6 zebra danios
3 rando orage fish form my brodthers tank
and a aglea eater thta has go*rn form green abndblcm to a nice yellow ( to match the sand i assuem)

Can any one give me somproacticle suggestions on hwo to improve the qualiry of the water and sand, i.e. shoudl i jnvest in more algte eaters, add some wwater managemtn chemicals??? more plants /less plant ??

Th Fish seem ahppy but th eoverall effect of the tank is not as good as i would like
any help is welcome
Chees Rob

 

[Musho3210]

vacuum it....

 

[DevUK]

Hey, welcome to the forums!

Do you do any cleaning of the sand when you do your water changes? Unfortunately the fish waste doesn't dissapear, and most life in your tank won't eat it. Its either a case of waiting for it to decompose (takes months and isn't a good idea) or sucking it out when doing a water change.

I assume you are using a syphon to take out the water. With sand there is a technique for this. Circle the end of the syphon tube about an inch above the sand to make a sort of vortex. This should disturb the waste but not the sand. Takes a little practice

Hope that helps.

 

[nukeonekitty]

Gravel vac it and while doing so, run your fingers through the sand to get rid of any gas pockets.

 

[bobbo]

vacuum it....

Thanks all very good forum ... I tend to use my siphon to suck up the waste and some sand then cealn the sand , just seems the awste is not sucked up by the filter as much as it should be. Do you tend to use materials such as Nutrafin Waste?

cheers
rob

 

[Musho3210]

i wouldnt use chemicals to fix such a simple problem (is nutrifin waste a chemical?)

Get some corydoras and some plants, corydoras will bury the waste over time and the plant roots will eat it, i havent vaccumed my planted tank once (i use sand), i only occaisionally stir it.

 

[SuperColey1]

You have all the clues in your first post!!

5 clown loaches, an algae eater, silver dollar and large angel are poop machines. The silver dollar will probs be too big for a 200L although on its own I don't know for sure on this.

All your plants have been eaten do they aren't using any decomposed organic material.

Nothing other than snails will eat the pop.

The filter will not really take much from the substrate surface, rather drawing in particleas in the water.
It should however draw the waste towards it gradually.

Try fixing the spray bar on the back to point directly forward. The current should then push the water down and to the sides which will move all the poop to the back and sides of the tank, meaning it is not so visible and also easier to pinpoint a vac area at water change.

maybe your filter isnt drawing the water at its most efficient due to being clogged up, too much media in it or even a mechanical problem!

Andy

 

[Musho3210]

I dont think snails eat poop, they just eat the undigesting stuff in the poop i think.....

And anyway, if it eats poop, it will poop poop so....

 

[bobbo]

All
yes the clowns are poop machines Iam off to restock the plants and my little corys are good sifters - ill cehck the filter to ensure its not blocked and ppost some pics...
cheers all
Rob

 

[SuperColey1]

I dont think snails eat poop, they just eat the undigesting stuff in the poop i think.....
And anyway, if it eats poop, it will poop poop so....

I was over simplifying there. Yes they break down the poop and eat some but this in turn means that the poop is reduces to smaller particles making it easier to 'mix' with the sand and get to the plant roots. (as well as not being so visible) and the amount snails poop is miniscule compared to the amount they consume.

Andy

 

[divisible by zero]

sorta off topic, but is vacuuming sand a major pain or what? Dont you lose a bunch or it cloud up the tank?

 

[SuperColey1]

its quite easy when you get used to it. you dont use the big gravel cleaner on the ned, just the pip and whirl it around (this vortex as stated above) loosens the dirt and then if you hold the pipe still the dirt goes up the pipe.

I find iot quite useful in my planted tank because I change approx 60Ltrs each weekend water change and it means I can hoover up all the baby trumpet snails as well as the dirt and keep the population down (which can increase by a few hundred (and probably more) each week.

The adults are the ones that are doing the work really because their heavier shells move the sand around and they eat much more waste and algae.

Andy

 

[Musho3210]

if you werent a few thousand miles away from me i would gladly take your mts, ive only got a few and they arent reproducing much, pond snails are taking over and im getting sick of taking the pond snails out when i see them....

 

[bobbo]

Hey this is a great forum - i am really chuffed to have stumbleed across it , very active and full of advice... I do find that i suck up loads of my smaller grain sand wit the waste in my larger tank evn using a vortex type approach - i am beinigng to wish i had stuck wihtthe slightly larger grain i used to have..

an di also fixed my fluvo 3 in my smaller tank so i am a happy bunny , or fish or ....
cheers