Gravel Change

[Nick Bramley]

to cut a long story short im trying to help my mum, she has a Juwel 75l tank with an undergravel filter and a carbon filter but she cant seem to keep her tank free of nitrite even though she only has four fish in it, ive told her to put the cycle benificial bacteria in it every week like i do but that still hasnt helped, then i asked her the killer question, when had she last cleaned her gravel? never. this tank is at least four years old, when i asked her why she had never cleaned it she said her lfs told her she didnt need to, ever.

is it possible to replace all the gravel with fish still in the tank or will it have to be re-cycled?

is this why her nitrite is constantly high?

any help would be much appreciated as this tank has long been a mystery, any fish seems to die and her lfs just feed her bull after bull and she trusts them. although she now uses the lfs i do and does the same routine i do i believe the gravel must be the problem.

Nick

 

[paul-discus]

to cut a long story short im trying to help my mum, she has a Juwel 75l tank with an undergravel filter and a carbon filter but she cant seem to keep her tank free of nitrite even though she only has four fish in it, ive told her to put the cycle benificial bacteria in it every week like i do but that still hasnt helped, then i asked her the killer question, when had she last cleaned her gravel? never. this tank is at least four years old, when i asked her why she had never cleaned it she said her lfs told her she didnt need to, ever.

is it possible to replace all the gravel with fish still in the tank or will it have to be re-cycled?

is this why her nitrite is constantly high?

any help would be much appreciated as this tank has long been a mystery, any fish seems to die and her lfs just feed her bull after bull and she trusts them. although she now uses the lfs i do and does the same routine i do i believe the gravel must be the problem.

Nick

Hi,
Undergrave filters were all the rage at one time and they work very well but there comes a time when the whole tank has to be stripped down. Now, people tend to use internal and external filters which makes things a lot easier in my opinion, so it looks to me as if this is what's needed with your Mum's tank. I would hoover the gravel as much as possible and get out as much detrius as you can that way, as you will be suprised as to what is there. Don't wash the gravel as you have good bacteria there just rinse it in the tank water and then add it back to the tank minus the undergravel filter. If you add an internal filter you will need to run it in so to speak and if you add the undergravel plate back instead you may be good with that for another 4 or 5 years but then there comes that time again when you have to strip the tank down again.

 

[paul-discus]

You will need to add about 70% of the original tank water back to the aquarium and 30% fresh.

 

[Tolak]

I've seen some tanks with neglected gravel, but never 4 years worth. I would vac about 1/3 at a time weekly for a few weeks, as the debris that gets kicked up will more than likely cause an ammo spike and increase the nitrite spike. Increasing aeration will help the fish deal with the nitrite. A product like Ammo-Lock will help with the temporary ammo spike.

My understanding is that ugf systems have to be torn down yearly in order to get the gunk out from under the ugf plates. In these systems your gravel is the filter media, and her filter media is plugged, reducing filtration to the point that it's not processing nitrite into nitrate.

How often does she do water changes, & how much?

 

[Nick Bramley]

thanks alot, every two weeks she takes out 25%.

Nick

 

[Nick Bramley]

have spoken to her and she says she will remove ugf and and buy a better internal filter and basically just start again.

i have a small Aquaone 350 30l tank with a ugf, would it be better to replace that with a better filter or is it ok just to clean the gravel every so often, ive probably had it nine months now. whats the easiest way to clean the gravel? ive heard people talking of vacs, are these small vacuums especially for aquariums?

Thank you, Nick

 

[Tolak]

Here's a gravel vac; http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...velwashermedium

They work by siphon action, removing some water with the debris. The wider end prevents sucking the gravel out while providing enough suction to remove the lighter debris.

Some people still swear by the old ugf systems, as long as you understand the maintenance required they do work fine, though they are a pain once a year. A smaller tank such as yours should be fine with it, it's paid for and it works. In larger tanks such as a 55 gallon a tear down can take several hours, requiring the removal of everything.

In the few tanks I have with gravel I clean it weekly, but I don't run any ugf. Since your gravel is your filter media in a ugf system, cleaning half weekly is advised to prevent disturbing too much of your nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Nick Bramley]

cheers Tolak, thats been a massive help, sorry but just one more question, say i vacced the top of the gravel every week, would this be enough or would i still need to do a complete overhaul every year?

Nick

 

[Tolak]

The reason for the teardown is to get the gunk out from under the filter plates, which honestly looks like a mud puddle. Over time this accumilation can cause dead spots where no water flows, reducing filtration.

 

[Nick Bramley]

thanks again for your help.

Nick