HELP - GRAVEL/FILTER QUESTION

[jjrules2]

Hey everyone,

I've had my tank for about 8 months now and I have given it a proper clean a few months back and have taken real good care of it since, yet the gravel is filthy with dirt and grime. what shall i do? as i've heard everyone slagging off undergravel filters so i thought maybe there's another way around this. My filter's ok, would there be a filter that would help this? (maybe even having 2 filters). my tank is 3ft by 1 1/2 ft and i love it.

also if anyone has any wood based ornaments/decor would you let me know, as my tank is a few decor's away from being perfect.

Many Thanks

JJ

 

[keane]

some questions.....

are you sure its dirt and grime and not just algae?

is your tank situated where direct sunlight shines on it?

how many fish do you have in there?

how much and how often do you feed?

what type of filter are you running?

do you do regular water changes? (15% - 20% weekly/ bi-weekly minimum is normally required)

do you have any algae eaters in your tank? CAE's, otos etc?

(Otos are great for cleaning algae and as long as your tank is matured they should be fine in there.)

steve B)

 

[jjrules2]

to be honest, i'm not sure if it is dirt or grime/algae? i just lifted out a small ornament yesterday to clean it and brown like stuff just flew all around the tank.

direct sunlight isn't on it...

i have about 17 fish

feed twice a day once before work, once as i go to sleep

I have a large algae eater

i do do regular water changes, to be honest i'm not sure what kind of filter I have, i'm pretty sure its an average to good one.

Please can you solve my little problem???

 

[keane]

Hi,

what sort of algae eater is he/she...plec, CAE, other?

your filter may simply not be powerful enough. check what sort it is, check what its gallonage capacity is and then re-post.

If you do regular water changes etc then the problem sounds like your algae eater isn't eating any algae or your filter isn't good enough to deal with all the waste.

Also you might want to cut your feeding down to just once a day. Fish will keep on eating as much as you feed them and this could cause them damage and could also be causing your tank to be as it is (fish food and too much waste at the bottom of the tank). Once a day is ample.

regards

steve B)

 

[jjrules2]

not sure about the algae eater. can anyone recommend a good powerful filter?

 

[gadazobe]

When you do water changes, do you do a gravel clean as well ?

 

[jjrules2]

erm, no not every week (as i do a water change every sunday). how do you do a gravel change?

 

[gadazobe]

Not a gravel change - a gravel clean. How do you syphon off the water when you do a water change? If you use a syphon, then the easiest way is to syphon off the muck from the gravel at the same time. You can buy a gravel cleaner at any lfs or petstore. Failing that, if you swirl the gravel around a little as you start syphoning off the water, the dirt will go out with the water.

 

[jjrules2]

sorry to sound stupid but i don't have a clue what a syphon is!!

 

[keane]

A syphon is a plastic tube that you place in your tank water. you then suck from the other end creating a vacuum and the tank water then comes out and in to your bucket.

do you have one of these?

if no, how do you do a water change?

steve B)

 

[jjrules2]

no i don't have that, i just do it the old fashioned way by just removing some water from the top! looks to be succesful, havent lossed a fish in 6 months!

so what do i do now, i still have the problem or gravel/browny crap

 

[Runningpuffingbilly]

You need to buy one of these.

http/www.forpets.co.uk/product.php?xProd=4

 

[keane]

go to your LFS and get a gravel vac. only cost about £4.

Next time you need to do a water change follow the instructions on the gravel vac packaging. They're simple.

You will then be doing a gravel clean and a water change at the same time.

keep doing this every time you do a water change and you should hopefully see some change in your tank pretty soon.

You may still want to add a few otos or a CAE as these will devour any algae build up.

If you don't see any change then I suggest you start from scratch.....move your fish out to somewhere suitable and remove say 70% of your water. Remove the old gravel from the tank and replace with new, making sure it has been fully cleaned and rinsed. Then re-fill your tank with water (making sure it has been dechlorinated and also making sure it is at the correct temperature (as near as possible)). Then put your fish back in.

You may also want to do check the media in your filter. It could well be that it is clogged and not working as it should be. If you do need to replace, don't do it all at once. Replace one section of media initially. Let that run for a couple of weeks and then replace another section of media. If you replace all at once you will lose all your good bacteria and you will have to cycle your tank all over again, possibly killign your fish in the process.

hth

if anyone else out there wants to add anything i may have missed please feel free.

steve B)

 

[reg2k2]

I've heard the slagging---ignore them. ...I still use mine. You do, however want to add another filter, for mechanical filtration...this will also lessen how much you need to vac up.

As for feeding, smaller more frequent feedings said to be better, but most of us work out of home, so more than 2x day not practical. Once, twice, every-other day all fine...depends on you and your fish. I will say it's hard to underfeed a fish, quite easy to overfeed.

I wouldn't go longer than a month betw. cleanings...prob. more frequent, depending on your fishload.

And I think you'll find the siphon a bit easier.

 

[BobK]

I think you'd be best off buying the syphon and using it weekly as suggested. If your tank has been up and running for 8 months without a gravel cleaning it's going to have a lot of dirt in it. My guess is that once you start doing regular gravel cleanings with the syphon/gravel vacuum your problems will disappear. I agree with whoever said you may want to cut down the feedings to once per day. The syphon's are really easy to use and you'll see a dramatic improvement. You'll also be surprised how much dirt comes out of the gravel.