How often should I be removing fish poop from the bottom of my tank?

[itiwhetu]

Only in recent times it has been decided that Corydoras need a sand base. For decades they lived on fine smooth gravel bases with no problems. Sand in aquariums is a new movement in fish keeping and as with anything new has its challenges.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

My tank is organised with four 'low' spots, where 'mulm' slowly accumulates.
I do fairly regular water changes, (18%), every other day and will dip the end of the syphon tube into one or two of those low spots and remove some of that mulm.
In previous tanks, I would increase cleaning if my water parameters started to worry me and the same will occur in my current tank.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Only in recent times it has been decided that Corydoras need a sand base. For decades they lived on fine smooth gravel bases with no problems. Sand in aquariums is a new movement in fish keeping and as with anything new has its challenges.

Absolutely.
It always makes me smile when I see some fishkeepers say that corys need sand.
No argument that they enjoy sand and sifting through it, but have you seen the substrates in their natural habitats!?! Large pieces of shrapnel-like gravel on the streambed are involved.

 

[Corypower]

Absolutely.
It always makes me smile when I see some fishkeepers say that corys need sand.
No argument that they enjoy sand and sifting through it, but have you seen the substrates in their natural habitats!?! Large pieces of shrapnel-like gravel on the streambed are involved.

If they enjoy it why not have it

 

[noobfish]

If they enjoy it why not have it

There are plenty of things in life I would enjoy greatly, but I don't need them

 

[noobfish]

No argument that they enjoy sand and sifting through it, but have you seen the substrates in their natural habitats!?! Large pieces of shrapnel-like gravel on the streambed are involved.

I sometimes think the keepers enjoy watching corys sift through the sand more than the corys do themselves. Like watching your pet playing!

 

[noobfish]

Did my weekly 75% WC on Saturday and thoroughly swept the gravel/sand. Before refilling I pushed a few Flourish tabs into the substrate. As the water was running I started questioning why I just removed natural fertilizer just to replace with manufactured ferts? My params are fine prior to WC, I just like to keep the glass clean and add fresh water. I'll do regular tests to watch levels and still do WC's, but I'm going to stop vacuuming the substrate and see how it goes.

 

[Corypower]

I sometimes think the keepers enjoy watching corys sift through the sand than the corys do themselves. Like watching your pet playing!

That’s me they just bury themselves in sand

 

[Corypower]

Did my weekly 75% WC on Saturday and thoroughly swept the gravel/sand. Before refilling I pushed a few Flourish tabs into the substrate. As the water was running I started questioning why I just removed natural fertilizer just to replace with manufactured ferts? My params are fine prior to WC, I just like to keep the glass clean and add fresh water. I'll do regular tests to watch levels and still do WC's, but I'm going to stop vacuuming the substrate and see how it goes.

Check for ammonia

 

[noobfish]

Check for ammonia

For sure. I'm planted fairly well at this point and if I keep my floaters going it's going to take a lot to get my ammonia up. Like I said, I'll be doing tests and keeping a close eye on levels... especially once I get a couple weeks in.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I thought I'd drop in an offer another two cents! There just is no real answer to the question. As with each and every tank there are so many variables that to make a rule for waste removal is almost silly.
Now all waste decomposes and pollutes the water. But if there are sufficient plants, especially fast growing plants, they will use the 'pollution' as natural fertilizer. Also, in conjunction with a sufficient volume and frequency of partial fresh water changes, the water quality can remain high regardless of 'poo' removal. (This helps explain how some hobbyists can gravel vac infrequently or let their large canister filters go for long periods without cleaning). I have sand substrates that I never touch!
So the answer is it just depends and it just may be a matter of keeping the tank looking tidy more than any other factor.

 

[Colin_T]

Get the crap out of the tank because it harbors and encourages harmful microscopic organisms that adversely affect the fish.

Fish are not normally exposed to high levels of their waste because it gets washed away. It does not belong in tanks.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Get the crap out of the tank because it harbors and encourages harmful microscopic organisms that adversely affect the fish.

Fish are not normally exposed to high levels of their waste because it gets washed away. It does not belong in tanks.

I used to think this too, but then was somewhat re-educated by Charles Clapsaddle of Goliad Farms. He is a breeder in south Texas with numerous vats in 2-3 greenhouses. The vats all have several inches of mulm that Charles is convinced is beneficial - full of beneficial bacteria and paramecium. Goliad Farms is also fascinating as they do not do water changes and the only filtration is with huge plants - believe it or not.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

There are good points made about leaving the mulm in place, but I believe that would only be safe to do if the tank's ecosystem was working perfectly and we know that this doesn't occur very often. In bigger systems, such as the aforementioned fish farm, there is much more flexibility within the varous componants and the ecosystem can respond accordingly and on its own.
In our much smaller tanks, that degree of flexibility isn't there and the balance of the ecosystem is more easily upset. We could let it all run a natural course, but if something goes amiss, there'll be a cascade of consequences that would become increasingly difficult to manage.
It's just far easier to manage things ourselves and so (hopefully) avoid those consequences getting even close to happening.

 

[AbbeysDad]

In our much smaller tanks, that degree of flexibility isn't there and the balance of the ecosystem is more easily upset. We could let it all run a natural course, but if something goes amiss, there'll be a cascade of consequences that would become increasingly difficult to manage.

Ah, but once waste decomposes to a certain point, any resulting 'evil' is in the water column and the resulting mulm solids are relatively inert... although it does provide a home for beneficial bacteria - perhaps not nitrosomonas or nitrospira, but beneficial none the less. As I mentioned, I have a 3" or so sand bed in several tanks. I do ample partial water changes but I never touch the sand. See The Very Best Aquarium Filter.