How To Clean The Tank Now?

[lil-x-me...x]

Hiya

i have just been sitting in my room, watching all my fish swim around happily in there new looking tank. if you dont already now, i have decided i wanted a change in my 48ltr tank, after having it for 2 years, and had gravel, a big rock and fake plants, i have recently went out and replaced my gravel with sand and have now 3 real plants and 3 fake plants in my tank and have a piece of bogwood, which i am over happy with. it looks stunning!

However, i was wondering, how on earth am i supose to clean it out, i simply just used a gravel cleaner, but dont think that would work, how else do i change my water or clean out the sand???

thanks x

 

[Truck]

change the water with a siphon but hold it near the top of the aquarium.

for cleaning sand, dip your hands in and disturb it to make any detritus rise a little then vac the detritus.

its inevitable that youll suck up a little sand, but you should be disturbing the sand anyway, because it packs down and toxic gas bubbles from in the sand (sulphur dioxide or as fish.com1 said it could be hydrogen sulphide i think) and it stinks of eggs when disturbed.

 

[fish.com1]

change the water with a siphon but hold it near the top of the aquarium.

for cleaning sand, dip your hands in and disturb it to make any detritus rise a little then vac the detritus.

its inevitable that youll suck up a little sand, but you should be disturbing the sand anyway, because it packs down and toxic gas bubbles from in the sand (sulphur dioxide i think) and it stinks of eggs when disturbed.

Great post but i think it's hydrogen sulphide not sulphur dioxide.

 

[8inary]

i tend to using a backflow from a hose pipe to clean my two tanks - one being a normal 3ft with blue lobsters and few other things in, this has the sand, and my big tank a near 1000ltr.

i use a hose pipe from outside on both, by placing one end into the tank, i then go outside and turn the tap on, this obviously pumps water into a tank, but this is only to get it primed, after a second or two, i undo the pipe from the tap, and simply allow the water to backflow out. I then use the hose pipe thats in the tank to hover over the sand as this sucks up crap and stuff from the sand.

it works for me and has done for many years.