Tank Cleaning

[michtank83]

I have a US10 gallon tank that has been running for almost two months. At the beginning I was doing 25% water changes every week and vaccuming the gravel, then about after a month I had really high levels of Nitrite. I was told to do a 50% water change daily until the Nitrite was down to normal and no vaccuming, it took a couple days before my levels were down to normal. Its been about a month since the water levels have been at normal, and I continue to do weekly 25% water changes and no vaccuming. Recently the fake plants have what looks like brown alage on them and the gravel looks like it could use a light vaccum.

Is it ok to clean the fake plants with hot water and vaccum the gravel. If so how much should I vaccum and when should the filter matter be replaced? It has been replaced once to fix the nitrite levels, which I was told by my LFS.

I dont want to do anything to the tank the will affect the water chemistry of the tank.

Thank You!

 

[mewhorse]

Not an expert...but this might be helpful...
At next water change clean plants by using the bucket of old tank water and scrubbing/swishing them with your hands to get the ichy stuff off, then returning to tank without letting them dry...the filter matter if a sponge type filter can be cleaned the same way, by using the old tank water to get any scum off...just never run under tap water/hot water because any chlorine, as well as high temperatures will kill off the good bacteria that is found in the filter/on plants and cycle would restart again! Not sure about the gravel vac...at the most I do my gravel once a month, and water changes weekly...hope this helps a bit!

 

[e11cloud]

I have a US10 gallon tank that has been running for almost two months. At the beginning I was doing 25% water changes every week and vaccuming the gravel, then about after a month I had really high levels of Nitrite. I was told to do a 50% water change daily until the Nitrite was down to normal and no vaccuming, it took a couple days before my levels were down to normal. Its been about a month since the water levels have been at normal, and I continue to do weekly 25% water changes and no vaccuming. Recently the fake plants have what looks like brown alage on them and the gravel looks like it could use a light vaccum.

Is it ok to clean the fake plants with hot water and vaccum the gravel. If so how much should I vaccum and when should the filter matter be replaced? It has been replaced once to fix the nitrite levels, which I was told by my LFS.

I dont want to do anything to the tank the will affect the water chemistry of the tank.

Thank You!

I may not be understanding you, but do you mean to say that you haven't vacuumed the gravel at all since you were advised? Now that the levels are normal, you should be getting the gravel as well at least once a month. Depending on the type of filter you have and your bioload, you should replace the filter matter at least once a month. Some of my filters for my bigger fish I have cartridges that I change. I rinse mine off and put them back into my filters a few times before buying new ones. Other people argue you shouldn't do that. It's what works for others, and what you feel comfy with. I have an african cichlid tank that I keep a little over stocked to reduce aggression, and I do quite a lot of water changes in that tank. For that reason, I rinse the filter and put it back in in order to keep the good bacteria going in my tank. I don't use tank water, though...it's got the stuff you don't want in your tank in there anymore. I use a bucket of clean, treated water and rinse it that way. For algae on fake plants and ornaments, I prefer to let the sun do all the work for me and I set them outside for a while. You walk outside and like magic, it's gone. I rinse in clean treated water again, let it dry, and boom...there you go. I'll give you a link for algae...I really like this link, and gave it out earlier today. I thought it was helpful and I keep it in my favs.

algae

Good luck! I'm sure all your hard work and learning will pay off for you.