Tank Maintenance Schedule

[supermonkey]

Hi All,

Tank is up and running now, must post a pic or two as it's rather unique.
To make sure I never forget anything, I've made a maintenace schedule and wondered if some more experienced members could take a look and advise if i've missed something or perhaps I've followed a manufactures guideline that I dont need to (fluval e100 heater and fluval u3 filter).

Daily - Feed twice (enough food for a few mins), - Check health, - Lights on and off
Weekly - Don't feed on sunday.
Fortnightly - Water change - Switch off heater for 30 mins, switch off filter, scrape algae from front, suphon off debris from gravel along with 20% of water, replace with conditioned water, switch heater & filter back on, replace 1 poly carbon cartridge, rinse debris from media (in old tank water)
6 Monthly - Replace alternate foam pad & 1/2 biomax nodes - Clean Impeller and well
Yearly - Replace Impeller, Clean Filter body & Heater.


On another note, I've started turning the filter up as my heater was reading low flow and the temperature it displays fulcuates quite a lot. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[kiriyama]

Don't know what size tank or how long running, is it stocked?
I'd maybe look at upping the water changes , I usually do every week , most times every third or forth day , about 20% but if once a week I'm at about 30 -40% , everybody does it differently, when you mentioned replacing pads , was it sponge pads? Most peolpe on here will tell you to only throw them away when they fall apart... they keep all the good bacteria.... anyways hope this helps a little..........

 

[fatheadminnow]

You should be doing weekly water changes of around at least 20%. When you do the weekly water changes, this would be a good time to clean the inside of the glass and do not forget to use a gravel vac when doing the water change to suck up debris on the bottom of the tank. Also, you only need to turn the heater off during a water change if the heater is going to be above the water level. If the heater remains under the water level at all times, then it is just fine to keep on. Same thing with the filter, if the inlet is still sucking water up, then it is just fine to keep on.

You do not need to change any of the filter media unless it is falling apart. You should be fine for years with the same filter media. Also, carbon is not necessary in a filter as it is rendered useless after 3 days at which time the carbon is all used up. So, just keep a pouch of it on hand ready for any emergencies.

Feed once a day as much as your fish can eat in about 2 min, and you can feed every day.

Clean the filter media once a month in tank water.

Clean the entire filter housing, impeller etc, at max every 3 months, more often is better.

You do not need to replace anything in the filter, (Impeller) unless it is broken. If it is still working good, then keep it.

Fluctuating temperature could be from the room temperature, in which the tank is in, changing temps a lot.

-FHM

 

[arobinson1984]

Hi All,

Tank is up and running now, must post a pic or two as it's rather unique.
To make sure I never forget anything, I've made a maintenace schedule and wondered if some more experienced members could take a look and advise if i've missed something or perhaps I've followed a manufactures guideline that I dont need to (fluval e100 heater and fluval u3 filter).

Daily - Feed twice (enough food for a few mins), - Check health, - Lights on and off. You only need to feed once a day, underfeeding fish is much better than overfeeding.
Weekly - Don't feed on sunday. This is ok, I dont feed my fish on a sunday
Fortnightly - Water change - Switch off heater for 30 mins, switch off filter, scrape algae from front, suphon off debris from gravel along with 20% of water, replace with conditioned water, switch heater & filter back on, replace 1 poly carbon cartridge, rinse debris from media (in old tank water) Water changes should be done weekly, along with gravel cleans. I personally do 50-60% a week as I keep german blue rams which are sensitive fish and require pristine water conditions. Also I wouldn't clean the filter pads fortnightly, clean them in old tank water every 1-2 months or when the flow from the filter slows down. As FHM said, when doing weekly changes, clean the glass at the same time to prevent build up of algae etc. Changing the poly pad fortnightly is fine if you cant get the debris off by cleaning.
6 Monthly - Replace alternate foam pad & 1/2 biomax nodes - Clean Impeller and well Clean the impellor whenever you clean the filter media, either every 1-2 months or when the flow slows down. Leaving it 6 months may cause a build up of debris which can put pressure on the filter's motor. You don't need to replace the bio pads until they are literally falling apart, normally years before that happens. Just give them a good swish in water and pop them back in.
Yearly - Replace Impeller, Clean Filter body & Heater. As FHM said, there is no need to replace the impellor unless its damaged. If you keep up to the maintenance on the impellor when cleaning the filter then it will be fine.


On another note, I've started turning the filter up as my heater was reading low flow and the temperature it displays fulcuates quite a lot. Any ideas?

Thanks!

I've added some opions above

Andy

 

[Joe97]

Please excuse my being nosy but I'm just wondering why you don't feed your fish on Sunday?
Sorry,
Joe

 

[Jenste]

most people "fast" their fish once a week - and Sundays an easy day to remember...it helps clear out the fish's system and ward off constipation etc

 

[OldMan47]

Some people do indeed fast their fish once a week, I am not one of them. I find that by feeding an appropriate amount, I don't need that day of fasting for my fish. Instead I am quite careful to always feed lightly so that there is never a surplus of food. The water changes are carried out using a gravel vac, always, which means that there is never any left over food on the tank bottom. My tanks are almost all planted so the water chemistry is more stable than in an unplanted tank and my water change frequency is not quite as essential. If I miss a week, for a fish auction for example, the tanks are stable enough not to be significantly affected by it.

 

[Joe97]

I might try fasting them, although not Sunday because it's not fair us having our delicious big Sunday Lunches and them nothing. Every other week I'm away from home on a Saturday anyway.

 

[supermonkey]

Thanks guys, a wealth of info above!

I kinda expected fluvals instructions to be a bit ott! The fortnightly water change has been recommended by books and several people. Do you really all do it weekly?

I should have given a little more info - tank is 100 litres, partially stocked and includes some live plants which I presume would help with the water condition (though I wouldn't call it fully planted, it's quite subtle).

when doing the water change, the water level goes below the min mark on the heater & filter which is why I turn them off.

what is the carbon in the filter supposed to do?

Thanks again!

 

[mattlee]

carbon in filters is used to remove any medicines or tannins from bogwood etc in the water, its not used all the time and is just a money maker for companies. although most people keep some incase of treating their tanks with medicines to remove them when dosage is complete.
weekly water changes helps the fish by adding trace elements to the water and fresh water also helps the fish grow. if you think of it as our air being polluted we would not be at best health, so fishes water being polluted would mean them not at best health... a weekly water change provides clean water for the fish and also reduces nitrates when removing the water 20% in a 100L tank isnt much to do and should only take you 20/30 mins max

 

[Curiosity101]

I've switched from weekly to fortnightly water changes.

This is because I have moved to university so am only home once a fortnight.

However I have gone from 20-30% changes to 40-60% changes.

Over holiday time and once my tank comes back to me this coming summer I'll be back to my weekly changes. 20-30% in my 125l is only 25-40l so not a huge weekly task. Takes me about 20mins altogether.

 

[onebto]

I do a 30% water change every 4 days then 70 to 80% once a month when I do what I call the big clean and I clean my 2 pumps on alternate months.

One problem with this is I go through water dechlorinater quite quickly in fact I need shares in a firm get some money back ...... I jest seriously you have to make your own mind up as to how you handle your tank management we can only advise, remember things are not set in stone you can increase or decrease your schedule at any time all the advise you have been given is sound I know because it was offered to me.

If I could recommend anything it would be to start by doing a bit more than required Test, Test, Test your water make observations keep a simple journal of readings actions and observations learn about the water the bacteria your fish and how your tank works slowley but surley and if you decide after all that your doing to much then slowley wind back your regime this way I figure you will not cause the fish any discomfort .

My policy for ME and my fish is, my fish give me hours of enjoyment on a daily basis they brighten my day up they amuse me and make me laugh they can turn a hard and gloomy day bright that is priceless to me. I dont like stress and neither do fish so they get the best and hygenic conditions I can give them nothing is to good for them my simple job is to give them a stress free enviroment its the least I can do for all they give to me.

Good luck regards onebto.

 

[Curiosity101]

That's a fair point, I should probably expand that the reason I did 20-30% change in an average week is because I know this is sufficient to keep the fish happy and that it is sufficient with regards to my test results.

I always test nitrates before doing my water changes and will up the change if neccesary.

Also in the same way onebto does, I do a significantly larger water change (or a couple of larger ones) every few months.

 

[JustMrMe]

I do water changes every day. I like to spend a lot of time with my fish because I like to see them swim around happy. It doesn't take me too long, about 20 mins like curiosity said. I do about 75%, who likes swimming in their own dirt?

 

[ellena]

I think 50% is the max recommended in one go, so the stats stay similar enough not to stress the fish. Your filter should be processing their 'dirt' so they really would be fine with fewer changes.
I do a 50% change once a week. My tanks are small, 50% is about a bucketful, so not much more effort than half a bucketful
onebto, try using pond dechlor or seachem prime. They're about the same price as aquarium dechlor, do the same job, but you need about 1/10 the amount