I've had my 55 gallon fresh water tank with community fish in it for about 4 to 6 weeks now. I've changed the filters etc. But now it is time to do a partial water change. I have one of the larger models that suck up the rocks into the tube with the water .. but when I release the rocks, naturally, some of the junk is left behind and stays floating in the water for some time. No doubt this stresses the fish and might even kill one or two. How do you do a partial cleaning and avoid this from happening in your tank ? Or is there a way to lessen the problem ? Thank you ! :)
2006-09-13 04:28:32 · 6 answers · asked by tysavage2001 6 in Pets ➔ Fish
Whatever to the girl who says you're overfeeding. It's a 55 gallon! (Besides, she can't even spell "immensely"...I feed my fish every day. They are gonna produce waste no matter what. Just make sure they eat all their food. As for using the siphon, sometimes at the end of siphoning, there is extra gunk floating around, but my filter cleans it up in a matter of minutes. I have a fluval 304, and they are WONDERFUL. A little pricey, but I hardly ever have to clean it out, and it keeps the water speakling. And to whoever said to get an undergravel filter, no way. Not for a 55. Those things are filthy and cleaning can be a hassle. I'd get a canister filter if you can afford it. =)
2006-09-13 06:56:26 · answer #1 · answered by Amanda 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the fish don't care if the water is a bit murky for a while. This is a common occurrence with all gravel vacuums and with refilling the tank. It helps if you go slower with the gravel vacuum, but the nitrifying bacteria will dine on those tiny bits so you don't have to worry about them building up too much. A protein skimmer will remove particles of that size, but it need only be used for aesthetic reasons and generally isn't worth the cost unless you have a marine tank.
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2006-09-13 05:28:10 · answer #2 · answered by iceni 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
IF YOU GET A UNDER GROUND FILTRATION SYSTEM THIS WILL CUT THE CLEANING DOWN ALOT. I HAVE 2-55 GAL. FRESHWATER. 3-10 GAL. FRESHWATER AND 1-10 GAL. SALTWATER. IN THE CLEANING PROCESS THERE IS NO GARNTIES. I SHOULD KNOW. I ALSO HAVE A EXTENDED TUBE ON MY FILTERING SYSTEM TO HELP PICK UP ALOT OF STUFF FROM THE BOTTOM. IF YOU GOT SMALL FISH THE TUBE CAN SUCK THEM IN THEN YOU CAN GET SPONGES FROM THE PET STORE. YOU CAN REUSE THIS JUST RINCE ONCE AWEEK LIKE YOU NEED TO WITH YOUR FILTER WITH THE CARBINE. I CAN ALSO TELL YOU HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CARBINE FILTER. I HAVE LEARNED ALOT ABOUT CLEANING MY TANKS. ANY MORE QUESTIONS JUST EMAIL ME. lavrisa_bmpw@yahoo.com I ALSO HAD FISH STORE
2006-09-13 04:43:57 · answer #3 · answered by lavrisa_bmpw 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If what you have is a Python No-Spill then just dig into your gravel - suck up the rock and gunk - and just shake it a bit for the gravel to fall back down, and you should not experience any free floating gunk at all.
If you still do - they you're probably not using a Python No-Spill, and I'd definitely recommend getting one.
Python Products
http://pythonproducts.com/nospill.htm
2006-09-13 04:34:54 · answer #4 · answered by sly2kusa 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
After 4-6 weeks and you have that much debris...YOU ARE OVER FEEDING. Cut back emmensly...If you feed daily, cut back to every other day, and only feed what they will eat with in 3 mins...I never recommend feeding a fish more often than every other day...
2006-09-13 05:29:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
there are vacuums that have gravel screens built into them to avoid that problem(and to avoid sucking up baby fish). you may try getting one or making your own...just get a small piece of large guage screen and rubberband it over the end of the vacuum.
2006-09-13 04:34:27 · answer #6 · answered by ? 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋