FISh

WHat is the best way to clean a tank? But taking thefish out? what is the safest way?

To start with, you need some kind of filtering system. All of my aquariums have simple, under gravel filters, and they all get a 15 to 20 percent water change every week. During the partial water change, I syphon any crud off the gravel. If you don't over crowd or over feed, it all works pretty well. If the aquarium is so dirty that you need to empty it and start over, you should not add fish until it completes its nitrogen cycle, which takes several weeks. The best bet is to do several partial water changes and try to not start over. If you do need to clean an empty aquarium, don't use soap or solvents. Instead, fill it with water and dump in some vinegar. If the aquarium sits like that for a day or two, it will still need scrubbing or scraping. Make sure to rinse it really good to remove the vinegar residue.

hi johnathor you were talking about those undergrvel filters i have one but it dosnt seem to work very well i have to tubes and two air pumps attached one on each and the bubble blow from the bottom of the gravel up to the top goes through stones and spits back out again i cant understand how this would get the poo etc away which it dosnt? ive heard of power heads working it? if you have time to look at one i will put a photo of one of them on

To start with, you need two or three inches of gravel for an under gravel filter to work. Then too, most people over power them or over stock their aquarium. The filter pulls the water through the gravel and keeps the fish and plant waste suspended within the gravel. This allows the good bacteria to colonise the gravel and break down the toxic substances. When it's running under optimum conditions, an under gravel filter will give you crystal clear water. If you use a power head or a large capacity air pump, you'll just keep everything stirred up and force the fish to swim against a strong current.

Nothing is perfect, and that includes under gravel filters. Since they only convert waste products to plant food but do not actually remove anything, it's especially important to do regular, partial water changes and avoid over crowding and over feeding. Many people prefer more high technology filters, but i have the under gravel setup in all 20 of my aquariums along with several spawns of angelfish and a few other varities. When I do partial water changes, I use an uptake tube with a much larger diameter than the syphon tube. This lets me clean the gravel without sucking it through the syphon hose.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if I have failed to explain something, and by all means send pictures if you can.

Ill try put in some more gravel casue my under gravel filter is like only half a centermetre under the top of the gravel, ill have a look at your pics in a min and see your gravel and how you ahve set it up.

Also what do you ahve trhat powers your under gravel filter.

oh have i got it right. the under gravel filter dosnt get rid of poo like sucking it through to the under neath bit of the under gravel thing it just sort of makes into plant manure?

You dont have to do this but if you can reply to this message with a pic of your tube thing that does the partial water change?

I'll try posting a couple of pictures. The first one is the business end of the syphon setup. I actually use a Python system, which has a pump that attaches to a water faucet. The pump has a valve that lets you empty or fill an aquarium without carrying buckets. I know a lady in Australia who bought a similar setup from Lee. They even have one that works with metric sized outlets. Several other companies sell them too.

If memory serves me -- which it doesn't very much any more -- I think there are 2.54 cm in an inch. That would mean you need at least six cm of gravel, which you may want to mix with a clay based substrate such as laterite.

Anyhow, here's the first photo, I hope. Well, the picture gods are mad at me. The uptake end of the syphon tube is about two inches in diameter and ten inches long. The syphon tube attached to it is about one half inch in diameter. Most aquarium shops have these things.