Am I making it harder than it has to be?

[DeCypher]

Every time i have to clean my tank, i have to take apart the entire thing. I've always wanted live plants and a really cool setup, like some i've seen on this site, but thart's too hard to clean! Is there an easier way???

 

[Otterwoman]

Why do you feel you have to take it completely apart, and how often do you do this?

 

[JWERNER]

Every time i have to clean my tank, i have to take apart the entire thing. I've always wanted live plants and a really cool setup, like some i've seen on this site, but thart's too hard to clean! Is there an easier way???

You never take down a entire aquarium. You just do water changes by about 30-35%. While doing this you just suck up any waste with the house you use to do the water change. Make sure your switching you mechanical filter media when needed also. If you don't have any get some. This will contain some of the waste and make it easier to pull it out.

 

[DeCypher]

I take it apart every 2 days and I don't have any filter...yet

 

[Jennewt]

In answer to your question... yes, you are making it harder than it should be. What is the size of your tank?

 

[DeCypher]

It's a 10-gallon

 

[Jennewt]

That's plenty large enough to do a long-term setup without ever taking it apart. I have some 10-gallon tanks that I have not dismantled since I moved here 7 years ago.

For starters, you need some cleaning tools that don't require taking apart the tank. You'll need an aquarium scrungy-pad for cleaning the glass and a siphon, at a minimum. A turkey baster is also useful for quick cleanups of small amounts of dirt. Once a week just clean one thing - maybe the filter, or the glass. Every day look for leftover food or debris and get it out. But don't clean everything all at once. If you do a little bit of work daily and weekly, you'll never have the big chore.

 

[DeCypher]

Thanks!

 

[Rastus Daniel]

That's plenty large enough to do a long-term setup without ever taking it apart. I have some 10-gallon tanks that I have not dismantled since I moved here 7 years ago.

For starters, you need some cleaning tools that don't require taking apart the tank. You'll need an aquarium scrungy-pad for cleaning the glass and a siphon, at a minimum. A turkey baster is also useful for quick cleanups of small amounts of dirt. Once a week just clean one thing - maybe the filter, or the glass. Every day look for leftover food or debris and get it out. But don't clean everything all at once. If you do a little bit of work daily and weekly, you'll never have the big chore.

In a sort of tangental vein, is there a good argument for adding things like ghost shrimp or small feeder shrimp to a set-up - both for helping to cut down on waste as well as the random food source? i had ghost shrimp with my tigers and noticed some would get eaten but ... and, not to mention, i have always wanted a set-up that was as a close to a self-sustaining microcosm as i could get, but have never heard if such were possible?

 

[evut]

As far as I know whatever animal you add to a tank, even if it is a so-called cleaner fish or shrimp, it always adds more waste.

 

[DeCypher]

Maybe I could put in a snail or something. I'll stop for those cleaning supplies later. I already have a siphon...any products you guys would recommend?

 

[Jennewt]

In a sort of tangental vein, is there a good argument for adding things like ghost shrimp or small feeder shrimp to a set-up - both for helping to cut down on waste as well as the random food source? i had ghost shrimp with my tigers and noticed some would get eaten but ... and, not to mention, i have always wanted a set-up that was as a close to a self-sustaining microcosm as i could get, but have never heard if such were possible?

The shrimp will consume slightly more waste than they produce, so... if you aren't adding any food specifically for the shrimp, they would be a small net benefit toward balancing the ecosystem. However, if you do NOT add the shrimp, the tank will be colonized by other small organisms that perform exactly the same role. Any long-term setup will build up its own population of scavengers:
Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Photographs

 

[JWERNER]

Maybe I could put in a snail or something. I'll stop for those cleaning supplies later. I already have a siphon...any products you guys would recommend?

Snails are waste factories. They will produce more waste than your Newt.

You don't really need anything more than a siphon and a filter of some sort. Stay away from cleaning additives and chemicals.

 

[DeCypher]

I learned that the hard way (chemicals) I have been looking for a filter but they are all like 50 bucks and I don't have enough income.

 

[JWERNER]

Well, you don't necessarily need a 50$ filter.
Really all you need is a air pump to get the surface broken just a bit and the addition of a sponge will help collect some waste as well as help establish some bio filtration. You can check places like Craigslist for a used pump or even just post something on Craigslist stateing that your looking for one. Otherwise they arent that expensive. You can get cheap ones from Wal-Mart.

That way you don't have to worry about doing daily water changes and chancing temps and parameters like PH and such being off.

The cheapest filter I have seen yet has been a air pump with some air line, a diffuser ( air stone ) and a sponge for washing cars. You have to make sure the sponge is not treated with anti microbial and such or it totally defeats the purpose of bio filtration.

But good news, the best way around that is to literally get the cheapest sponge you can find. Get a car wash sponge from a 1$ store.

Cut the sponge down in size then make a hole that's smaller then the diffuser so you can wedge it in and it will stay in place.

Google DIY sponge filter and you will see loads of ideas.

 

[DeCypher]

I just got the Elite sponge filter...and it seems alright. It has mechanical and biological filtration. I didn't see any of the particles being drawn into it, but I trust that it's working.

 

[JWERNER]

I just got the Elite sponge filter...and it seems alright. It has mechanical and biological filtration. I didn't see any of the particles being drawn into it, but I trust that it's working.

Pull the lift tube up as far as it can go and this will cause more water to pull into the sponge. If you don't notice anything by then you might need a stronger air pump.

You wont see large particles but smaller broken down debris goes right to it but slow.

 

[ted22]

I'd recommend eheim aquaball filters, very effective, very cheap! As someone else mentioned a turkey baster should be one of your essential purchases too! I have actually gone abit baster/syphon mad, Turkey baster for small bits of waste, a small syphon vacuum for things too big or messy for the baster and a large syphon for water changes, haha I have gone a little overboard tho! Also what are you using as a substrate? Sand is the easiest to clean as all the large particles of waste all just sit on the top of it ready to be turkey basted up! Apart from that just a glass scrubber is all you should need!

 

[DeCypher]

I have no substrate, and I actually have been thinking about getting sand. I got some floating plastic plants, which they love. What would be the best/easiest to clean substrate?