Removing debris/cleaning in general...

[rodrigo]

Hi...i´ve been thinking....many sites advice to remove every debris...well...in two months or so i´ve been only able to remove about three craps....they disintegrate and i cannot take them out.
I have an undergravel filter. I know all the debris are concentrated around the filter but how do i clean the aquarium without destroying all the bacteria and starting all over again with cycling it???
If i want to clean the filter i have to completely remove the gravel..plants...rocks...everything...and that´s not good for the bacteria....so...how am i supposed to get rid of the debris and keep my bacteria healthy and working??? Pretty contradictory if i may say...
how do you do it n_n??

 

[derek]

Hi there,
The correct way to clean an under-gravel filter is not to remove it, use a gravel cleaner (purchase from pet shop)to disturb the gravel and siphon off the debris and water into a container, usually 20% of the water is siphoned off on a weekly basis, this will keep ammonia and other toxic levels caused by waste to a minimum.

If you need to clean the tank floor completely, remove your decor i.e. rocks etc carefully and put them into a container, if the decor is looking unsightly and you feel you have to clean the decor, give the decor a wipe down, but do not clean completely, with a bleach free paper towel in the water that you have siphoned off from the tank.
The water in the tank is harmless to the bacteria and will not kill it.
I admit I am new to newt keeping but I have kept tropical fish successfully for 15 years and the maintenance for under-gravel filter systems is the same no matter what aquatic life is living in the tank.

 

[derek]

I have found a website that describes what I was talking about in your native language.

www4.sera.de

select from the left top menu: Acurio
Then select Cuidado del acuario.

Then select from the far right menu: Cambio de agua IV.

Hope this helps.

 

[derek]

Sorry made an error with site address should be:
www.sera.de

 

[rodrigo]

thanx for the link. I have a siphon for my father´s aquarium (pterophyllum scalaris). Maybe my setup is too complicated....i could only siphon about half of the tank...the rest is occupied by plants or rocks. I´ll try removing things temporaly...and see if i don´t make much of a mess. Thank u.

 

[derek]

Hope you sort things out to.

I keep Angel fish to, they are my favourite fish.

 

[rodrigo]

They are such impressive fish. My father only wants to keep that species...he says the other ones are boring, but angel fish are really interesting to keep.