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Hi,

I was wondering what type of algae eaters/fishes/shrimps/ and etc are available to clean up my tank from green algae and fish poop. Things are getting a bit out of hand and as of right now I don't have the time to clean my 40 gallon tank. (due to school and full-time job ). The green algae has grown on the glass and is hard to scrape off. The poop is in the small pebble rocks. I need something that will clean it up. Either algae eaters/fish/shrimps/and etc.

Any ideas?

Please help.

Thanks

Things are getting a bit out of hand and as of right now I don't have the time to clean my 40 gallon tank.

The description of the algae is not sufficient Here is a link that will help there.
Algae

As for the rest of the tank there is only one way that is to regually work on that tank including a surface and deep substrate cleaning. If you do not do some work very soon there is a very good possibility it will become a extremly poluted tank which will cause a massive death problem.

Sorry to be so blunt but I think many FP members will agree with me.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Adding anything to your tank will add more fish or shrimp or snail waste. Nothing eats fish waste but bacteria and algae. Which if you aren't cleaning the tank then that is probably causing at least some of the algae. You can add an algae eater but it will only increase your levels of fish waste and nitrates requiring more gravel vacs and water changes not fewer. Shrimp would probably have the least impact on the water quality and waste issue if you could find some of the algae eating varieties like amano shrimp or cherry shrimp. Ghost shrimp eat leftover food not fish waste or much algae. However shrimp require better water conditions than most fish. Any ammonia or nitrite will kill them and high nitrates(~20-30 or higher) will also affect them if not kill them.

I have to agree with Keith. No fish is really going to solve your problem, only add to it. You need to do regular maintenance, water changes, vacuuming the gravel, cleaning the glass, etc. You say you don't have time. I find that difficult to believe, in that it really wouldn't take you more that 15-20 minutes a week to probably do what's needed at a minimum.

I typically work 10-14 hour days as much as 6 to 7 days a week, maintain a large house and yard, and still I'm able to find time to properly maintain numerous tanks. Sorry, this may sound blunt, but if you honestly can't find the time to properly care for your tank, then you need to try and return your fish to a LFS, or to another hobbyist who will properly be able to maintain and care for the fish.

Jim

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Well currently I'm taking 13 units of classes in college, majoring in Computer Science. Stupid programming takes forever Added with my full time job.


Anyways I forgot to mention I gave away my fishes. The only things I have in their are:

1 African Dwarf Frog
2 Hong Kong Plecos
and the decorations.

The rest are gone.


Are there anything that can get the poop out of the gravel easily? I tried the siphoning technique but it doesn't seem to work, or its too slow. I can't seem to get that to work.

A cheap gravel vac using a siphon works great for me. At least for my currently 1 and only tank using gravel instead of EC or sand. It's a 29g tank I left at my mom's when I moved out and I only do maintenance on it about every 2weeks. Takes around half an hour. Only other thought is get a python if you have a sink nearby. It might save a little time and suck waste out of the gravel a little better but I've never used one.

http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/9%5C9403605014B.jpg


Is this Python No Spill Clean and Fill better than most?

How does it siphon? Do I have to constantly move it up and down like the others?

A bit confused one how it will siphon out the water and poop since the other end will be attached to the water faucet. Where does the water get released, is there another hole on the hose to let the water escape into the sink?

My sink doesn't have the teeth to screw on the hose. But my showerhead does, will that work?

.....I am Full Time school and part time work, but at one point I was working 50-60 hrs/week and I have 3 large tanks and 2 one gallons. I noticed that the best way to care for the fish is at night when I get home. I try to put at least a half hour to two hours (depending on what I have tp do) into my tanks per day. Just arrange a little window in your day where you can spend time on your pets and you wont have so much alge/poo build up ^_^


I think the best way to care for the alge is a scraper and water changes. As for the poo, a gravel vac, as sham said, should be useful. Keep in mind that most plecos admit a lot of waste into the water! Also, do you have the tank in direct sunlight? That could be a factor

Inky

Yeah I'm dedicating myself to improve my tank as of now. But I first need to know how the Python No Spill Clean and Fill works. It says to attach the end to a faucet (but my faucet doesn't have any teeth to allow me to screw it on. Is the shower head okay?) After it is attached to the showerhead how is the siphoning work? How does the water get released into the tub if the end is attached to the showerhead?

I have a $15 siphon from Petco, but I found it very difficult to use. Slowly but not many water got out. No poop got out too.

Anyone recommend a good siphon? Is the Python No Spill Clean and Fill okay?
http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/9%5C9403605014B.jpg

Thanks

Don't shake the gravel vacs in the water. It's rarely effective at starting a syphon. Put the whole thing underwater either in the tank or a bucket full of tap water, put your thumb over the end and keep both ends pointed up in the air. Then pull the tube end out of the tank and turn it around to aim at your bucket. Release and water will flow provided you keep the gravel vac end underwater. Occasionally I had to cut the hose shorter to make it all fit in the tank and for my smaller 5g tanks I fill it in another tank like the 90g or a bucket of tapwater. To move from bucket of water keep the ends pointed up, stick gravel vac end underwater, point hose end at bucket, and release. Always works unlike the shaking instructions on the back of the gravel vac packages.

I'm not sure how pythons work since I never saw a reason to get one. You screw one part onto your faucet and I thought it had another piece that emptied down the drain. A showerhead would work as well but to hook it to a faucet you probably screw off the aerator(little round piece with a metal screen) on the end and then you can screw things onto the faucet. If you have really hardwater though the aerator on a sink faucet can be cemented on by minerals. I broke a sink hooking up an ro unit because of that.

A Python works by implementing Bernoulli's principle. Specifically, the part of the the principle that a fluid with a higher velocity will have a lower dyanmic pressure. With regards to the python, the water from the sink will be moving quickly down the drain... which means that that water will have a lower pressure, so the water from the tank gets pushed down the hose. A really nice thing, is that after taking water out, a switch can be thrown, which will put water back into the tank.

Oh, and I just thought I'd add, I still do the bucket brigade, using a manual siphon. And, I just start my siphon with my mouth, all you have to do is get the end a quick little suck to start it. Just make sure the end you suck on is lower than the end in the tank. Only once out of several hundred, maybe over a thousand times I've done this now have I gotten water in my mouth. And even then, so long as the tank is reasonably clean, there is virtually nothing in a tank's water that should make a healthy (i.e. non-immuno compromised, like with AIDS) human sick.

I also agree with the general consensus.. the last thing you want to do when you barely have time to maintain a tank-is add more fish! I currently use the python system pictured on your link. It does come with a series of fittings that fit just about anything.. i've got it to fit my bathroom sink, my kitchen sink, and my outdoor hose, now as for your faucet not having teeth to grip, you'll have to take a pair of plyers to it, they all unscrew, its just a matter of getting the stubborn thing off. anywho.. the python system has been a savior at my house, and im pretty sure once you shell out the $$$ for it, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the amount of suction.


I also work a full time job 40+ hours a week, and 13 college hours a semester... inkling hit it right on the head, I either have to maintain my tanks in the middle of the night when i get home from work, or early early mornings before classes. either way, it HAS to be done, and no fish is going to miraculously clean up fish poo, without adding just as much if not more, back out the other end... however, I do hope you get a little bit of time, the python with most definately cut your cleaning time in half!

Good luck!!!

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Thanks for the help.

I'll get to it right away.