FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I know you are supposed to vacuum 1/4 of the gravel each time you do a water change. But I don't remember reading if you are supposed to move your decorations, fake plants, driftwood or rocks out of the way & vacuum under them??

Only about half my tank has gravel space left to vacuum & I may fill most of that up with plants some day If what I have keeps growing. So how do you vacuum a tank when the bottom is covered with stuff? Do you just keep the tube near the bottom & not press down hard near the plants? Do you ever move the moveable stuff & vacuum under them? If so.......how often?

Hi,
Yes, when you vacuum the gravel, you should divide the
non-planted portion of the tank into four sections and then
vacuum one section a week, or whatever interval you are
using. Definitely remove the ornaments as detritus will
build up around the edges and in the first few grains
and bacteria will build up directly under them.

I would vacuum at the same time as a water change, and
that should depend upon your tank and its bio load. The
more the fish, or the bigger the fish, the more frequently
you should go through the routine. Once weekly, at 10-20%
should be sufficient for most tanks.

When using the gravel vac, you should press the siphon into
the gravel, down to the base. Allow the gravel to swirl
within the vacuum chamber, and the gunk will flow up the
tube and the gravel will settle back to the bottom in
little piles. I then use the vacuum tube or your hand to
smooth the piles out.

As far as how close to get to the plants, that actually
depends upon the plants and how long they have been in
place. Generally you want to stay two to three inches
away from the stem or center of the plant. Some plants
like the Swords and Crypts develop huge root systems that
can extend from one end of the tank to another! If you
see roots in the clear plastic tube, lift the tube and
allow the gravel to fall back in on top of them.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Aaaahhh man! I was afraid somebody would tell me what I didn't want to hear!
I don't even like to move the things in the house to vacuum!

I knew bacteria would build up under stuff, but thought maybe I could leave it & that would be my good bacteria to leave in the tank to keep taking care of the ammonia. But apparently, while you want SOME bacteria, you don't want it to get too old. Ok.......... old bacteria is bad.

Well..........there goes my fancy decorating ideas! I would always prop things up just so-so & when I vacuumed too close they would get moved & I would spend a lot of time getting them "just right" again. No more! I will just go with a more relaxed look from now on.

Well Frank............ thanks again! I know I complain a lot......... but I'm learning. I know this probably sounds ridiculous to you experienced fish keepers, but I didn't know keeping a "healthy" tank involved so much. But that's ok. I'm hangin' in there.

One of the beauties of having plants growing on bogwood as I do - it makes for easy temporary relocation while I break out the gravel vac.

Here's some photos of my water change and gravel vac operation in provess, complete with my DIY 50p gravel vac ...

Equalising water temperature - note digital thermometer

Adding water - note dechlorinator bottle, contents of which are added to bucket and pre mixed

DIY gravel vac on display

Note digital thermometer (ringed) to ensure temperature is stable

Basically, I remove the bogwood 'boot' for one gravel vac session (it's on the left hand side of the tank), then replace it, and remove the bogwood arch (right hand side of aquarium) for the other gravel vac session. The Amazon Sword is left undisturbed and I vac around it.

By the way, my Amazon Sword is now huge. It provides my Otocinclus with a playground to frolic in, a sort of Otto climbing frame.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Good idea Cali........ grow the plants on wood, so you can move both at the same time.

I'm not sure what exactly bog wood is, but I have some cool looking wood in my tank. It has regular small holes all over it (it's made that way) & is mostly hollow inside. Not sure what it is, but think I got it at a flea market & they might have said it was cactus wood? Plant roots could really get a hold on that thing! My two upside down catfish sleep in it at night.

Yeah, I read in another of your posts how you made that vac............. & the Otto feeder. Thanks for the pics.......... I wish you would get one of the Panda's at play.

Sounds like a cactus skeleton. I think it's a cholla that is usually used like that.

><>

Thanks superlion. I guess I remembered right. Oh, a cholla is usually used in fish tanks for driftwood? I didn't know that.......... I just had it on hand & thought it would look neat in there. Well that's good to hear. I was hoping it wasn't some kind of wood that might hurt the fish. But then I don't know if there is a kind of wood that you can't use in a fish tank? Not painted or dowsed with chemicals like telephone poles I know. And maybe not cedar or pine cause they have oils in them. Hmmmm you can sure learn a lot about stuff when you have a fish tank.

... I wish you would get one of the Panda's at play.

How about spawning pics? Will they do?

Pandas Spawning 1

Pandas Spawning 2

Pandas Spawning 3

Or how about the Pandas sticking their snouts in the pig trough?

Pandas Scoffing Live Bloodworm

Fun and frolics enough there I think

Oh, at some point I'll try and post photos of my tube feeding technique for algae wafers. Those photos will probably end up in my Webshots album.

EDIT : Amost forgot ... some pics of my newest piece of Mopani Wood, which has now been soaking in water changes since the middle of July ... and still leaches tannins by the way ...

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

As an aside, you might also like this shot of some baby Pandas ... tiny babies!

Enjoy!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Cholla works in an aquarium? There are tons of it for sale on ebay for cheap including a couple root pieces. Would look nice in a tank but I thought it would float or break down too quickly since it's so porous and light weight. Was getting some for my guinea pigs and degus to chew up so maybe I'll toss it in a bucket and see what it does.

It isn't that old bacteria is bad it's lack of oxygen. Good bacteria uses oxygen(aerobic) to change ammonia and nitrite into nitrate. Bad bacteria does not survive with oxygen around(anerobic) and turns nitrate into various toxic gases. There are denitrifying setups that use this to an advantage but otherwise it's a bad thing. You want to stir and vacuum the gravel to get oxygen down in it and remove the food source of the bacteria. The food source for both bacteria actually so your nitrates also go down but large build up of detritus makes it even easier for the less desireable bacteria to grow. Also the reason you should empty and clean a filter if you leave it off for more than 30-60mins. The lack of oxygen causes good bacteria to die and bad bacteria to turn things toxic.

I don't think cholla is used in aquaria very often, but I'm familiar with it because my mom's from Tucson and it's pretty common out there.

><>

Ask from Cali & ye shall receive! Grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite drink) guys before looking at Cali's pics. He has other pictures on there also besides panda's & even some great SW fish! Thanks Cali!

Sham-Cholla apparently works in my aquarium. It's been in mine for a couple mo. now. I wanted it propped up though, so just stuck it in there from day one. I didn't know about presoaking. I dug it into the gravel & propped it under the rim on the tank to stay in place. Yes it did come up a couple times. It discolored the water a little, but that has gone now from all the water changes. I haven't tried laying any of it down but it doesn't come out of place anymore & doesn't need propped up. It just lays against the glass now where I want it to.

That's interesting what you were saying about the filter being off. I was just reading about that the other day on that fish site that person gave on here that had that calculator where it would tell you about the stocking of your fish. I bet a lot of people don't know about what to do with your filter after the power goes off for awhile. I sure didn't! I was amazed at what all it said!

Here is that link if someone wants to know what to do with their aquarium & the care of the filter in case there is a power outage. http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/

Sham- I've been thinking since you said cholla roots....... & I might be interested in that. I love the look of roots in aquariums, but didn't want a tree in there! I value the swimming space for the fish & didn't want to take up a lot of space. The cholla branches I have are pretty thin, but the upsidedown catfish can still fit in there. If I could find a thin cholla with roots that wouldn't take up much room...........& cheap........... I might be interested in it. I would at least like to look. How do you get to that site on ebay?

..........................................

I found it, for $10.99. I didn't see the shipping charge though? I live close to a lake. I might just wander down there & see if I can find anything.