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hi, I am sort of new to fish keeping, and bought a ten gallon tank. I have:

4 khuli loaches
2 male guppies
1 betta

and some fake plants, and some gravel. I do routine water changes, but I have a problem-the gravel has got this filthy brown stuff all over it, and so does the glass (I scrubbed it off now) and so do the fake plants. It's totally gross and I bought a siphon (dual power siphon online) and it just came in, but I have NO IDEA how to work it. . .or how to keep the gravel and plants clean. Water conditions are good, but how do you keep everything else clean? Thanks (I have a "gravel cleaning attachment" with it, but I have no idea how to use that either. . .)

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

sounds like you have an algae problem, does your tank spend much time in direct sunlight?

I dont think the siphon will remove the brown growth

as far a using a siphon it would be far better to get a physical demonstration from your LFS.

Check out the "brown and green algea" thread in this section.

Hi,
The advice given you in the prior two postings should
help you take care of the brown "Algae" that is actually
an outbreak of diatoms.
If you give us some more information on the siphoning
device and the gravel cleaning attachment, I'm sure
one of our readers either has that or has used it at
one time or another and can give you the help you need to
get it going and become comfortable with it.

Who made it, where did you purchase it, what is it's name?

Frank


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I also think that the 4 Khuli Loaches will get too big (long) for a 10 gal. tank.

The Betta might chase the Male Guppy's, if they have long & colourful tails.


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grr. . .I put the recommended algae killing amount in (and I have used this stuff before and it works really well) but it had NO effect, my tank is just as disgusting! I tested the water, and the parameters are perfect, and no mysterious deaths, but it's brown and disgusting, and I don't know how to clean it!

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

no one knows? I have wasted over 30$ in fish tank cleaning equipment. . .anyone have any reccomendations on how to clean the gravel? I have never done it before (and the tank has been running for a few months now) and I can never get them to work. . .maybe I will ask petco.

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

The brown algae has to just go away on its own. It is an outbreak of diatoms which comes from the silica in your gravel. Once the silica goes away, so will the ugly brown algae. Be patient--it takes a while and don't waste any more money on algae cleaning stuff for the brown algae.

It's ok to keep wiping it off the glass, etc., and when you do your gravel vacs some will go away as well (it will probably come back for a while but at least it looks better for a short time)

Algae killing products have been known to kill fish if you aren't careful. Especially fish like kuhli loaches. They also won't really work on diatoms so might as well forget it. Diatoms show up in new tanks usually ones that have only been setup 6months or less. They use up certain nutrients in the water like silicates and seem to quite like cycling tanks that still have ammonia and nitrites present. After awhile the diatoms will stop multiplying and can be cleaned off the glass permanently. However then you get to deal with the green algae which doesn't wipe off the glass so easy.

As for how to use your gravel vac I have no idea what brand you have but I just buy the cheap ones at walmart. It has a tube that connects to a large cylinder. I dump the whole thing under water so it fills up, put my thumb over the end of the tube, pull the tube out of the tank over a bucket, make sure the cylinder is underwater and let go of the tube. Water goes up the tube and into the bucket. Then the cylinder can be pushed into the gravel and the fish poo and some algae will be sucked up with the running water and into the bucket. For small tanks you have to cut the tube sometimes or fill it with water in a bucket outside the tank. The directions of shaking the cylinder underwater to get the water flowing never work for me and I'd rather avoid sucking on the end of the tube to get the siphon going.

Well done Sham. thanks for reminding us that certain fish such as loaches or other species without scales can be very susceptible to low water quality maladies and chemicals in the water, and so to be very careful in using them.

Some questions and things you could try.

How often do you clean your filter?
How often do you do the water changes?
What percentage of water do you change?
Feeding how much and how often?
Do you have any airation?

Do a 50% water change
Then remove all the fish and place them in about 10% of the water change.
Remove all the gravel and wash it very well in remaining water change, keeping some to clean all the filter material.

Wash all the plants under clean running water, OR consider buying live plants.

Also clean the tank saving the remainder of the 50% water.

Replace the cleaned gravel and the saved water slowly.
Add the plants and top up with the clean new replacement water.
Add all the necessary water chemicals including a good Bio Starter this will replenish the old good bacteria.
Finally return all the fish.

Here is a very big warning you must have every thing ready and complete the whole process in about 30 minutes other wise all you good bacteria will die and you will have to recycle again.

As you are new I strongly suggest you plan it well write all the steps down and certainly get someone to assist you

If you want any further help please reply and ask mor questions.

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

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