Cleaning Arowana Tank - HELP!

[GoldFinger]

Hi guys I'm new to the forum and greatly appreciate your advice. I am setting up a 84"x30"x28" tank for an Asian Arowana and likely a stingray with a small school of Discus.

I have two questions after reading other posts and would like further and/or updated advice on the following items:

1) Your personal water change regiment (ie. % of water changed and frequency

2) How do you clean the tank walls of algae and vacuum the substrate with a fish that notoriously jumps to high heaven?

It sounds like most Arowana relax into the tank especially after a routine is established but you never know when they might blast off. Just curious what you guys do to prevent this or if it's even something to be concerned about. Thanks so much in advance!!

Tank Specs:
84"x30"x28"
2 Fluval FX6 filters - 2 heaters - 1 power head - LED lights

 

[Muni]

In my 300 gallon, I used the magnetic algae scrubber for the glass and didn't have much issue. I also made an extension for my python but that wasn't used very often.

A large majority of people that keep rays and Arowana keep them in bare bottomed tanks. They also have high flow rates on the water systems so this is usually pretty effective at keeping things from settling down to the bottom.

 

[Bigfishnut]

I'd recommend a large waterchange every 2 or 3 days....50% or more. Run a drip system as well. Stingrays put a serious strain on the bio so be sure to have well established bio media before adding fish. A shower scrubber works well for cleaning large tanks. Be sure to have tight fitting lids that are weighted down. Good luck! Basically the only fish I keep anymore are discus, rays, and arowana. So I'm thinking great minds think alike!

 

[Bigfishnut]

Oh, also...I'd ditch the canister filters and go with a sump. Tanks that big really should have sump filtration for many, many reasons. One of the biggest in my opinion is for surface skimming. It really makes a difference with water quality using overflows. Not to mention extra water volume, more room for bio media, plus you can keep your heaters out of the tank...an absolute necessity with rays

 

[GoldFinger]

Thanks guys. I have heard mixed reviews on sumps and it seems as though it's a 50/50 split on people using a canister vs sump. I'm going to stick with the canisters for now as two fx6's will do a pretty could job (I hope). I will put protectors on the heaters and plan to mask them with tall artificial plants in each corner. A 50% water change that often seems like a lot. Wouldn't the ARO get stressed and try jumping when it is pushed down two half a tank of water while I'm doing the water change? When vacuuming the base of the tank do they just swim around like nothing is going on? I think I'm getting overly stressed ahead of time haha but just want to be prepared. Also I appreciate the advice on a bare bottom tank but looks wise I really like having the substrate, especially for the rays to hide etc.

 

[Bigfishnut]

I'm telling from personal experience because you asked. What you do with the info is up to you. Rays and arowana are expensive, big fish, and rays in particular produce an incredible amount of waste. If you've never kept rays you are in for a learning experience that I hope doesn't cost you the lives of the rays. That is how many of us learned. Not fun. Good luck!

 

[GoldFinger]

I'm telling from personal experience because you asked. What you do with the info is up to you. Rays and arowana are expensive, big fish, and rays in particular produce an incredible amount of waste. If you've never kept rays you are in for a learning experience that I hope doesn't cost you the lives of the rays. That is how many of us learned. Not fun. Good luck!

So in your opinion I won't be able to house a ray successfully without using a sump? I would rather not get a ray if that's the case, at least for the time being. What do you use to keep the lid secure enough. I went with 1/4 glass as it's heavier and the back portion had plexiglass to remove for feeding and filtration etc.

 

[Bigfishnut]

So in your opinion I won't be able to house a ray successfully without using a sump? I would rather not get a ray if that's the case, at least for the time being. What do you use to keep the lid secure enough. I went with 1/4 glass as it's heavier and the back portion had plexiglass to remove for feeding and filtration etc.

It would be challenging to keep water parameters in check without a sump and drip system. I don't mean to discourage you, but I've seen a lot of people get in over their heads with rays. I use big marble slabs to hold my lids in place on my arowana tank. I have a silver aro due to the fact Asians are illegal in the states. I've seen people use dumbbells to hold cover glass down. I use double wall polycarbonate for my aro tank lids. Easy to cut to fit tight. Especially if you have wires and inlet/outlet for filters and power heads. I only had to make a small notch for the wavemaker wire on my lids. Everything is in the sump and I drilled my tank for overflow and output. People can say what they want, but there is no comparison between sump and canister. Sump wins hands down. Years ago I fooled around with canister filters. I'll never look back!

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

It would be challenging to keep water parameters in check without a sump and drip system. I don't mean to discourage you, but I've seen a lot of people get in over their heads with rays. I use big marble slabs to hold my lids in place on my arowana tank. I have a silver aro due to the fact Asians are illegal in the states. I've seen people use dumbbells to hold cover glass down. I use double wall polycarbonate for my aro tank lids. Easy to cut to fit tight. Especially if you have wires and inlet/outlet for filters and power heads. I only had to make a small notch for the wavemaker wire on my lids. Everything is in the sump and I drilled my tank for overflow and output. People can say what they want, but there is no comparison between sump and canister. Sump wins hands down. Years ago I fooled around with canister filters. I'll never look back!

Having had both, I must agree that a sump does win hands down, IMO. Especially, for a larger tank. I would say my next choice would be HOB's, but they can only go so far in tank size.

Canisters definitely have their place, but can be challenging when dealing with a large bio load. I think it is largely in part due to the "out of sight, out of mind." If you run a sump, especially a clear one, you see everything in the mechanical filtration and can see when it needs cleaned, which is probably more often than you would think. In a HOB you can easily pull the lid and take a look, or you can tell when the flow has diminished a bit. With a canister, you can't easily just pull the lid off, it isn't clear (although I'm not sure why) and the outlet is usually submerged for silence, so no seeing diminished flow. Because of these reasons, it is not uncommon for a canister to go too long between cleanings. You really don't know when it needs cleaned so you are basically just making a guess as to when to do it. Even if you cleaned it every week, you wouldn't know if you should really be cleaning it twice a week or not. Maybe you really only have to clean it once every two weeks. It's all just a guessing game.

They are not bad filters though. They are very efficient by design. They are fantastic for planted aquariums. However, they are not a great choice for sensitive fish, such as discus or rays. I'm not saying it's impossible, just not the best filtration method that could be used, and don't you want to set yourself up for the best chance of success from the start?

 

[Bigfishnut]

Having had both, I must agree that a sump does win hands down, IMO. Especially, for a larger tank. I would say my next choice would be HOB's, but they can only go so far in tank size.

Canisters definitely have their place, but can be challenging when dealing with a large bio load. I think it is largely in part due to the "out of sight, out of mind." If you run a sump, especially a clear one, you see everything in the mechanical filtration and can see when it needs cleaned, which is probably more often than you would think. In a HOB you can easily pull the lid and take a look, or you can tell when the flow has diminished a bit. With a canister, you can't easily just pull the lid off, it isn't clear (although I'm not sure why) and the outlet is usually submerged for silence, so no seeing diminished flow. Because of these reasons, it is not uncommon for a canister to go too long between cleanings. You really don't know when it needs cleaned so you are basically just making a guess as to when to do it. Even if you cleaned it every week, you wouldn't know if you should really be cleaning it twice a week or not. Maybe you really only have to clean it once every two weeks. It's all just a guessing game.

They are not bad filters though. They are very efficient by design. They are fantastic for planted aquariums. However, they are not a great choice for sensitive fish, such as discus or rays. I'm not saying it's impossible, just not the best filtration method that could be used, and don't you want to set yourself up for the best chance of success from the start?

Not to mention one of the most important aspects of a sump...surface skimming with the overflow box. That is really big. It makes such a huge difference in water quality and gas exchange. It really is one of the biggest reasons all my tanks have sumps. Many people don't realize that some of the most harmful organics end up floating at the surface of the water. Overflow boxes take care of that, plus with a drip system, the overflow drain in the sump skims that surface to and down the drain that nasty film goes!