Big structures Big problems

[shoefreak03]

dont mean to derail but was wondering if it was safe to do the below which is somewhat similar to the question about taking out all the fishes to do a cleaning.

been wanting to take out all my fish out of the tank and do 100% water change (reason is to lower the nitrate level down, tried everything, 2x 50% water change weekly and even added plants).

plan is take all fish out, remove all water, refill tank with new water, and then put the fishes back into the tank. all the filter will be left alone so it will be established. if i do this, would i have to re-cycle the tank again or can i just put the fishes back in once acclum. the fishes to the same water (tap pH comes out =7PH and right now the tank water is -7PH).

 

[Tanyoberu]

When I do my cleaning like this, I keep the filters dirty, but I also keep a good portion of their water. 55 gallon buckets are good for this. I do not try to get rid of the biological set-up as much as I'm trying to remove unsightly debris, algae, hood and mineral deposits.

I then do a thorough cleaning of the gravel, the rocks and the ornaments with the aquarium water. I rinse off my driftwood and start adding the old water back. In all, I probably get to recycle 50% of the water.

That is for my brackish tank. But I had oscars and other hardy fish where I'd just do 100% changes annually (keeping the dirty filter) and they would do just fine. So I guess it would really depend on the hardiness of your fish as well.

 

[Booger]

Good luck finding any detritus in my tank. 3600 GPH + bare bottom = no problem. Sand, gravel, and extensive decorations are so over rated.

 

[Kenta]

dont mean to derail but was wondering if it was safe to do the below which is somewhat similar to the question about taking out all the fishes to do a cleaning.

been wanting to take out all my fish out of the tank and do 100% water change (reason is to lower the nitrate level down, tried everything, 2x 50% water change weekly and even added plants).

plan is take all fish out, remove all water, refill tank with new water, and then put the fishes back into the tank. all the filter will be left alone so it will be established. if i do this, would i have to re-cycle the tank again or can i just put the fishes back in once acclum. the fishes to the same water (tap pH comes out =7PH and right now the tank water is -7PH).

You need to find the cause of the nitrates in the first place. Are you overstocked? or do you feed excessive amounts? Taking the fish out every week would be a PITA and stressful to them.

Sand, gravel, and extensive decorations are so over rated.

lol, well, some people like to have an aquarium thats nice to look at, not a clear box with fish in it, but thats all a matter of preference

 

[shoefreak03]

You need to find the cause of the nitrates in the first place. Are you overstocked? or do you feed excessive amounts? Taking the fish out every week would be a PITA and stressful to them.

i think the problem was the tank was overstock before, ammonia and nitrite was always good at zero, just the byproduct nitrate was getting high (guess my filteration systems is doing its job which is a good thing). now all i have in there is 7 dats majority of them are 10inches and 2 from 5-7". i don't consider them sensative fish but dont think they are hardy either. the tank i am doing this to is 135g. just wanted to make sure i get this done before my new smaller tig is bigger so i can put them in together.

Good luck finding any detritus in my tank. 3600 GPH + bare bottom = no problem. Sand, gravel, and extensive decorations are so over rated.

i actually consider that a nice looking tank, but need to put on a background so it isnt so clear. all my tanks are barebottom too, ease of cleaning but this is a whole different topic.

 

[gomezladdams]

Im planning an ugj setup for my 125 african tank for just that reason planning lots of rocks