I see pics of spectacular tanks, rock piles, driftwood and lots of plants. How on earth do you vacuum fish poo?
Cleaning an elaborate tank
- Thread starter Kris P Bacon
- Start date
Heavily planted tanks don't need as much poo removal, with rock piles and other decor I either just move them a little or vac beneath them, using the suction to pull out any debris
Those tanks may also have a good amount of water circulation from pumps and powerheads which keeps solid waste material from collecting and building up around the decor.
Agreed. You want to put jets low in the water column to ensure that waste is being moved toward filter intakes.
I have a 29 G HOB filter. I can pick up a used 60 gallon for 20$. What is the best way to filter it?
Get yourself the biggest Aquaclear brand power filter that you can afford.What types of fish do you intend to keep in there?
Get a Eheim 2217. I would have an aquaclear HOB on it as well. If you have a carpeted tank, then you obviously do not vacuum. The same applies to a tankwoth sand. Gravel substrate is the only thing that can be vacuumed.
As already mentioned, you can get away with no vacuuming at all if you have powerheads strategically placed giving you good circulation. I have a jebao RW20 in one of my 180's. It's a beast even on its lowest setting. I have it on timer to come on at one hour intervals during the day (off at night). I never vacuum that tank now, no debris ever collects.
However, my powerhead would not be suitable if I had lots of plants and such, the flow would destroy them. You need to bear this in mind when choosing powerheads. Also, not all fish like the heavy flow that some of the more powerful powerheads give. In short, you need a powerhead that's just good enough at circulating the water to rid your tank of crud but not too powerful that it looks like a hurricanes going on in your tank.
However, my powerhead would not be suitable if I had lots of plants and such, the flow would destroy them. You need to bear this in mind when choosing powerheads. Also, not all fish like the heavy flow that some of the more powerful powerheads give. In short, you need a powerhead that's just good enough at circulating the water to rid your tank of crud but not too powerful that it looks like a hurricanes going on in your tank.
A good hang on filter should be able to handle that bio load.