filter and cleaning

[jack-knife]

Hi everyone,
So my question is this, i have a 110 gal set up with and overflow with the return line on the same side. The overflow is probably only about 6 gal and its in the middle of one side. the only filtration i have is the overflow with a lifeguard canister filter system setup in line, but i have no bottom filtration and the gravel gets very dirty very fast. anyone have an easy or not to expensive suggestion on how i can get some some filtration on the bottom to keep it cleaner??
thanks, your help will make my Gar very happy.

 

[justonemoretank]

Do you own a gravel vacuum? They cost about ten or fifteen bucks and will siphon the poo out of the gravel. There are fancy ones available, but the basic model, which works by siphon, is quite effective at removing poo.

 

[jack-knife]

ya i have one but it just dose not seam to do the trick?

 

[justonemoretank]

Hmmm... you do have quite a bit of gravel. Are you getting a lot of suction from the siphon? You might want to switch to one of the ones you hook to the faucet if you're not. I have never used one of those, but have heard they can fix the problem. Are you allowing a good bit of height between the tank bottom where you're vacuuming and the other end of the tube? I get pretty good suction with at least two feet between the two ends.

 

[bubbles21476]

I have two 4 inch round air disks under the gravel where the messy stuff tends to accumulate. The air moves the water column up and the poop and left over matter so that the filters can get it. I like the idea of upward water movement as it also creates currents in the water and helps with oxygenation. I still have to vacuum the substrate but I keep very little on the bottom of the tank as the catfish tend to move it around quite a bit.

 

[jack-knife]

Thank you for your help, i will try it out and go from there.