How do you clean your Mbuna cichlid tanks?

[screaminleeman]

Hi,

I was wondering how everyone goes about cleaning their Mbuna Cichlid aquariums. I do weekly 50% water changes and vacume as much bottom as is accessible. I have a considerable amount of rockwork forming a network of caves in the tank that take up a considerable portion of the base of the tank. This leaves a much smaller accessible are for the gravel vac then any other tanks I have.

It would be a major league pain in the rump to try to remove the rockwork.

My water is crystal clear and I do not have "left over food: on the bottom, but I am sure the caves must be filled with poop! I am also starting to get the beginning of a reddish brown "algie" grown on my rockwork.

Please share your secrets to success in keeping your Mbuna tanks pristine.

 

[Blue2Fyre]

I do a 25% water change weekly. I use my magfloat to clean the front glass and I let the algae just grow. My mbuna love munching on it and I find I have less aggression when they are grazing through out the day. I can't reach the bottom of my tank very easily so I rarely vacuum. I do over filter quite a bit so the tank looks spotless. Since it's a tall tank I'm thinking about putting in a power head to flush out some of the rocks.

 

[screaminleeman]

I have had this tank set up for over 4 months, but I am starting to worry about the "lack" of visible waste.

I fill the tank during the water changes with a poly hose attached to the sink faucet. I have submerged the hose into the tank and power washed in the caves, but I still see amazingly extremely little fish waste being stirred up/ pushed out!

I am a newbie, so I don't know if this is the norm or not for these fish. The extreme majority of my other taks fish produce visible waste that lays on the bottom and is removed with a vacume siphon easily during water changes.

I do know that the Mbuna diet (No Meat) is different from any of my other fishtanks which all recieve a mixed diet. Does the meat make the "difference" in the amount of "waste" produced by the fish? I know this soulds creepy, but I do try to "smell" the Mbuna tank for odors, but it is not bad at all!

 

[navykorman]

I have a tall tank as well, i use power heads on diffrent levels of the tank. But between the rocks or the hard to reach areas i just use my hands and stir up the bottom a little. Not enough where all the sand goes everywhere but just enough to get all the poop to a corner then i vaccum it out.

 

[Blue2Fyre]

What kind of filtration do you have? Your filters may be picking up all the waste.

 

[stewnew]

in my old 55 gallon african tank, i had the same issues

in my experience, the poop etc collected in the dugouts made by the fish

i had lavarock with all kinds of nooks and couldnt ever get it all out but tried my best and did 25% water changes weekly

my solution was to increase water currents with powerheads and the bottom of the tank... wash it out and the filter will take care of it

i never had detectable nitrates though it only bothered me when i could see it... GROSS


last weekend though i upgraded my tank to a 75 gallon
im now overfiltering (powerfull sump and HOB) with strong water inputs as well as a koralia powerhead...

as of now my tank bottom is crystal clear but we'll see as the tank progresses..

If you try spreading the rockwork out a little more, you may be able to work out the little pockets of poop.. help the current work through the rockwork, and you can flush out the waste

 

[screaminleeman]

What kind of filtration do you have? Your filters may be picking up all the waste.

I have two AC 110's, one Hydrosponge 5, and two 4" airstones running in the tank. A standard 55G. I have never "messed" with the biomedia, but I have cleaned the sponges on both AC 110's twice in the four months when the flow rate starts to show a sign of slowing down.
They were pretty well soiled, but I am also using the activated charcoal bag on top of the sponges that may account for the lack of odor in the tank. (Not that that it a bad thing)

 

[screaminleeman]

in my old 55 gallon african tank, i had the same issues

in my experience, the poop etc collected in the dugouts made by the fish

i had lavarock with all kinds of nooks and couldnt ever get it all out but tried my best and did 25% water changes weekly

my solution was to increase water currents with powerheads and the bottom of the tank... wash it out and the filter will take care of it

i never had detectable nitrates though it only bothered me when i could see it... GROSS


last weekend though i upgraded my tank to a 75 gallon
im now overfiltering (powerfull sump and HOB) with strong water inputs as well as a koralia powerhead...

as of now my tank bottom is crystal clear but we'll see as the tank progresses..

If you try spreading the rockwork out a little more, you may be able to work out the little pockets of poop.. help the current work through the rockwork, and you can flush out the waste

My water parameters remain very good, zero ammonia and nitrites, and 15 - 25 ppm nitrates before the weekly water changes. How did your Mbunas react to the additional current running through the caves? I have considerable current from middle through the top with my two AC 110's, but not so much through their cave areas.

They do however give me the distinct impression that the HATE the power washing during water changes! Oh if fish could only speak!

 

[screaminleeman]

I have a tall tank as well, i use power heads on diffrent levels of the tank. But between the rocks or the hard to reach areas i just use my hands and stir up the bottom a little. Not enough where all the sand goes everywhere but just enough to get all the poop to a corner then i vaccum it out.

I do have an extra ocilating power filter head laying around at home. Since I am using African Cichlid subtrate (comprised mostly from crushed shells & corals) I should not have any issues with sturing up the bottom. Thanks I think that I will try to set it up tonight.

 

[spyke]

i just push the water around with my hands...so it really stirs up when i do water changes and that allows the filters to do some more work by sucking up all that gunk.

don't worry about the algae the mbuna will eat it, as well as make your rockwork look more naturale.