Whats the better way for removing fish waste from my aquarium?

[philipraposo1982]

Currently i have my 75g with the fx6 on there. 1 Male GT approx 7"

I have the outlet in the center along with the inlet. The majority of the fish poop doesn't get taken into the filter, just not enough flow i guess. My question is whats the best way to deal with this.

I currently do weekly water changes upwards of 75% and during this time i siphon all the poop out of the aquarium. Is this better than adding a circulation pump and having it go to the filter? or is the poop sitting in the tank for the week not healthy.

I should note that his poops stay solid form and don't breakdown. Also, nitrates never really exceed 5ppm at most maybe 7-8ppm . This is of course using a liquid test kit.

 

[duanes]

Always consider, if stuff gets sucked into a filter, its not really out of the tank, just out of sight.
In the tanks I had where lots of detritus build up, I always did more frequent, yet less voluminous water changes. Sometimes whenever I'd sit in the front of the tank, I'd end up doing a 20% water change to remove gunk.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Another consideration might be to change the diet Fish generally excrete most of their nitrogenous waste through the gills in the form of urine. I've seen figures of well over 75%.

Most of the feces is indigestible matter in the food such as bone, ash, or fiber. (It of course includes some nitrogen and dead cells from inside the fish as well.) Terrestrial plants might also be indigestible depending on the species.

 

[skjl47]

if stuff gets sucked into a filter, its not really out of the tank, just out of sight.

excrete most of their nitrogenous waste through the gills in the form of urine.

Hello; These comments are spot on. The tanks are closed systems. At least the vast majority. I guess a drip system is in a small way just a bit open in that there is a constant inflow and out flow. I do not know the volume of these systems but even if 100% a day would not equal a fraction of a natural system.

Picture if you will the old in tank filters. A box in a corner that simply traps some detritus. A sump or canister or HOB puts the box outside the tank but they are still part of a closed system.

I get that most, including myself, do not want to see the detritus so make arrangements to get it out of sight. These are only cosmetic and the water conditions are not improved with the stuff in a filter.

Change the water and the part of the filter media designed to trap detritus on a regular basis. I do not gently rinse it in tank water as is often suggested. I throw it out and replace with new. The bulk of the biological filtration, where the beneficial bacteria (bb) form colonies, should be after this detritus trapping media so it does not get so clogged up. That biological media might get a gentle rinsing from time to time to clear it out.
The bb colonies are somewhat "sticky" in that they are reported to form a bio-film which does not rinse away so easy.
My take anyway.

 

[jaws7777]

Check out RD's thread "probiotics" in the health section. Ridx works great in breaking down solids

 

[souzie]

I second probiotics.

And I net out poop every day LOL

 

[esoxlucius]

1. A good turnover rate.
2. Strategically placed powerheads directing flow at your outlet.
3. A bare bottom tank.

These three measures working alongside each other will totally eliminate your problem. As already mentioned though it would be wise to change your mechanical filtration a bit more often if you do it this way.