heavily planted tanks and cleaning

[kalebjarrod]

i am looking for tips on cleaning a heavily planted tank

what does everyone else use to clean the gravel etc in those tight place without destroying your plants with your vac?

or gravel imbetween the glass and driftwood? etc etc etc

thanks all

[Tryhard]

Try introducing some cory cats - will very quickly clean everything on the bottem of your tank.

[luvfishies]

I use a VERY skinny gravel vac, and also just hover it over the dense areas to get the loose poopies etc up. You don't want to be digging deep in a heavily planted tank, anyways.

[kalebjarrod]

thanks for the tips

i think i will try the corys and a thinner vac

[jwight]

Take the graveol vacuum off after you have started the syphon. This is much greater power and will get anything from the gravel without damaging plants however it can suck up gravel and sand so you have to keep it a small distance above the gravel. And away from the discus!!

[DiscusMad]

use sand so the bigger parts of waste will not get traped in the gravel

[Proteus]

ditto to the sand suggestion...

every one of my tanks has pool filter sand... easy to maintain, and looks great

[DiscusMad]

I'm thinking on trying sand blasting sand its very white or what i found at good old bunnings the other day is called Sydney sand and its about $4.95 a 5kg bag

[Proteus]

go to a pool shop, and get some filter sand.

it is inert, and doesnt need much cleaning.

sand from sand blasting may contain OTHER materials, and is very small, so it compacts very tight. Sydney sand, if it is river sand is quite dark when wet (I have 50kg's of it in the garage)

[axelfaz]

most shops sell aqutic sand I picked up 15kg for 21.95 its called silver white.looks very nice.

[jim]

I already have normal graval in my tank...is it ok to fill it up with filter sand??

I also heard that, if you use very fine gravel. You can not get any water movement in the gravel, and so good bacteria won't be able to live in gravel. Is that true??

[Proteus]

axel..... seriously, go to a pool store...

u been ripped

they sell 20kg bags of cleaned filter sand for between $8 - $15 depending on the store

[Proteus]

some sand pics...

[jim]

That's it....I am gong to my local poor store this weekend...

[jim]

Hi Proteus,

How long you have these sand gravel...looks very clean..Hope won't get dark and trap waste as time goes..How do you clean it?...Thanks

[Proteus]

I have got over 260kg of sand in my tanks at the moment (spread over 5-6 big tanks). I have been using the same sand in some for over a year, and they only get a light vac 1-2 times a week max (I have the water flow set so it accumulates in one corner)

Cleaning has never been easier, just hover the vac hose an inch or so above the sand, and the poop vanishes. After a while I do get some sand build up in the bucket, all I do is clean it (rinse in aged water) and put it back in the tank wherever the level may be low from water flow or digging.

In the open areas I occassionally run the tongs through it to move it around a bit and to keep it turned over, but that is just a preference thing. It doesnt compact, yet it is heavy enough not to move too much.

[axelfaz]

thanks proteus i'll have to check it out. :D

Where are the stones from?

[Proteus]

Flower Power (lucky Stones) $1 each, pick your own... (I usually spend 2 hours down there, go through up to 500 stones to find what I want)

Thanks for the response. Please can you be more specific on location and store name.

[Proteus]

Store Name = Flower Power
Locations = Throughout NSW

http://www.flowerpower.com.au/locations.html

[Mattzilla]

hey proteus....do you have to clean the stones before putting them into your tank??? like boil them or something????

[Proteus]

I just rinse them, and give them a scrub

They are all inert, so they wont affect the water chemistry, and they have a good range just down the road (Taren Point).

[kalebjarrod]

Flower Power are a chain of retail nurserys over sydney

i think they have outlets in

taren point
warriewood
glenhaven
prospect
Bonds? is that a surburb or not?


and there are a couple of others i can't think of

[goldenpigeon]

hey proteus is that filter sand good for growing plants in? is it an ideal substrate?

[Proteus]

My plants thrive... and I only ever use root tabs for ferts, once every 6 months or so.

[Fishpimpin73]

All I ever do to "clean" my planteds is run the vac above the gravel.

Thousands of MTS workers are there to keep things turned and help prevent anaerobic spots :wink:

I have been thinking of mixing Eco Complete and Pool Sand for my next planted venture.

[kalebjarrod]

thats is what i want to do too pimp!

but eco complete is a little harder to find in oz

i used a clay based kitty litter in my last tank covered with pool sand :wink:

[Proteus]

I have been told by several reputable people that clay based kitty litter is one of the best planted substrates around, just need something on top to keep it in place... and like the sand, it is inert as well...

[kalebjarrod]

it has worked well but again is void of any fert unlike ecocomplete

so it does retain an excellent cation exchange capacity, just doesn't have anything to exchange :wink:

[DR.V]

nice looking tank