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| FAQs on Cleaning Freshwater Systems Related Articles: Freshwater Algae &
Control, Tips for Beginners, pH,
alkalinity, acidity, Treating Tap Water, Freshwater
Aquarium Water Quality,
Related FAQs: Freshwater Maintenance 1,
Freshwater Maintenance 2,
Freshwater Aquarium
Water Quality, Treating Tap Water for
Aquarium Use, pH, Alkalinity, Acidity, Freshwater
Algae Control, Algae Control, Foods,
Feeding, Aquatic Nutrition, Disease,
Using live plants can greatly reduce maintenance.
Red Foxtail, Myriophyllum.
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How to clean a very dirty 120
gallon without filling it. 3/12/08
Hello,
First of all, i love the site. Very valuable information available. Anyways, i
just have one quick question. Recently, i was given a 120 gallon tank. My friend
had given it to me as he was moving. So, he had it filled with only about 40
gallons of water, and had three different types of frogs, turtles, newts, some
kind of fish, and crazy amounts of plants. Long story short, he didn't really
clean it before giving it to me. (filter and all) I really want to start a new
African Cichlid tank in it and i would love to thoroughly clean it. Any
suggestions? He said i might be better off using his substrate, and keeping the
filter dirty for cycling purposes. It doesn't seem rational to me. There is a
lot of algae built up on the sides, and i would like to scrub it before adding
water. Not really sure how to go about this. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. You guys rock. Thanks for your time. =)Sincerely, Jasin
<Cleaning a used tank isn't terribly difficult, but the most important things
are these: [a] Don't use water so hot it will crack that glass. Trust me, I've
done this! [b] If you use anything toxic, like washing-up liquid, rinse
thoroughly. Better yet, use something non-toxic or easily degradable. Vinegar or
lemon juice, for example, work well for removing limescale, and hydrogen
peroxide is good for sanitising things. Whether or not you re-use the substrate
is a matter of personal preference. The risk of diseases surviving a wash in
hot, soapy water are low, and if you let the substrate air dry for a day or two
before use, that helps even more. Realistically, it's your new livestock that
are more likely to bring in diseases. On the other hand, if the gravel is so
mucky that cleaning it would take a long time, through it into the garden (good
for soil drainage!) and buy some more. If you're after Rift Valley cichlids for
example, then coral sand would be appropriate, and for that to work best as a
buffer it needs to be clean and fresh. Cheers, Neale.>
Minerals, cleaning from a
glass tank 2/22/08
I was wondering what the easiest way to remove the white minerals that
accumulate on my fish tank by my filter and also in back?
Thanks,
Brandon
<A cloth dipped in hot water should do the trick. If the minerals are really
thick, dabbing with vinegar or lemon juice can be used, but try not to get too
much in the aquarium. In the long term: figure out why water is drying out on
this bits. Usually the white stuff (lime) appears where there is splashing or
dribbling; the bits immersed in water should be lime-free. Cheers, Neale.>
Vinegar + Water + Oxygen =??? FW microbial
culture 11/07/07
Hi;
I bought a 70 gallon tank a while ago, used. Scrubbed all the hard stains off it
with white vinegar, then did my best to rinse it out with water. Must not have
done a good enough job.
<Mmm... doubtful... Vinegar, the simplest organic acid... Acetic, solubilizes,
rinses freely with water>
I filled the tank half full with water, ended up letting it sit because I
realized I didn't know how to use the oldest looking Fluval canister filter I've
ever seen in my life (had a leak too, so I bought a new 305). Well some white
slimy growth started appearing free floating in my water. Rather puzzling since
none of my Internet searches gave me much of anything other than fungus that
grows on fish and food, neither of which are in my tank. I took out 90% of the
water, replaced it, still had this stuff in there. So I hooked up two filters
and let them have at it. Couple of days and hardly anything was left in the
water. Did a chemical check, things looked fine (aside from horrendously hard
water and a pH of 8.x.... tap water) Got a little curious, put my flying fox in
there (all prepared
to take him out if things looked funny) to my surprise he nibbled on a bit of
the white stuff, thought about it, then raced around gobbling up as much of it
as he could find. Nothing was left in the span of 20 minutes. He had no change
in behaviour after that. color was fine, alert and happy my RB shark wasn't
chasing him. Couple of days went by, he still looked good. Eating, swimming, and
staking out territory (which was quickly lost to the RB shark later)
So that was that. I never learned what it was, but I guess it tasted awfully
good.
<Seems so>
Now, recently, I've been playing with vinegar again in a small 5 gallon tank
with a DIY sponge filter and peat moss bag. 6 tablespoons of white vinegar to 5
gallons water, let sit for two days, then feel the thick slime on the walls.
Kinda "ew". I still want to know what this stuff is. pH is sitting around 6.8 .
I don't know if its the same since its not free floating. Nor do I want to test
it with any of my fish. Wonder if it will grow on an agar solution (got some
laying around).
<Interesting speculation...>
I did manage to come across something called "Mother of vinegar". appearance
isn't the same, but its a Bacteria that turns alcohol into vinegar and is
supposedly harmless if eaten. (can think of a few people I might want to do that
to) however it doesn't "look" quite the same.
Well that's about all I can think of.
Side note; the tank has been up and running for 1.5 months, everyone is healthy
and happy, in crystal clear "tea" colored waters (from the peat moss which has
boosted my plant growth by double!). Bottled water (pre aged with peat, etc)
will be added gradually to lower ph in the near future. Also hoping that my
tetras will stop flirting and finally produce something before the males get a
complex.
Thank you for your time!
Cera
<CH3COOH is a good feeder stock in some situations... for decomposers... likely
bacteria and/or fungi here... in dilute solution... not an avid, "strong" proton
donor... Thanks for sending this along. Bob Fenner> Cleaning My Substrate, FW
8/19/07
Hello there, hello here, hello everywhere! A question pls...i have 3-4" of
gravel & sand mixed. How deep should i vacuum? Sorry but i tried reading &
looking for it, but been doin so much reading on your website, that i cant
anymore, my eyes are killing & got a bit of a headache! Thanks in advance.
Ghulam
<Hello Ghulam! Cleaning gravel shouldn't be difficult. In fact, you shouldn't
need to do it very often. Siphon across the top of the gravel when you do each
water change (once a week, ideally) and make sure you suck away all the obvious
dirt (like dead plant leaves, uneaten food, fish faeces). If you need to, stir
the gravel with a pencil, bamboo cane or something similar. Malayan livebearing
snails (Melanoides spp.) are excellent gravel/sand cleaners, and prevent anoxic
decay from happening. Plants also "clean" the substrate indirectly, by passing
oxygen into the substrate (via their roots) and by absorbing the products of
bacterial decay. If you have plants in an aquarium, you really shouldn't stir or
move the gravel at all -- plants HATE having their roots moved! Hope this helps.
Neale>
Tank is Too Clean 3/30/07
I have no idea what is going on. I cleaned my tank a month ago and two
weeks after the water turned foggy. So I washed everything in the tank filled
it with new water. now three days ago, the water turned muggy again and my
smaller angel fish tail is slightly torn along with her fins and she has white
stuff on her eyes like cataracts. Im going to put her into a separate tank put
sea salt into it and aqua plus, what else could I do?
< When you cleaned the tank a month ago you did too good a job. You removed all
the good bacteria that breaks down the fish waste. The foggy water is an ammonia
spike. This is deadly to fish. If it doesn't kill them outright then they get
bacterial infections such as the one you are witnessing. In the separate tank
treat the angelfish with Nitrofuranace. In the main tank add Bio-Spira from
Marineland to the bacteria up and going again.-Chuck>
Cleaning a Bare Tank 9/6/06
Hi, sorry to bother you on your e-mail account, but I cant find the
answer that I am looking for. If my tank is empty, and I clean the inside
of the walls with vinegar to get the scum or deposits off, do I need to do
anything special with the tank afterwards so when I fill it up and begin
cycling it, it doesn't kill the fish? I used white vinegar and took an
algae scrubber pad and scrubbed on the inside of the walls. I just need to
know if this is going to affect the fish later on. I will rinse it out with
warm water and all, but just needed to know if it will ever cause any
damage. Thank you for your time, Kyle.
< Fill the tank up outside with clean water and let it sit for a few days.
Get yourself some single edged razor blades from the paint dept of the local
hardware store. With the tank full of water you should scrap down the
calcium build up from the inside glass. After soaking for a few days it will
become softer and easier to scrub off.-Chuck>
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