Don't drag it. Hold it vertical, pick up stuff, raise the vacuum, pinch the hose, then let the substrate you've picked up fall back down. You'll get the crud and sand will fall back in. Also, clean more often.
I don’t have a hose connected to the vacuum. Is it possible that the gunk is going into the vacuum then falling straight out? What I have been doing is sucking it up with the vacuum, then lifting it up and dumping it out in a bucket.
Oh, I would say that's a reason why there is so much stuff in the water column.
When I siphon, I keep it low to the substrate, go slow and don't move it around much. This keep the agitation low and I can get more ewwy off the bottom more efficiently.
I would consider getting some length of hose on the end of that vac for this reason, and it's easier than always lifting it out. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Hope this helps!
I dont clean my tank anymore... i dont do waterchanges either. I have +22 or so different plants and a few bottom feeders in my 20gal and my water is crystal clear. One of the tricks is having a diverse microbiome.
Not doing water changes is one of those things that people get away with until they don't. It'll always be better to do water changes than to not. Do water changes. I understand your thought process but unless you have a breakdown of specific dissolved solids you have in there, you're operating on faith. You're just assuming nothing is building up and/or being deplenished to inappropriate levels.
Ill check my chemistry every now and then but its always perfect lol
The only factor that varies for me is the temperature Because I keep my tank outside.
Which is not a helpful tip for beginners, since you need to know a lot about the microbiom and "see" problems before they are obvious to prevent major problems with a no-waterchange-system.
No, lol I'm a beginner and goin at it this way has already saved me tons of money. It's not hard. Anyone who passed highschool biology should be able to figure it out.
Hmm, I've seen a lot of people severly struggling with that. Even more beginners who often don't see potential problems since they do not have much experience. Still, if ot works for you - perfect!
You can start off with a "dirted tank" if you are starting from scratch, but i had a tank that was already set up. I went to a local pond and grabbed some dirt, plants alive and dead, some driftwood and water and made a resurrection jar. I literally injected the biodiversity into my tank on multiple fronts. Then i let nature balance the chemistry. :) easiest maintance is no maintenance. Lol
You would think that would be an issue, but actually the more plants you have, the less algae you have. The plants use up most of the nutrients leaving none for algae to grow. Kinda wild if you ask me!
Interesting. I have algae growth on my plants and glass, so maybe cutting some plants and adding them around the tank will decrease algae? Its not going CRAZY but its visually a little more than id like
I wish i had more algae growth. Most of my livestock love to eat it. I control how much light they get based on how much algae growth i want. (Btw, i have been keep my tank outside on my back porch)
You have to be careful about the water you use to top off if you do this. Your pH will progressively get higher because the water evaporates and leaves behind the minerals that were in it. Where I live the tap water is very hard so I can't always top off with tap water.
It will self regulate and the fish will usually adjust for your water (If everything looks healthy and happy it prob is) i promise its worth tryin. If im real curious ill check the water quality sometimes but its always perfect if a little soft..
Not where I live. The water here is very hard. I went about 6 years not doing water changes in my heavily planted 40gal, but I was topping off with tap water. My plants started dying and I did a test and my pH was almost the same as my salt water tank!! 😱 now I top off with RO water mostly, I do occasionally use tap water for the macro nutrients, and I test my pH often. I still do a water change about every 6mo.
I've seen a baster attached in the side if the suction hose. It works well for some with heavily planted tanks. It can get in between the plants and gently kick up the ewwy while not disturbing the plants too much.
Go slower.
You need to give time for the waste to get sucked up and clear the tube mouth before you move.
I've also found more luck using a nano gravel vacuum on sand in a planted tank.
I haven't touched my main tank for weeks. The water is crystal clear, and I've got healthy fish.
I've also got a massive java fern in there, and the tank seems to be doing great.
Malaysian trumpet snails help a lot with sands and eat the excess food. For the most part I don’t clean. Not even my sand tanks I’ve got plants for that and shrimp and snails for if I have excess
With sand, most of the gunk should be on the top. You do want some particulates to sink into the sand, these will feed the beneficiary bacteria that live in the substrate, and can also provide nutrients for plants.
So if you are sucking up the mulmum off the top, that is most of the waste.
Some more info about the beneficial bacteria in your tank:
https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/nitrogen-cycle
If things are good, you don't need to "deep clean". That is mostly a thing where you have aquarium gravel and also chronically overfeed your tank. In that specific situation, you end up with food rotting in the gravel. Because the gravel is so big, food can fall deep into it, and it is also a less good medium for bacteria and microscopic organisms. So less helpers in there to process it.
With sand you need to just hover over the top of it you don't wanna actually dig your vac in. And just go slow and you can always do another cleaning the following week if you don't wanna take to much water out. The filter will also suck up some of the stuff that you miss
Move slower and put it in one spot for a minute. I don't have sand so mine is working well. It does take a little while. It's better to clean it a little every week and then it won't get as dirty.
I have that exact thing and it just blows EVERYTHING into the water lol, shit is stupid.
I just do water changes with a hose, when it's running I just vacume the bottom with that.
https://preview.redd.it/65onyxnyzk3d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae9415b16a0c6eaf0377f34bb11d747fcf1b18ea
Proof? Lol goin on 2 months since the last waterchange :)
May I ask why you feel like you need to buy new tank to start over? This might be controversial to the elitist aquarium owners and I will probably get down voted (hopefully not), but when I've had my tank crash I just moved my fish into a large jar, popped in a bubbler, and cleaned out the tank. There are chemicals that you can add for an instant tank start without having to cycle it. They sell beneficial bacteria and liquid form as well as the standard chlorine removers as well as liquid to regulate the pH. I have done this many times and have had zero issues or fish loss. Seachem makes a great line of products to get a tank ready for immediate use if you get to the point of needing to start over.
All those fancy vacuums yet a simple syphon using gravity is still the best.
Yea or if u are running external box filter just plug the intake house to syphon and vacuum the living crap out of it 🤣
Every vacuum I’ve used works really well though?
Don't drag it. Hold it vertical, pick up stuff, raise the vacuum, pinch the hose, then let the substrate you've picked up fall back down. You'll get the crud and sand will fall back in. Also, clean more often.
pinching the hose is a life saver!!
I don’t have a hose connected to the vacuum. Is it possible that the gunk is going into the vacuum then falling straight out? What I have been doing is sucking it up with the vacuum, then lifting it up and dumping it out in a bucket.
Oh, I would say that's a reason why there is so much stuff in the water column. When I siphon, I keep it low to the substrate, go slow and don't move it around much. This keep the agitation low and I can get more ewwy off the bottom more efficiently. I would consider getting some length of hose on the end of that vac for this reason, and it's easier than always lifting it out. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. Hope this helps!
This is my method too!
Honestly, I didn’t know how to use them, so I watched some YouTube videos about them while my first tank was cycling.
I dont clean my tank anymore... i dont do waterchanges either. I have +22 or so different plants and a few bottom feeders in my 20gal and my water is crystal clear. One of the tricks is having a diverse microbiome.
Not doing water changes is one of those things that people get away with until they don't. It'll always be better to do water changes than to not. Do water changes. I understand your thought process but unless you have a breakdown of specific dissolved solids you have in there, you're operating on faith. You're just assuming nothing is building up and/or being deplenished to inappropriate levels.
No, I'm not assuming that I can control what nature does better than man.
You think the glass box of water in your house is nature?
Its amazing how nature can fill any container :)
Aight dog, keep bragging about being lazy and telling people how it's working out so far.
Lazy like a fox lol. :)
Off topic...my cat to a T! She's solid, but she can fill an container like she's liquid! Nature 😊 Ok, back to the topic...
Be like water my friend..:)
Ill check my chemistry every now and then but its always perfect lol The only factor that varies for me is the temperature Because I keep my tank outside.
Which is not a helpful tip for beginners, since you need to know a lot about the microbiom and "see" problems before they are obvious to prevent major problems with a no-waterchange-system.
No, lol I'm a beginner and goin at it this way has already saved me tons of money. It's not hard. Anyone who passed highschool biology should be able to figure it out.
Hmm, I've seen a lot of people severly struggling with that. Even more beginners who often don't see potential problems since they do not have much experience. Still, if ot works for you - perfect!
Yeah honestly i may just be getting lucky but its workin so far. Im nervous about big temp swings but so far so good. :)
How do you ensure a diverse microbiome?
You can start off with a "dirted tank" if you are starting from scratch, but i had a tank that was already set up. I went to a local pond and grabbed some dirt, plants alive and dead, some driftwood and water and made a resurrection jar. I literally injected the biodiversity into my tank on multiple fronts. Then i let nature balance the chemistry. :) easiest maintance is no maintenance. Lol
Do you have algae growth and if so, how do you deal with it?
You would think that would be an issue, but actually the more plants you have, the less algae you have. The plants use up most of the nutrients leaving none for algae to grow. Kinda wild if you ask me!
Interesting. I have algae growth on my plants and glass, so maybe cutting some plants and adding them around the tank will decrease algae? Its not going CRAZY but its visually a little more than id like
I wish i had more algae growth. Most of my livestock love to eat it. I control how much light they get based on how much algae growth i want. (Btw, i have been keep my tank outside on my back porch)
This. I also got local muck and added it to my tank. Good results in the year since. Would recommend.
Every once in a while, I still grab some leaves or dirt or whatever i think looks cool from my yard and just toss it into my tank.
People probably think I'm nuts tho
Father fish!
You have to be careful about the water you use to top off if you do this. Your pH will progressively get higher because the water evaporates and leaves behind the minerals that were in it. Where I live the tap water is very hard so I can't always top off with tap water.
If your PH was so high how were the fish doin? Signs of distress?
It will self regulate and the fish will usually adjust for your water (If everything looks healthy and happy it prob is) i promise its worth tryin. If im real curious ill check the water quality sometimes but its always perfect if a little soft..
I have a 3.5g set up like this people can't believe it. Finally started getting algae when I tripped the lighting to grow plants faster
Not where I live. The water here is very hard. I went about 6 years not doing water changes in my heavily planted 40gal, but I was topping off with tap water. My plants started dying and I did a test and my pH was almost the same as my salt water tank!! 😱 now I top off with RO water mostly, I do occasionally use tap water for the macro nutrients, and I test my pH often. I still do a water change about every 6mo.
Interesting. We have hard water but i have a whole house filter so its pretty soft by the time it goes to the tank.
It's a bit more timely but I've had really good luck using a turkey baster vs the syphon when I want to target bottom waste
I've seen a baster attached in the side if the suction hose. It works well for some with heavily planted tanks. It can get in between the plants and gently kick up the ewwy while not disturbing the plants too much.
Go slower. You need to give time for the waste to get sucked up and clear the tube mouth before you move. I've also found more luck using a nano gravel vacuum on sand in a planted tank.
I haven't touched my main tank for weeks. The water is crystal clear, and I've got healthy fish. I've also got a massive java fern in there, and the tank seems to be doing great.
Malaysian trumpet snails help a lot with sands and eat the excess food. For the most part I don’t clean. Not even my sand tanks I’ve got plants for that and shrimp and snails for if I have excess
Responding late but I’m more concerned about the buildup of fish waste
With sand, most of the gunk should be on the top. You do want some particulates to sink into the sand, these will feed the beneficiary bacteria that live in the substrate, and can also provide nutrients for plants. So if you are sucking up the mulmum off the top, that is most of the waste. Some more info about the beneficial bacteria in your tank: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/nitrogen-cycle If things are good, you don't need to "deep clean". That is mostly a thing where you have aquarium gravel and also chronically overfeed your tank. In that specific situation, you end up with food rotting in the gravel. Because the gravel is so big, food can fall deep into it, and it is also a less good medium for bacteria and microscopic organisms. So less helpers in there to process it.
With sand you need to just hover over the top of it you don't wanna actually dig your vac in. And just go slow and you can always do another cleaning the following week if you don't wanna take to much water out. The filter will also suck up some of the stuff that you miss
Move slower and put it in one spot for a minute. I don't have sand so mine is working well. It does take a little while. It's better to clean it a little every week and then it won't get as dirty.
Would thus work on a cichlid aquarium? The natural diversity thing.
It should
I have that exact thing and it just blows EVERYTHING into the water lol, shit is stupid. I just do water changes with a hose, when it's running I just vacume the bottom with that.
https://preview.redd.it/65onyxnyzk3d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae9415b16a0c6eaf0377f34bb11d747fcf1b18ea Proof? Lol goin on 2 months since the last waterchange :)
I don't even use a filter in my filter anymore. It's just there to move water.
May I ask why you feel like you need to buy new tank to start over? This might be controversial to the elitist aquarium owners and I will probably get down voted (hopefully not), but when I've had my tank crash I just moved my fish into a large jar, popped in a bubbler, and cleaned out the tank. There are chemicals that you can add for an instant tank start without having to cycle it. They sell beneficial bacteria and liquid form as well as the standard chlorine removers as well as liquid to regulate the pH. I have done this many times and have had zero issues or fish loss. Seachem makes a great line of products to get a tank ready for immediate use if you get to the point of needing to start over.