How to keep your tank MOSTLY clean

Hi all,

i have an idea and its not because im lazy but its because my tank always never looks nice and clean its very hard to get it there with all the fish poop floating to the bottom of the tank. Thus what if we wer to disturb the bottom of the tank (on a timer) so the poop floats around and can be sucked into the filter?

Idea?

Very quick drawing..





My main reason for wanting to do this is cuz i always have poop on the bottom and with the palm peat fibers its hard to keep the bottom clean...

Will this work?

Thanks
Freaksta

 

In theory this should work. The only problem is you would need to make sure that the powerhead is not so strong that is disturbs the gravel as well, and thereby uncovering your PFP.

 

I think that could work, but would it be a permanent installation within the tank? And what about plant disturbance?

 

I think Freaksa would have it as a permanent installation... but only have it turning on once or twice during the course of the day with a timer. Yes, it is a good idea... jsut need to make sure that the pump isn't going to destroy the entire scape.

 

It may work if you used a pond pump, it has an adjustable flow rate so you can regulate how much water movement you want. But with a spray bar you are going to need a very strong pressure of water going into the bar so that it will force the water out of the holes. Another problem may be all the bottom feeders.

 

if you want to keep poo off the bottom then no need for a pond pump!!

get a powerhead. the one the guys use for marines. this also depens on what fish you have. some fish do not tolerate flow while other will handle it.

i think the lowest l/hr you will find is from a SEIO which is 1000/lhr. which is not much. i have one now actually.

this you can point in any direction you want, ideally on the bank band pointing towards the fron pain. this will cause random flow and allow poo to get blown up and not settle. but as i said, this idea will not work with a heavily planted setup.

 

Freaksa I did the same setup and in the beginning it work and then as the plants grew the current was to strong so I had to drill more holes in my bar

 

Cool thanks, will give it a try then! I have a sprare powerhead so now i need to just get a piece of pipe or something along those lines!

 

Stupid question here but why don't you put the spay bar just above the sand becayse if you pump is just to stong it will mess up your whole setup.... if you put the spray bar at the bottem just above the sand it will lift the "poo" up and it should not disturb the sand much.

 

if you slope the sand high at the back low in front, you wont need a strong current

 

Can't you just add some fish that will disturb the debris on the bottom of the tank?
I've never had these sort of issues with Cories and Loaches in my tanks

 

or you can stop being a lazy ass get suck up the fishcrap when you do a water change

 

But sucking up the fish poop when you do water changes also sucks up the sand. I've tried that when I had no bottom-feeders.

 

ummmm... then you are doing it wrong

 

I agree.. I never suck up my sand... and mine is VERY FINE

 

What are you using to suck up the debris then?
Because if I use an ordinary pipe that I siphon with, then I get sand in my bucket.
And if I use a gravel vac then I get uprooted plants and I can't reach the spots between the plants or rocks.

So the fish still seem like one of the easier methods.

 

normal 22mm hard PVC pipe with a loooooooooooooooooooong hose to the garden

 

But Henk we do not water our gardens with our 1800L tanks

 

everything grows so well with fishcrap i even backwash my koipond into the garden

 

That 22mm diameter could be the key. I'm using half inch transparent tubing.