# tank cleaning question



## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

I have a 55g that is loaded with a lot a large rock. Most of the tank bottom is covered with it and its built up at least half way up the tank. there are tons of caves an such. My question is this. How often would I have to take out all that rock to clean the gravel under it? I large portion of that gravel ends up pilled up at the front of the tank from the fish digging it out though.

Lately after doing water changes there is always a fairly high level of nitrite in the tank. I'm assuming its from all the nasty stuff under thoughs rocks getting stirred up when I put the water back in? I treat it with a larger dose of prime and it takes care of it. The amonia levels and everthing else seem fine. The nitrite only spikes like this when I clean the tank.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

i have a lot of rock and rather that disasemble i take a hand held power head and blow all the rubbish out into the open water so that it gets sucked in by the filter.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I had a similar dilemma, but it never got to the point where I had nitrite. If you truly mean nitrite, not 
nitrate, then that is a big concern. You probably have detritus built up in dead zones devoid of oxygen 
and the de-nitrification process has begun. To answer your question, once per month, no longer.

I think a better answer is a redesign of the aquascape in order to discourage the buildup and make it 
easier to clean. Sometimes a compromise has to be made between how we want the tank to look 
and ease of maintenance.

I ended up using less rocks while getting creative about how I stacked them so as to leave plenty of 
territory for the fish and access to tank floor space for cleaning. I make sure I can get a siphon hose 
to every area of the tank so I can siphon thoroughly. You'll end up with fewer rocks, but it's a good 
trade off.

I'd go about the change by doing a small area at a time over a couple of weeks. If you try to do it all at 
once, you could have a very bad environment for the fish for a while. You might also reduce the 
amount of gravel, if you can. Leave enough to satisfy the digging instinct, but no more. When I add 
sand to a tank, I avoid putting any in and around the rocks where it's not seen anyway.

HTH


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

prov356 said:


> I had a similar dilemma, but it never got to the point where I had nitrite. If you truly mean nitrite, not
> nitrate, then that is a big concern. You probably have detritus built up in dead zones devoid of oxygen
> and the de-nitrification process has begun. To answer your question, once per month, no longer.
> 
> ...


but if you blow it all out with a power head....how can this be a dilemma??


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Blowing it out with a powerhead is not always possible depending on how the rocks are stacked and
how deep the gravel is. Blowing it out works for some setups, but not all. You've got to be able to get to 
the gunk with the stream of water. A lot of rocks and a lot of gravel like he describes will make it difficult


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

if the flow is high enough seems to me that it all blows out somewhere. you probably need to go at it for some time time in various positions but most of it will be disloged.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

zazz, I'm not interested in arguing about this. I offer responses to posters and they can do what they like with them. Sorry if you somehow took offense to it. Do what works for you. :thumb:


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

wow....im truely shocked...i just wanted to take this method further and maybe you would say why you thought it wouldnt work. If you dont want to discuss it then fine just leave it but you obviously have some issues. :thumb:


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## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

thanks for the response.

yes, I do mean nitrite. There are never any levels of nitrite that show up until when I clean the tank.

I also have these little white worm looking things. They are about 1/8" to a 1/4" long. They look like hairs buts its obvous they are swimming around and not becasue of water flow. They show up when cleaning as well.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Those are nematodes of some sort, more than likely. They thrive in a tank with a lot of uneaten food, 
etc. They're not harmful, but just another sign that things are going in a less than ideal direction. My 
daughter had those in her tank and I fed them to my fry. But, then I made her clean the tank.  
You'reprobably stirring them up during water changes.

Let us know what you end up doing and how it works out.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

sounds to me like fish poop...i would just blast the rocks as said before and get lots of water movement through those rocks. You could acctually install a powerhead to keep it up and into the filter ...but with the caves you would definitely have to vacume in reverse with the same head.


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## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

Hi-

Back to this question again. After further review, the nitrite readings are coming from the tap water, not from cleaning the tank. I change out about 15-18gallons of the 55 gal tank. Before changing the water I fill up a 20 gal tub with fresh water, treat it with prime, heat it up to the same temp as the tank, then use it in a day or so.

I tested the water with the API liquid tests for Nirite before and after treating with Prime. I get the same high Nirtite reading for both. Will I still get a reading after Prime detoxifies it? i added one small drop of prime to the test tube of water from the tank and got zero Nitrite. But I;m assuming its because the one drop for that little tube is way over the standard dose??


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## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

Update to the above post....

I tested a 5 gal bucket. Recommended doze of prime is 2 drops per gallon. Did that and tested water. High Nirite reading. Doubled the dose...same result. Used a full cap from the large bottle of prime (which treats 50 gallons) and added it to the 5 gal bucket. Same result. I'm assuming the nirite still reads as well as some sort of reading from the prime itself?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I think you'll get the reading even after adding Prime. It's still there, but supposedly in a non-toxic form if Prime works as the makers say. They admit to not knowing how it works, but claim it works.

When you say it's at a high level, what exactly does it read? How long until it's back to 0?

Try getting a copy of your water supply report. You can usually get it online. It'll confirm if nitrite is in the supply and how much is there.


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## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

By high level I mean around 1-1.5 ppm, possibly 2. I'm not sure, I lost the card for the test. I know its suppose to stay the turquoise color and its turning light to dark purple which if I remember right is around the 1-1.5 range.

The water in the bucket and tub will always show the reading. My tank never does until I add the 15 gallons of new water, then it gives me the same reading in the tank (1-1.5) then its gone usually in a day or so.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Is your water supplier municipal or a well?


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## baw (Nov 6, 2007)

Its from Mississippi River in Minneapolis.


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