Gravel Ick

[AABatteries]

When ever I stir up my gravel to make a change the gunk starts floatign around. It takes for ever to go away then it just sits on the gravel. Any ideas for gettign rid of it.

[gm72]

How about regular tank maintenance with a gravel vac.

[sailor]

Yes weekly vaccuming will take care of this. That is 1 of the reasons I switched to sand, it does not get mixed in or under the substrate as easily unless you are very slack with your tank maintenance. Sits on top and easy to eliminate during a water change.

[Lady Hobbs]

How about regular tank maintenance with a gravel vac.

:)

Yes, clean that gravel. Did you ever buy a vac?

[Halelorf]

Go to your LFS and get a gravel vac. You can go fancy battery powered or simple gravity, it's only your preference and money limit. Get one that has a gravel attachmet which is just a tube of plastic a inch or so in diameter that fits on the end of the hose. A gravel vac is probably the best $10 you can spend on a tank, they are amazing.

[gm72]

When ever I stir up my gravel to make a change the gunk starts floatign around. It takes for ever to go away then it just sits on the gravel. Any ideas for gettign rid of it.

Aqua, I am also looking at your stocking and seriously--the stocking on your 20 is a little...off.

First of all the tank is far too small.
The pictus likes to school, is an active swimmer, and will outgrow the tank.
The cory is a schooling fish.
The dojo loach is more of a coldwater fish.
The pleco will get far too large
The gouramis will each get about 4" or so.
The tetras are schooling fish.

PLEASE do some research. Sort of a mess going on here.

[AABatteries]

I do have a vac. Also when our 46g hex gets set up I'm moving the pictus. And my tank is sorta cold, has no heater, like 72 degrees or lower. BTW I'm finally alowed to put on my HOB.

[gm72]

And my tank is sorta cold, has no heater, like 72 degrees or lower.

So you have tropical fish in a coldwater tank. Not good. Please practice good fishkeeping practices by knowing your fish. Not at all fair to the animals what is happening here.

[Warsong]

i thought mine was overcrowded, atleast majority of mine are super small fish

but u should do gravel vacs and when u gravel vac change some of the water too that will help remove some of it while its floating around ur tank before it settles again, before u gravel vac try cleaning ur filter, then after the vac and everything settles try cleaning it again. this could help speed up the cleaning process.

[cocoa_pleco]

72f wont cut it, thats too cold. ideally for most fish you need 82f, thats what all of my tanks are at

[Warsong]

yeh mine are set at 26c which is about 79f i think something like that anyway

[smaug]

i thought mine was overcrowded, atleast majority of mine are super small fish

but u should do gravel vacs and when u gravel vac change some of the water too that will help remove some of it while its floating around ur tank before it settles again, before u gravel vac try cleaning ur filter, then after the vac and everything settles try cleaning it again. this could help speed up the cleaning process.
you dont want to do both,vac and filter clean thats a sure way to kill off alot of bacteria,then you will be cycling again.Going overboard is not the answer to a properly cared for tank,its continuos care and maintenance a little at a time.BTW ,you are correct in being way overstocked yourself,its not just the size of the fish but the type.

[gm72]

Smaug, good point about not only the size of the fish but the type.

This stocking is a disaster.

[AABatteries]

Okay I guess I'll have to pick up a heater now. *sigh*

[gm72]

A heater is a start. Another tank is a necessity though as well.

Listen, you've got a dojo loach that likes company and is coldwater, in with tropical fish. You'll need at least, and I mean at least a 55 gallon for that pleco and pictus alone.

Research, research, research. You've got a lot of problems with this stocking.

[AABatteries]

I cant help it but were going to be setting up a 46g in a week or two and a 50g in the summer. Also will the pictus be okay with african chiclids?

[Tigerbarb]

You could vaccum the gravel alot.
Cory doras might catch old peices of food. Which could prevent build-up of old peices and edible particles.
This may seem like a cheap way to hide build-up, but you could get a UGF to store fish poop and more below your gravel, and when cleaning you can just vaccum it out.

[AABatteries]

I have an UGF my dad stopped me from putting on the HOB. :ssad: I also did like 40% water change.

[gm72]

You could vaccum the gravel alot.
Cory doras might catch old peices of food. Which could prevent build-up of old peices and edible particles.
This may seem like a cheap way to hide build-up, but you could get a UGF to store fish poop and more below your gravel, and when cleaning you can just vaccum it out.

Horrible idea. "Store fish poop" means significant increase to ammonia and nitrAte.

[AABatteries]

Some of the stuff got sucked under when I put on a more powerful power head.