Fool-proofing my tank

[toolisj]

Few things. I recently switched my gravel to sand because I think it looks 100% cooler. I went away on a month trip and had care arranged for the fish to be fed. Well, the story goes that the algea freaked out and bloomed out control. Thats under control now. Secondly, its a 20 gallon tank with a Tetra Whisper filter that i think is rated for a 20. I just bought another 10 gallon rated Tetra Whisper Filter because I didn't want to spend all the money on another big filter and I plan on using both filters at the same time because i will be leaving for school soon and want to make the tank as maintence free as i can. Is this a good idea? Sorry bout the long post.

[MrJim]

How "maintenance-free" are you lookin' for? I don't think adding another filter is gonna fix it~~I run double filters on my tanks, still have weekly water changes & gravel vacs.

[jaysee]

That's not a long post.

The most maintanance free would be a tank full of slow growing low light plants and a school of small tetras or a betta.

[Lab_Rat]

Adding more filtration is usually a good idea. For a low maintenance tank you need a low bioload. Plants like java fern and java moss can help keep nitrates down without being too demanding.

With the sand, make sure you've got something to stir it up (like malaysian trumpet snails) or you're doing it manually to help prevent toxic gas pockets from forming.

[bushwhacker]

just a quick note... there is no fool-proof tank. unless its empty... i doubt there is a one of us in this forum that hasnt made at least one hair brained error with his tank

[DrNic]

just a quick note... there is no fool-proof tank. unless its empty... i doubt there is a one of us in this forum that hasnt made at least one hair brained error with his tank
I was literally going to say almost the same thing.

Added filtration is always good. Is the tank a 20G high or long though? 2 filters might cause enough water movement to make the fish uncomfortable so keep an eye on them.

You'll still need to do some water changes but adding plants will help keep the algae down. With enough plants and the right filtration you might be able to get into a cycle of water changes every 2-3 weeks. But weekly is probably better.

BTW, can you post before and after photos of your tanks? I've been thinking about moving some of my tanks to sand as well but haven't made up my mind about it yet.

[toolisj]

It's a high, and it doesn't seem to bother my fish at all. My gourami tries to swin up the stream and nibble on the food flowing down from the current, it's funny to watch. And yeah, I do want to post pictures. Thanks!

[Cristoff]

The only way I can fool-proof my tank is to walk away from it. Once the "fool" is out of the picture, the tank seems to do fine...thumbs2:

[octoxpuss]

hey not to interupt on the thread but lab rat? What do you mean something to stir it up because i am looking to make my tank and have sand so what do you mean?

[Cristoff]

As sand compacts it is prone to creating small toxic gas pockets. A bottom feeder like the snails will move the sand around making the gas pockets happen less. If you don't want snails or any thing that will sift around the sand, you can do it manually.

[octoxpuss]

what else could i use for sand to upturn it

[Cristoff]

I'm sure the experts (NOT me) will jump in for that one. I hear that most soft bellied fish do not like sand, but I have NO experience personally with it.

My recommendation - a stick...:shappy:

[octoxpuss]

hahahaha that got me laughin