Best Cleaner for Oscar Tank

[Rocksor]

I find that Seachem Safe beats Prime any day with a tank size at 55g plus.

OBTW, silver dollars will eat an oscar's poop as it is coming out. They will not or cannot spit it out for whatever reason. Eventually the silver dollars will poop it out due to low nutritional value.

[sheamurai]

When your params are out of whack don't be ascairt to do bigger water changes - I habitually do at least 50% water changes on all my fw tanks, and go to 75% on days I think the tank is particularly messy.

Nitrites are a sign of an uncycled tank...or you are overloading your filter BB by over feeding/over stocking. If you have food waste, you are feeding too much. If any food is hitting the gravel you are feeding too much. I feed my cichlid pinches of food at a time until a couple pellets hit the gravel, then he's done. Your filtration should be double your tanks capacity, especially with a messy fish like an oscar, so you should be adding a second filter to this tank. I'd add another 110 but you could get away with a 70.

Now, to answer your question - once the tank is cycled and you have sufficient filtration for your tank - then you can add some of the larger loaches for the bottom of the tank. They are fun to watch, too fast for anything to catch, and great at finding morsels of food that are left behind.

[Lady Hobbs]

Vacuuming the gravel will remove some bacteria and that's why it's recommended to leave it alone. However, if it's full of poop and rotting food, that also spikes the ammonia levels in the tank and you have little choice but to clean the gravel.

You need no more fish in that tank and especially since the tank is not yet cycled. Oscars are big messy fish and require two filters on their tanks.

[gurglegurgle]

I have had good luck using raphael catfish for uneaten food. raphael catfish grow much slower than oscars, so the raphael should be bought at a large size. And a python weekly.

[materbona]

Thanks for all your advice. The nitrite level is fine in my 60 gallon with the oscar--the only out of whack component lately has been ammonia. It is strange but I have 2 tanks that habitually have nitrite problems---my 5 gallon that houses 1 pleco, 2 guppies, and 1 cory---and my turtle tank but the guppies in there are doing great. The oscar tank has ammonia problems but I keep doing partial water changes and adding tablets here and there. All my ph's are about 7.5 I would guess. I have 2 ten gallons --one with the 7 green cories I mentioned--and one with two common plecos and 2 algae eaters. I have a 5 gallon mentioned above. I have a 40 gallon breeder turtle tank which basically when filled may be about 20 gallons with 4 turtles, one of which my granddaughter found in a pool strainer---started it all. rosie is a common musk--the others are razorback musk, Florida red bellied mud, and 3 stripe mud. i have guppies in with the turtles and it has worked well. The oscar tank is 60 gallons and only has the oscar--2 110 aqua clear filters. What do you do about ammonia???? I bought Amquel but has normally used Prime on partial water changes, plus fizz tablets on occasion to lower it????

[sheamurai]

How are you maintaining your filter? The only reason to have nitrites and ammonia are incomplete cycles. There must be some reason your BB are not colonising to the point of being able to handle the wastes being produced.

[materbona]

I have Aqua Clear20's on my 5 gal and two 10's and 2 110's on my 60 gallon. The turtle tank has an Aqueon 50 I think but the 40 gal tank is only half full or less actually. I find the Aqua Clear process sort of confusing......I just changed the charcoal filters and think it is about time to change the sponges.....can you change components less frequently by rinsing them in dechlorinated water and reusing them? Haven't done that....just wondered. Also is it less expensive to fill your own bags with media and would adding an ammonia filter help in the Oscar tank? Ideally the tank should be balanced not to need extra filters I suppose.

[Hardy85]

Try to avoid the activated carbon, typically you don't need it. And you typically don't need to change filters unless they are falling apart. Just rinse in tank water if flow starts slowing down.

Don't add chemicals to take care of ammonia or nitrite, you are just wasting your money.

Sounds like you are either restarting your cycle often, or something is wrong. The small tanks sound like they are over stocked (2 plecos in a 10 gallon is a bit much). But water changes are the best way to cure the issues you are having

[imma24]

I have Aqua Clear20's on my 5 gal and two 10's and 2 110's on my 60 gallon. The turtle tank has an Aqueon 50 I think but the 40 gal tank is only half full or less actually. I find the Aqua Clear process sort of confusing......I just changed the charcoal filters

No need to even keep charcoal filters - in fact, you could replace them with more bio media - unless you are removing meds - most of us don't use charcoal on a regular basis at all.

and think it is about time to change the sponges.....can you change components less frequently by rinsing them in dechlorinated water and reusing them? Haven't done that....just wondered.

What have you been doing with your filter media until now? Have you replaced it or not done anything to it yet? Bio media (including cartridges) should be rinsed in used tank water and then put back into the filter (most of us do this every 1-3mos)- there is no need to replace it unless you properly "seed" replacement media 1st - otherwise the existing bacteria is in the trash and your cycling is starting all over again.

Also is it less expensive to fill your own bags with media and would adding an ammonia filter help in the Oscar tank?

Ammonia is best removed via large water changes. Ideally the tank should be balanced not to need extra filters I suppose

It's never bad to have extra filtration..

My responses in red

[gurglegurgle]

+1 to andrea dont replace your media. I have literally been using the same media in my filters for years, rinsing it in tank water when needed. oscars are my favorite fish and extra filtration is a must