levittd
July 12th 03, 02:58 AM
"Tedd" > wrote in message
...
> i am going to do a thorough cleaning on my 20 gallon tiger barb species
> tank. especially vacuuming out the gravel. the substrate is pretty heavily
> loaded with _stuff_. what i would like to do is:
>
> 1.) remove a portion of the water to a five gallon bucket.
> 2.) transfer the barbs to the bucket.
> 3.) shut off and remove the HOT filter and clean.
> 4.) remove the plastic plants and rinse.
> 5.) vacuum the hell outta the gravel.
>
> this last one would require siphoning out around 60% of the water. is this
> advisable?
>
> 6.) refill tank to within 5 gallons, replace filter and start it up to
clean
> some of the floating debre out of the water while the rest settles back to
> the bottom.
> 7.) reintroduce fish and water from 5 gallon bucket.
>
This is pretty much what I do to my 50gal every couple of months (and
smaller wc's more frequently). I have never had a problem other than a
Silver Dollar injuring himself during a little hissyfit he threw when he
found himself in a 20gal Rubbermaid (he healed very quickly without
treatment). The water rarely clouds afterwards, and if it does it clears up
quickly. I usually clean the filter a day or two later though, because with
that large of a water change I prefer not to mess with the filter bacteria
too much. I just set up the rubbermaid (5 gal bucket in your case) like it
was the tank itself - filter and heater running on it. I tried putting the
lights over it too (wouldn't want to interrupt their "day") but they seem
less stressed if I leave it dark. I've never lost a fish during/immediately
after this process.
levittd
...
> i am going to do a thorough cleaning on my 20 gallon tiger barb species
> tank. especially vacuuming out the gravel. the substrate is pretty heavily
> loaded with _stuff_. what i would like to do is:
>
> 1.) remove a portion of the water to a five gallon bucket.
> 2.) transfer the barbs to the bucket.
> 3.) shut off and remove the HOT filter and clean.
> 4.) remove the plastic plants and rinse.
> 5.) vacuum the hell outta the gravel.
>
> this last one would require siphoning out around 60% of the water. is this
> advisable?
>
> 6.) refill tank to within 5 gallons, replace filter and start it up to
clean
> some of the floating debre out of the water while the rest settles back to
> the bottom.
> 7.) reintroduce fish and water from 5 gallon bucket.
>
This is pretty much what I do to my 50gal every couple of months (and
smaller wc's more frequently). I have never had a problem other than a
Silver Dollar injuring himself during a little hissyfit he threw when he
found himself in a 20gal Rubbermaid (he healed very quickly without
treatment). The water rarely clouds afterwards, and if it does it clears up
quickly. I usually clean the filter a day or two later though, because with
that large of a water change I prefer not to mess with the filter bacteria
too much. I just set up the rubbermaid (5 gal bucket in your case) like it
was the tank itself - filter and heater running on it. I tried putting the
lights over it too (wouldn't want to interrupt their "day") but they seem
less stressed if I leave it dark. I've never lost a fish during/immediately
after this process.
levittd