Cloudy Water

Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches nitrites 0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the gravel a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I couldn't see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing has just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to clean the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the tank. Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

"steve" wrote in message
...
Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches nitrites
0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black
tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the gravel a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I couldn't
see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing has
just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to clean
the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the tank.
Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

Tank size is 30g us. When your water gets easily polluted by just gravel
vacuuming, then it is not balanced, and the next clue is that to have
1000 snails, you have to be feeding them. They survive off of uneaten
food, so they are becoming your main bio-load. A fish's stomach is about
the size of their eye. Feed so that no food reaches the bottom of the
tank. Give your pleco one sinking wafer and let him fight the snails for
it.

Well-planted tanks need little or no gravel vacuuming if there is a low
fish load. Note that fish-load (or bio-load) includes rotting uneaten
food and other living organisms, so your load is much higher than the
fish you see.

I'd also be curious how much of the biological filtration is being done
by your filters.

Regarding the Clown loach, nope. You would really want to have several
of them, and in a 30g, you don't have the room for even one for that
long.
--
www.NetMax.tk

"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..
"steve" wrote in message
...
Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches
nitrites
0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black
tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the gravel
a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I
couldn't
see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing has
just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to
clean
the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the tank.
Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

Tank size is 30g us. When your water gets easily polluted by just
gravel
vacuuming, then it is not balanced, and the next clue is that to have
1000 snails, you have to be feeding them. They survive off of uneaten
food, so they are becoming your main bio-load. A fish's stomach is
about
the size of their eye. Feed so that no food reaches the bottom of the
tank. Give your pleco one sinking wafer and let him fight the snails
for
it.

Well-planted tanks need little or no gravel vacuuming if there is a low
fish load. Note that fish-load (or bio-load) includes rotting uneaten
food and other living organisms, so your load is much higher than the
fish you see.

I'd also be curious how much of the biological filtration is being done
by your filters.

Regarding the Clown loach, nope. You would really want to have several
of them, and in a 30g, you don't have the room for even one for that
long.
--
www.NetMax.tk


From: "steve"
Reply-To: "steve"
To: "NetMax"
Subject: Cloudy Water
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 21:24:41 +0100

So when I clean all the gravel im spoiling the water. My tank is
heavily
planted and I have been overfeeding due to the baby Guppies The Tank
does
smell very earthy also. Would I be correct in assuming if I remove and
dispose of nearly all the snails this could also cause an imbalance. I
dont
like killing anything even the snails and would prefer them to be a part
of
the food chain is there an "environmentally friendly" way to get rid of
them. I also thought you have to feed guppies several times a day which
is
probably why I have a snail explosion.

Steve

The problem is not how often you feed, as snails don't eat fish poop
(afaik). The problem is uneaten food is getting to the bottom, polluting
the tank. The snails are multiplying to take advantage of the imbalance
you have created. Rotting feces will release a lot of ammonia into the
water, but rotting food is worse. Feed sparingly 2 or 3 times a day
(baby Guppies eat lots of things besides fish-food), and then google for
a snail removal strategy which works for you.

ps: I flipped you back to the newsgroup from email so others can add
their learned comments as well, and catch my mistakes too ;~)
NetMax

Thanks I never used a newsgroup really before and hit reply instead of reply
to group. I will try and cut back it does seem to look like a snowstorm
when I feed. The trouble is the fish always seem hungry. I didn't realise
how big there stomachs were either.

As for the snails I spent 3 hours yesterday removing them into an old water
butt.

Its a shame about the clown loach though. Can I fit any more different fish
or am I overstocked (Exclude snails in this equation)

Steve

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..
"steve" wrote in message
...
Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches
nitrites
0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black
tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the gravel
a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I
couldn't
see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing has
just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to
clean
the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the tank.
Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

Tank size is 30g us. When your water gets easily polluted by just
gravel
vacuuming, then it is not balanced, and the next clue is that to have
1000 snails, you have to be feeding them. They survive off of uneaten
food, so they are becoming your main bio-load. A fish's stomach is
about
the size of their eye. Feed so that no food reaches the bottom of the
tank. Give your pleco one sinking wafer and let him fight the snails
for
it.

Well-planted tanks need little or no gravel vacuuming if there is a low
fish load. Note that fish-load (or bio-load) includes rotting uneaten
food and other living organisms, so your load is much higher than the
fish you see.

I'd also be curious how much of the biological filtration is being done
by your filters.

Regarding the Clown loach, nope. You would really want to have several
of them, and in a 30g, you don't have the room for even one for that
long.
--
www.NetMax.tk


From: "steve"
Reply-To: "steve"
To: "NetMax"
Subject: Cloudy Water
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 21:24:41 +0100

So when I clean all the gravel im spoiling the water. My tank is
heavily
planted and I have been overfeeding due to the baby Guppies The Tank
does
smell very earthy also. Would I be correct in assuming if I remove and
dispose of nearly all the snails this could also cause an imbalance. I
dont
like killing anything even the snails and would prefer them to be a part
of
the food chain is there an "environmentally friendly" way to get rid of
them. I also thought you have to feed guppies several times a day which
is
probably why I have a snail explosion.

Steve

The problem is not how often you feed, as snails don't eat fish poop
(afaik). The problem is uneaten food is getting to the bottom, polluting
the tank. The snails are multiplying to take advantage of the imbalance
you have created. Rotting feces will release a lot of ammonia into the
water, but rotting food is worse. Feed sparingly 2 or 3 times a day
(baby Guppies eat lots of things besides fish-food), and then google for
a snail removal strategy which works for you.

ps: I flipped you back to the newsgroup from email so others can add
their learned comments as well, and catch my mistakes too ;~)
NetMax

On Sun, 23 May 2004 23:59:48 +0100, "steve"
wrote:

Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches nitrites 0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the gravel a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I couldn't see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing has just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to clean the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the tank. Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)


I don't vacuum the bottom, but make 20% weekly water changes in my 5
tanks: 75,29,10,10,10. My tanks age range from18 months to a year.
If I change plants or stir the gravel I get a lot of stuff floating
around until it settles or the filter removes the particles. Nothing
I would call "greeny brown."

For over one year I have kept Clown Loaches in all but one tank. I
have two in one 10 gallon tank without a problem. I keep one runt in
a 10 gallon tank and move him between two 10 gallon tanks to keep
snails down. He was with other Clowns in the beginning, but didn't do
well and wasn't eating. By himself he has grown some, but still
small, but eats well and is boss of either tank.

I know you will get lots of advice about not keeping Clowns by
themselves and not keeping them in small tanks. A year and a half is
not long enough to be giving advice, but it is one measure. I realize
I may one day have to move the clowns to the 75 gallon tank. By then
the smaller fish will be gone, but I am not convinced the growth will
happen. I haven't seen growth in the Clowns for about 6 months and
love everyday I have them. The runt is my favorite. He is quite a
character. I feed my fish only flake food. Maybe the lack of live
food stunts all of them, but that is fine by me.

I don't have the current size of all your fish, but I think with the
reduced food supply and less snails, you have room to add more fish.
Just remember, they are opportunistic feeders (they _are_ always hungry,
as they need to be ready to eat when they encounter food in nature).
They can also go several days without food. As Jim was always telling
us, their stomach is the size of their eyes. More problems are caused by
overfeeding than anything else.
--
www.NetMax.tk

"steve" wrote in message
...
Thanks I never used a newsgroup really before and hit reply instead of
reply
to group. I will try and cut back it does seem to look like a
snowstorm
when I feed. The trouble is the fish always seem hungry. I didn't
realise
how big there stomachs were either.

As for the snails I spent 3 hours yesterday removing them into an old
water
butt.

Its a shame about the clown loach though. Can I fit any more different
fish
or am I overstocked (Exclude snails in this equation)

Steve

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..
"steve" wrote in message
...
Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches
nitrites
0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black
tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the
gravel
a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I
couldn't
see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing
has
just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to
clean
the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the
tank.
Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

Tank size is 30g us. When your water gets easily polluted by just
gravel
vacuuming, then it is not balanced, and the next clue is that to
have
1000 snails, you have to be feeding them. They survive off of
uneaten
food, so they are becoming your main bio-load. A fish's stomach is
about
the size of their eye. Feed so that no food reaches the bottom of
the
tank. Give your pleco one sinking wafer and let him fight the
snails
for
it.

Well-planted tanks need little or no gravel vacuuming if there is a
low
fish load. Note that fish-load (or bio-load) includes rotting
uneaten
food and other living organisms, so your load is much higher than
the
fish you see.

I'd also be curious how much of the biological filtration is being
done
by your filters.

Regarding the Clown loach, nope. You would really want to have
several
of them, and in a 30g, you don't have the room for even one for
that
long.
--
www.NetMax.tk


From: "steve"
Reply-To: "steve"
To: "NetMax"
Subject: Cloudy Water
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 21:24:41 +0100

So when I clean all the gravel im spoiling the water. My tank is
heavily
planted and I have been overfeeding due to the baby Guppies The
Tank
does
smell very earthy also. Would I be correct in assuming if I remove
and
dispose of nearly all the snails this could also cause an imbalance.
I
dont
like killing anything even the snails and would prefer them to be a
part
of
the food chain is there an "environmentally friendly" way to get
rid of
them. I also thought you have to feed guppies several times a day
which
is
probably why I have a snail explosion.

Steve

The problem is not how often you feed, as snails don't eat fish poop
(afaik). The problem is uneaten food is getting to the bottom,
polluting
the tank. The snails are multiplying to take advantage of the
imbalance
you have created. Rotting feces will release a lot of ammonia into
the
water, but rotting food is worse. Feed sparingly 2 or 3 times a day
(baby Guppies eat lots of things besides fish-food), and then google
for
a snail removal strategy which works for you.

ps: I flipped you back to the newsgroup from email so others can add
their learned comments as well, and catch my mistakes too ;~)
NetMax

Many Thanks for all your help. I ve stopped feeding and massacred the
snails and guppies have just had 8 more babies but I am suffering an algae
bloom now.

Steve
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
I don't have the current size of all your fish, but I think with the
reduced food supply and less snails, you have room to add more fish.
Just remember, they are opportunistic feeders (they _are_ always hungry,
as they need to be ready to eat when they encounter food in nature).
They can also go several days without food. As Jim was always telling
us, their stomach is the size of their eyes. More problems are caused by
overfeeding than anything else.
--
www.NetMax.tk

"steve" wrote in message
...
Thanks I never used a newsgroup really before and hit reply instead of
reply
to group. I will try and cut back it does seem to look like a
snowstorm
when I feed. The trouble is the fish always seem hungry. I didn't
realise
how big there stomachs were either.

As for the snails I spent 3 hours yesterday removing them into an old
water
butt.

Its a shame about the clown loach though. Can I fit any more different
fish
or am I overstocked (Exclude snails in this equation)

Steve

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..
"steve" wrote in message
...
Hi I have an aquarium running for 2 months now 36x14x14 inches
nitrites
0.
3 adult guppies 7 baby guppies 1 Queen Pleco 5 neon tetra 3 black
tetras and
1000 snails. I change 10 litres water a week. I vacuumed the
gravel
a
month ago and a day later the water went greeny brown so bad I
couldn't
see
the fish. I had to clear it by using greenaway. The same thing
has
just
happened again after gravel vacuuming. Is it really necessary to
clean
the
gravel my tank is well planted. It is fine until I clean the
tank.
Also
could I keep a clown loach with the fish and size tank .

Hope you guys can help I am still learning.

Steve (UK)

Tank size is 30g us. When your water gets easily polluted by just
gravel
vacuuming, then it is not balanced, and the next clue is that to
have
1000 snails, you have to be feeding them. They survive off of
uneaten
food, so they are becoming your main bio-load. A fish's stomach is
about
the size of their eye. Feed so that no food reaches the bottom of
the
tank. Give your pleco one sinking wafer and let him fight the
snails
for
it.

Well-planted tanks need little or no gravel vacuuming if there is a
low
fish load. Note that fish-load (or bio-load) includes rotting
uneaten
food and other living organisms, so your load is much higher than
the
fish you see.

I'd also be curious how much of the biological filtration is being
done
by your filters.

Regarding the Clown loach, nope. You would really want to have
several
of them, and in a 30g, you don't have the room for even one for
that
long.
--
www.NetMax.tk


From: "steve"
Reply-To: "steve"
To: "NetMax"
Subject: Cloudy Water
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 21:24:41 +0100

So when I clean all the gravel im spoiling the water. My tank is
heavily
planted and I have been overfeeding due to the baby Guppies The
Tank
does
smell very earthy also. Would I be correct in assuming if I remove
and
dispose of nearly all the snails this could also cause an imbalance.
I
dont
like killing anything even the snails and would prefer them to be a
part
of
the food chain is there an "environmentally friendly" way to get
rid of
them. I also thought you have to feed guppies several times a day
which
is
probably why I have a snail explosion.

Steve

The problem is not how often you feed, as snails don't eat fish poop
(afaik). The problem is uneaten food is getting to the bottom,
polluting
the tank. The snails are multiplying to take advantage of the
imbalance
you have created. Rotting feces will release a lot of ammonia into
the
water, but rotting food is worse. Feed sparingly 2 or 3 times a day
(baby Guppies eat lots of things besides fish-food), and then google
for
a snail removal strategy which works for you.

ps: I flipped you back to the newsgroup from email so others can add
their learned comments as well, and catch my mistakes too ;~)
NetMax