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Update on my Tank.

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  joshheat25 
#1 ·
I just wanted to update you guys on my tank. I tested the water today with the strips and the ph is aroud 7.5 The nitrate and nitrite are both around zero and teh hardness is around 60. The fish seem to be doing well, I have been feeding them two times a day. I have only been leaving the light on for a few hours a day. That WAS heating my tank up! the water temps are 76-78 now. The heater still is set lower but seems the temperature is more constant.
One question for you guys. How often do you clean the gravel out in your tanks? and what do you personally use to clean it? I had this cheap siphon and the diameter of the tube was so small that there was no suction on the pump and it wouldn't pick anything up. The water would slowly drip out of the other end. It was the type that you use gravity and allow the suction of water pull the water above it out. didn't work too well.

Here are a couple pics!

http://www.fishforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4079&stc=1&d=1253586097

http://www.fishforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4080&stc=1&d=1253586097

http://www.fishforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4081&stc=1&d=1253586097
 

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#2 ·
Love that octopus! How funny :lol: I've never seen that decoration before!
How long has your tank been set up? Have you had a nitrate reading yet??

As far as gravel vacs: Get one with a bigger siphon end. My tubing is standard but the vac portion (or whatever it's called) measures 2" across and it works better than a Hoover vacuumm cleaner. :)
 
#3 ·
:)I lightly siphon the gravel in my tanks about twice a month, I do water changes once a week.
I have gravel siphoning hose, and honestly, I suck on the end of it to get the siphon started and once gravity kicks in It works excellent for me. I put a bucket for the waste water on a chair and then I put my hose in my tank, suck, aim the water into the bucket and voila, I'm vaccumming my tank. I clean the siphon house and got the timing down so well that I very rarely get any water anywhere near my mouth.. Some people may do it another way, but this works for me.

You can also get a graveel siphon that connects right to your tap and has a lever that reverses the suction and all the waste water goes straight in to your drain.
 
#5 ·
I vacuum the gravel at each water change which I do weekly. For my Betta tanks I use a piece of a Python hose and it works great. The Betta tanks are too small to use a standard syphon. Like Mags I also suck on the end to get the syphon started and have only gotten a mouthful of fish water once (yuck) many, many years ago. For my bigger tanks I have a Python which hooks up to the faucet.
 
#6 ·
LoL. I don't even know how to get the siphon started without sucking on it.

What? Do you put the entire hose in the water and then slowly pull it out???:)
 
#7 ·
You put the entire hose into the tank, the hose fills with water, put your thumb on the end of the hose, place the end of the hose into the bucket and release your thumb.
The water pours out without you ever having to suck on the end of the hose!
 
#8 ·
Oh my goodness that seems so obvious!! LoL Thanks though!:)
 
#9 ·
Aunt kymmie thanx for the compliment on the octopus. My GF picked it out! lol and yea the tubing I had was probobly 1/4" ID so lol big difference there. I figured that I needed bigger tubing but I wanted to see what other people used. So about once a month to clean out the gravel.

I can''t wait to get the Guppies into my tank. I'll probobly wait till mid october. Take a sample of my water to the store get it checked. and buy a few guppies.
 
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