Some Noob Questions

NeonDetra

Hello, i'm new to aquariums, as i am to this sight, and i now understand the beauty of fish! though I'm still not clear on some things. (I know what a noob), but hey, these are my fish and a healthy enviroment is my number one priority.

1) Is there an easier way to maintain waste than the vaccum method? if so what is it? How often should i do this?

2) What would it take to remove a very large waste backup without removing to much water? ( I never knew removing waste was a must untill now)

3) How do I get rid of the tea colour? ( I bought driftwood, and i didn't like it so i took it out, but the tea colour still remains)

4) How often should I change water, and by how much?

Thanks for the help in advance, the more knowledge I have about this sort of thing the better.

onefish2fish

1. syphoning out water with water changes
2. weekly water changes
3. water changes and possibly putting carbon in your filter
4. weekly, 10-20% tank volume

iamntbatman

Activated carbon in your filter will definitely help remove some of the tea coloration that came from the driftwood. As onefish2fish stated, using your gravel vacuum to suck waste out of the gravel during water changes should help to get this waste under control. How much water you change really depends on the fish you're keeping. How big is your tank, and what fish have you got in it? 20% weekly is a good average, but you can get away with less if you have a lot of live plants or a light bioload (or both) but you'll need larger, more frequent water changes if you've got a heavy bioload.

NeonDetra

my tank is 24 gallons, i have 2 glass cats, a Chocolate Gourami and a Bleeding Heart Tetra. iv'e got a ton of plants, but the problem is, i never knew waste cleansing was neccesary until now , so for an example of how much waste i have, whenever i change my water, the tank is filled with waste particils
( they setle down eventually) I dont want to remove to much water, and the only way to get the waste out is by doing that.. and besides syphoning wat else could i do to aid my waste problem?

onefish2fish

keep vacuuming and staying ontop of your water changes will help out

iamntbatman

Yep...it's really just a matter of time. What sort of filter do you have on the tank? Adding a second filter might help remove some of the particulates from the water column.

willow

i wonder here,if you could put some filter wool into
the filter to catch the finer particals ?

welcome aboard too. :)