Should you vacuum the aquarium gravel weekly, occasionally, or not at all? It's a hotly debated topic, as you can see in this lively archived forum discussion. Visit the forum for more on this topic and others.

5/24/08   From: Thelma  To: All
I'm new to this art of keeping fish but I have done my homework on getting to understand 'cycling' or the 'nitrogen cycle.' But I keep getting mixed feedback as to HOW to properly do so.


Some hobbyist say to do the water changes AND vacuum the gravel AND change the filter cartridge while others just say to do ONLY the water changes and let the junk accumulate so as to help the growth of the 'good' bacteria. The theory is understood but I wonder about the practice. I have my 3 jellybean parrots, 6 tiger bards and 2 silver-tipped sharks. Since my fish are still new when I feed them they run from me and hide. I sprinkle a little of the granules and the fish begin to smell it but by this time its already hit the floor. Once they get going the JBP eat from the top, the tiger barbs get the middle and the sharks get the stuff at the bottom. But what I'm trying to say is stuff falls and I don't want to leave it there and that's why I siphon the gravel. I don't think I over feed. I feed once a day a mixture of floating and sinking pellets. I know the vacuuming is causing my tank to cycle slower because its been 4 months and its not there yet but I worry about ammonia build up if I leave the filter cartridge dirty and do not vacuum.

I would like to know other reader's experiences and thoughts on this matter.

Thanks a lot!
 
5/24/08   From: thatmagicguy  To: Thelma
Nitrogen cycle, not hydrogen cycle.

There is no reason to vacuum a properly maintained "new" tank. In your case, with jelly beans, or someone with any type of medium to large cichlid it may be nescessary to spot vacuum.In any type of stocked aquarium there should not be "junk" accumulating on the bottom if feedings are done properly.

In new aquariums especially, and in well established aquariums, filter cartridges should not be changed as often as the packaging suggests. If there is a really good colony of bacteria doing it's job then why destroy it? Once you remove the cartridge in a well populated tank you WILL have a spike in ammonia, and the little bit of cheap grade carbon found in new filter cartridges will not have an appreciable effect on the spike.

I have always recommended to my customers to leave the cartridges alone unless A)it is clogged and the water is backing up through the filter, B) the filter is falling apart, and the newer cartridges are being produced in flimsier form because the manufacturers are realizing that aquarists are becoming more educated and are not replacing them.

I tell people that if the filter is getting clogged then during a water change remove the cartridge and shake it out real well in the bucket that the siphoned water is in, then put it back, it will still have a healthy population of bacteria on it.

If the filter is falling apart then buy a new one and place it in the back of the tank in a corner for a week, then switch them and then be prepared to do the standard water change twice a week for a few weeks rather than once a week.

My customers rarely faced any of these problems because they are taught to feed properly and avoid an abundance of particulate matter that clogs filters and covers the bottom of the tank.

Once again, I do acknowledge certain circumstance where you may have higher than normal debris levels, oscars and jack dempseys come to mind. Learn to feed properly, do not overclean a tank and vacuuming becomes for the most part unnescessary. I am sure we might get an alternative opinion but science is science, it has nothing to do with opinion.

Bill
 
5/26/08   From: Thelma  To: thatmagicguy
Thanks Bill for the heads up on the typo! And more importantly thank you for your input.

As for all you other reader's: C'mon! Something like 60 views and no one else has any input on whether or not you do or do not vacuum your gravel and change your filter cartridge? Speak up everyone! This is supposed to be educational.
 
5/26/08   From: Carl  To: Thelma
I have a planted tank. I never, ever vacuum my tank.

As for filter changes, I use a pair of canisters - I change the fine filter floss when it starts slowing the water flow, and I will throw the sponges into my washing machine with only hot water. I have ceramic media that I count on to maintain a good colony of bacteria when I perform this type of maintenance.

The caveat to this is that I don't recommend this for anybody who doesn't know exactly the effect this will have on their tank.
 
5/26/08   From: Kejuke  To: Thelma
I do a very light vacuuming about once a month, or if I happen to notice any visible detrius. As far as changing filter media; I usually just rinse it in the water taken out of my tank. I've used some filter pads for over a year, and filter bags that hold media about the same. I maintain 10 tanks, so I can't afford to replace them frequently. Besides, it's just a way of getting you to spend more money in their shops. Sorry Bill, I know that you have a fish store.
 
5/29/08   From: 1077  To: Thelma
I never change filters unless they begin to fall apart. I simply rinse them in aquarium water during water changes. As for vaccuming the substrate, I keep rams, keyhole cichlids, discus, and tetras. They are demanding when it comes to water quality so I vaccum the substrate at each water change, a small section each time, a different area each time. I vaccum lightly so as not to disturb bio- bed too much. Water changes of 20 to 30 percent are performed weekly. PS I would not vaccum a new tank until beneficial bacteria was well established. Better to feed less so as not to overwhelm the bacteria .I would also add fish very Slowly for same reason.
 
5/29/08   From: Thelma  To: All
I would like to thank everyone for their replies thus far and look forward to hearing from the other 200+ reader who have been reading our posts just dying to respond but have not... yet.

I have decided to definitely STOP vacuuming with each water change and look forward to my tank finally finishing its cycle! I'm so excited to hear the suggestions to rinse my filter media instead of changing them monthly and Bill's suggestion to put the new cartridge in a corner inside the tank for about a week before replacing it is genius!

See, like I said before I understand the theory, but would get lost in the actually 'doing.' I didn't realize all the beneficial bacteria that was being lost in replacing the filter media or the shock the aquarium would get from its removal.Thank you all again!
 
6/1/08   From: Thelma  To: All
Hello All,
I am happy to annouce I did my water change yesterday and did not vacuum the gravel for the first time. I am hoping that a couple of more successful water changes like this will bring me to fully cycled status! Here's hoping and I'll keep y'all posted!
 
6/15/08   From: Thelma  To: All
"Patience! Get your patience!"

I'm wondering if patience is sold like hot dogs at a baseball game, because I really need some. I haven't been vacuuming the whole tank completely but spot cleaning the visible poop. My BPs poop REALLY big pieces so I've been vacuuming those. But still my ammonia is not at zero. It had been pretty good before I added the 2 gourami's and my puffer. I had to remove the gouramis since my puffer was eating them piece by piece. Its been probably 2 weeks or more since I added the fish and a couple of days since I removed the gouramis and the tank's bioload has still not caught up. I should add that I did change the filter about a week and a half ago. That didn't help. I do about 20% water changes every three days to keep the ammonia down while the good bacteria has a chance to catch up. So I'm just waiting. Ever so patiently. I feel like biting my nails down to the knuckle. But I'm still patiently waiting trying so hard to not do 50% water changes everyday and vacuum that whole tank. I'm letting nature take its course. I am patiently waiting. My fish will not be harmed by the slight elevation of ammonia. I want to jump into action and do SOMETHING but I won't. I'll be patient. Patienly rambling on to a bunch of strangers on an Internet forum...
 
6/16/08   From: Craig  To: Thelma
My turn to laugh hehe, I felt exactly the same way while waiting for my first 350ltr (92gal) tank to complete its cycle, seeing daily ammonia test results at max, changing 15% water every other day, just waiting for the ammonia level to drop so I can start checking the nitrite levels and continue the water change regime, then the whoop of joy when the nitrite level dropped to zero and nitrates started increasing.

Sounds quick!

It actually took a total of 2 months and many bandaids (for the finger tips) to stabilize. All that said I did not change or clean the filter at all during this period, just monitored the output flow rate (which did not decrease) nor did I vacuum the gravel. I don’t think your vacuuming poop from the surface of the gravel during water changes will slow the cycle at all though I would limit vacuuming to once a week.

Good luck finding “patience” in the local store. Just a thought though, have you checked your nitrite and nitrate levels? If nitrates are increasing and nitrites are zero then your tank may have cycled and is just trying to stabilize with the changes you have been making?

Very nice colourful tank btw, love the frog.

Craig
 
6/16/08   From: Thelma  To: Craig
Hi Craig,
Actually yes, the nitrites are at 0 but the nitrates fluctuate between 30 to 40. I know my tank was mature before I added the new fish and the new filter (the biggest deal being the filter), so I am just waiting for the filter to grow the bacteria colonies back up. I wanted to add some albino barbs and/or an African cichlid or two but I don't want to with the ammonia not stable. You think I should leave the poop for A WHOLE WEEK?! Oh my... I think I could try it, only if you're REALLY sure... It looks so ugly and dirty...

About the tank, it was my husband's before we got married and during the move his goldfish died and then some Mollies after I added the tiger barbs. I took it over and redid the decorations. He says I stole his tank and made it 'girly,' which I did. He says all he has left is his frog (I want to take it out because its peeling but I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement... yet. Lucky for him.) So that should explain why you like the frog, its the only 'guy' thing left. =) Even my Parrots were 'girly,' until the dye faded, poor little guys...
 
6/17/08   From: Craig  To: Thelma
Go on then, it shouldn’t hurt to vacuum the poop with each water change, I didn’t take into account the colour of your gravel when I made my recommendation, I guess it would look rather nasty. Though what are you going to do when your tank stabilizes and you aren’t doing so many water changes? Still vacuum daily?

If your nitrite level is zero and your nitrate level is rising and you still have an ammonia (NH3) level then first, I would get a second opinion on that reading i.e. Try a different test kit or take a water sample to your lfs and see if they get the same reading, if after that the ammonia reading is still up, something must have disturbed your nitrifying bacteria. Btw what ammonia reading you are getting and what is your ph level?

A thought, when you said you changed/added a new filter, what exactly did you mean? Did you change the filter media, add a new filter to your existing setup or (closes eyes) add a new filter and remove the old one?

Don’t ditch the frog :)

Craig
 
6/17/08   From: Thelma  To: Craig
Hi Craig,
I ditched the old filter and put in a new one. The old one was a Whisper that barely did a good job filtering the water when the mollies were in there, much less my BPs. I had wanted to upgrade for sometime now but I was saving up so when I could; I did. I know its wasn't a great idea but that's short term. Long term I now have a much better filter with a sponge not those bag things and 3 different places for the nitrifying bacteria to grow. It'll be ok... Eventually it has to grow back!

I was using the test strips for a while but they're not working anymore so I can't measure the pH my lfs doesn't have any of the drop ones right now ( they said it'll be in tomorrow's order). My ammonia reads 0.25. When I first introduced my new fish it shot up to like 2 or 1 I can't remember. I started doing daily water changes and brought it down to 0.5. I replaced the old filter with the new one and cut back the water changes to every third day and now it's reading the 0.25. I don't vacuum everyday. It's every third day in which I only lightly vacuum the 'visible' poop. It was really hard to get myself to vacuum that little but with baby steps I did it. I could try just once a week. I've been waiting to do a water change every 4 days to see if it helps. I'm going to check the ammonia after 4 days if it's higher than 0.25 then I'll go back to every 3 days if not then 4. I'll have to wait and see. I know too frequent water changes inhibits the growth of the bacteria but my puffer is very sensitive so I don't want to stress him out. If it takes longer and it means I have to do the leg work longer I don't mind as long as he's not in danger. (They are supposed to like no ammonia, nitrite and nitrate but I can't help that. I can only offer him what I am already doing.)

My lfs though only tests for pH and ammonia though so I'll have to buy a nitrite and nitrate kit too when it comes in. (I'm done with the strips!) Talk to you later.
 
6/17/08   From: Craig  To: Thelma
Ok just for future reference, if you are going to upgrade an old filter, it is advisable, if possible to add the new one and leave them both running on your tank for about a month so the new one has a chance to be colonized by beneficial bacteria before you remove the old one.

When carrying out ammonia tests you should always carry out pH tests as well, because the toxicity of ammonia will change depending on the pH level. For example a level of NH4 = 2 mg/l at pH 7 is harmless but the same NH4 = 2 mg/l at pH 9 is acutely toxic. So you may find that you are worrying without cause.

I have never used the test strips so am unsure of their accuracy, of their scale or if they are measuring NH4 or NH3. I use and recommend the brand SERA which tests for ammonium (NH4) and provides a conversion chart to ammonia (NH3) @ pH.

Happy testing
Craig
 
6/17/08   From: Thelma  To: Craig
Craig,
Yes. I read in a post after I switched out my filter that both should be kept running, but in my defense, my hood only has an opening for one filter, not two so...

I'm going tomorrow to get the nitrite/nitrate/pH test kits. I use some brand for the ammonia, I don't know which one, it comes in a blue box. My pH was around 6.8 last time I had it checked. Before I joined the forum, I went to Petsmart to have my water checked and it was between 8.0-8.2, the person there told me it was too high and had me bought some product to lower it and it went down below 7.0 and I haven't been able to raise it since then. I used to use distilled bottled water for my water changes, do you think that's why it was higher before? I tried coral rocks and it helped a little at first, but then went back to around 6.8. I was looking into crushed coral but the guy at my lfs told me to bring in a water sample before he would sell it to me. Do you know why? He told me something about it getting corroded or dirty. Is this true? I don't like the coral rocks because the white clashes with my colorful decor. I don't want to add drops to raise the pH though. I feel its a little low for my BPs, though they are doing fine. If I could find a natural yet aesthetically pleasing way to do, I'll be all over it! Any suggestions? I'm all ears!
 
6/18/08   From: Craig  To: Thelma
A pH of 6.8 is not bad and I would leave it at that, unless you have something with a specific requirement above that level which you don’t seem too, so I wouldn’t be concerned about trying to change it. I have no experience with BP’s but everything I can find about them says they will be happy in anything from 6.5 – 7.5.

The pH of distilled water “should normally” be 7 (neutral) though can be as low as 6.8 (very slightly acidic) depending on the manufacturers process, so, no I don’t think the distilled water would be the cause of your previously high pH, except that the buffering properties of the distilled water are not that great and therefore you may experience pH fluctuations.

Crushed coral is usually used to increase the buffering properties of your water, not specifically to raise your pH level but more to allow you to maintain a higher pH level. Before trying to change your pH you need to know the hardness of your water and buffering properties, hence why he would need a water sample. Not sure about the corroded or dirty bit though.

Your lfs is actually being responsible, he doesn’t want to sell you something that would cause you to come back to his shop and tear him apart limb by limb because your pH was already satisfactory, you have a level of ammonia, you added something which could cause your pH to change and all your fish died.

Personally I would leave the pH alone, many headaches can come from trying to adjust it, and if your pH level is a constant 6.8 I would also not worry too much about your current ammonia level, just continue the regular 10% water changes and daily tests until it settles.

Craig
 
6/19/08   From: Thelma  To: Craig
Hi Craig! <coy smile>

I think I did another booboo... Um... You see, what had happened was... Ok, so I bought some new airstones and plants and changed around my decor a little and moved around A LOT of gravel. Afterwards I did like a 10% water change and tested the ammonia and it jumped from the 0.25 to like almost 2.0. Is that normal when you unsettle the gravel bed? Needless to say I did a 50% water change and am waiting a little while before testing again. I added a bristle nose pleco, but did not put in the pet store water to my tank. I added some ammonia reducer rocks to my AquaClear filter media (what irony that I added a remover and it more than doubled!). This is all I did today. Was I not supposed to unsettle the gravel? Like once you've got it done, don't touch it? I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal, I had these airline tubes that were visible and it was driving me crazy! I had to move them around. Are you familiar with the ammonia remover media? Is it any good? Bad? Unnecessary? Can't wait to get your feed back and anyone else who might have an opinion too!
 
6/20/08   From: Craig  To: Thelma
What uneaten food and fish poop that isn’t removed by your filter settles into the gravel and is then “set upon” by the nitrifying bacteria thereby converting it into nitrite. By disturbing the gravel you probably found your water became rather dirty to look at. Left alone it would have cleared in an hour or so, time dependant on the effectiveness of your mechanical filter. Remember also that the gravel forms part of your biological filter, so by disturbing it….well you can guess the outcome.

Testing your water at this stage will not give you a true reading due to suspended particulate and the like.

A 50% water change………oh boy, at most I would only ever recommend doing a 25% water change and only in extreme circumstances would I recommend 50%.
Remember this phase “small and frequent in the case of problem” and live by it.

""Patience"" – you need to find that shop <grin>

Did your fish seem overly agitated or stressed? If your bristle nose is still alive and seems happy then your true ammonia level could not have been that bad because they are very intolerant to high levels of ammonia.

I would not suggest nor recommend adding any type of ammonia remover because depending on how they are designed to work they all have the tendency to starve your biological filter, which could also be why your ammonia spiked. Therefore I would say bad and unnecessary.

Making changes to a matured tank is not a big deal.
Making changes to a semi-matured tank, I would wait until it matured.

Test your water weekly. Don’t test too often, if your fish look unhappy then test, I would wait at least 24 hours before testing after making the changes you did and also I would see how those ammonia reducer rocks work in your toilet.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but it would be hard to pinpoint exactly what caused what because you did a few things at once
1 disturbed your gravel
2 added ammonia remover/reducer
3 added a new resident
4 added new plants (live?)
5 changed the water flow and surface area (air stones)
6 did a 50% water change
Not necessarily in that order.

My recommendation will always be to make changes in small increments, wait for it to settle then make more changes, then if something goes haywire it is easier to pinpoint what caused it and then to correct the problem.

Craig
 
6/20/08   From: Thelma  To: Craig
Hi Again,

My BPs and sharks don't tell me when they're stressed, but my tiger barbs are like the canaries in the coal mines. They have bright red strips, and when they are stressed they lose their color. So last night, even after the stuff I had unsettled from the gravel had settled, the tiger barbs were still pale. This is when I tested the ammonia and did the water change. When I woke up this morning I took another test and the ammonia was 0 and my TBs are bright, bold, red again. My pleco is happily scurrying around, everyone is great. So I got lucky but learned to not do such a big water change in the future. I took out the ammonia remover because I do not want to starve my nitrifying bacteria.

I finally finished my tank decorations. I am so proud of the outcome, This is my masterpiece! The only thing I need to top it off is a couple of beautiful fish. Are you familiar with Rams? Are they aggressive enough to not get nipped by my tiger barbs and puffer? I really want a pair of those. All the peacock cichlids I find are too big for my tank. I want to keep them in here before moving them to my brother's 75 gallon. Any suggestions on a small, beautiful fish? (it can grow large enough to fit within a 75 gallon but I want it to outgrow my tank first.) Thanks for your time and for letting me pick your brain!

P.S. I also welcome any suggestions from anyone else reading this post!
 
6/21/08   From: 1077  To: Thelma
Cheequitaa, I would not recommend Rams for although they will swim all over, they much prefer the bottom levels and sharks would make them nervous. I am speaking of the german blue and gold rams. Also the rams being imported from asia and thailand are sometimes subjected to hormone treatments and some imported ones are reared in water containing large levels of antibiotics and much lower PH values . Consequently they are stressed during shipping and acclimation to dealer tanks which may or may not have comfortable PH values. Once antibiotics are no longer part of their environment the fish are more prone to infections stressing them even further. They truly are a beautiful fish with much personality and if you can find TANK RAISED specimens , I belive everyone should try them at least once. The Bolivian ram is a much hardier ram species and would probably be more likely to live longer. Another colorful cichlid that wont get TOO large is the Blue Acara It could probably hold its own with sharks and barbs but would need at least 55 gal. as adult. Hope some of this helps.
 
6/21/08   From: streek  To: 1077
I have a vacuuming question. If my ammonia levels are staying at O and my nitrite levels are low do I need to vacuum and replace 20% of the water every week?? OR can I go longer just as long as I monitor the ammonia levels??
 
6/21/08   From: hallucinature  To: Thelma
I agree with most of the replies you've gotten. I myself only change a filter if it disrupts water flow, and I vacuum occasionally. If I lightly stir my gravel and bits go flying everywhere, I will vacuum HALF of my tank gravel and leave the other side alone until next time to not disturb quite so much beneficial bacteria. I've found that alot of fishkeeping is trial and error and closely watching what happens when you change something in your tank. Either way, good luck =)
 
6/22/08   From: Carl  To: streek
Water changes and tank maintenance are a regular chore and are not discontinued just because you don't have measurable ammonia. Typically you will want to change between 10% and 20% weekly.
 
6/22/08   From: 1077  To: streek
It is in my view better to change 20 to 25 percent of water each week replacing it with dechlorinated water of same temp or close to it. Depending on type of fish and poop they make and how much is being fed, You may get away with vaccuming twice a month but I recommend vaccuming a small area each week ,a different area each time. Otherwise decaying food and waste can build up . Sometimes this stuff will collect under ,in, or on decorations and vaccuming is best way to remove it. This is my view for what it is worth.
 
6/22/08   From: Craig  To: streek
As Carl said and if you want your fish to be happy and your tank to continue to look good, it has to be a weekly occurrence, it will not end.

I change 10-15% water every week, I vacuum a different portion of the gravel every second week, I do water tests every week which determines the amount of the water change. My fish are happy, my tank looks pristine, which makes me happy.

Craig
 
6/23/08   From: streek  To: janclark10
All I have is a waterfall filter with three layers to it. Large foam pad on the bottom, the charcoal looking rocks in the middle, and a small fine filter on top. The water runs over all of that and waterfalls back into the tank. I am hoping to buy a canister filter soon since I do not know if my current filter is running enough water.
 
6/23/08   From: janclark10  To: streek
I run two double Whispers with charcoal filters on the 125 gal and a magnum canister below. I run one double whisper with charcoal filter on the 75 gal and a magnum canister canister o gal below.

I am a person that believes hobbies should not be work ha. Another words I am old and lazy. The magnums have a 350gph rate and you can change the canister cartridge out when needed to a charcoal insert. I prefer to run the whispers for the charcoal and the magnum cartridges polish the water. I found some pictures of the canister filters in the on line catalog from Big Als. They have pretty good prices too. My one Magnum is new as I replaced a real old one. The other one is about ten years. Parts are easy to replace. When it gets to may repairs I will replace it with another one as they wear really well and do a great job on the tanks. A filter system that keeps up with large Gold Fish is worth the money to me any time. I vac the tank when needed which is not every wk and I top out the tank once a month.
 
6/26/08   From: Thelma  To: All
Good Morning,
I think I have too many bottom dwellers. Are there pretty fish that swim at the top of the tank? I've looked at the butterfly fish (don't really like it) and the needle fish (interesting, maybe a possibility). When I had my gourami's they seemed to stay towards the bottom of the tank, though they're surface air fish. Strange... Any suggestions? I've been trying to surf the web in search for more examples but cannot locate a website that categorizes fish by the region of tank. Thanks!
 
6/26/08   From: Carl  To: Thelma
Hatchet fish and Mollys both spring to mind immediately.
 
7/21/08   From: Guachupito  To: Thelma
I read your vacuum problem and your ammonia levels. First let me introduce myself. I live in Orlando Florida and have a freshwater heavily planted tank with 34 inhabitants. I had 3 discus, 2 clown loaches, 10 neon tetras, 9 harlequin rasboras, 5 corydoras, 1 flying fox, 1 green tiger barb in a 55 gallons tank. My tank is 10 month old. When I last introduced my discus, everything was fine. Next day, the ammonia spike up to 4ppm (I almost die). I did a 50% water change and nothing happended. Desperate to help my babies, tried with ammonia nuetralizers (don't even try), no results.

I contact a friend of mine who is a marine biologist expert on aquariums here in Orlando (sea World). Your problem is this: First you changed the filter.(should use half of the media from the old one to help with the bacteria to grow in the new one).There wasn't enough time for your filter to grow bacteria to compensate the loss from the old filter.

Secondly, keep in mind that on every water change you reduced the amount of you beneficial bacteria. Every time you change you water use "Cycle" is a boost to help replenish your beneficial bacteria and reduce any fish loss.

Third, you add new fish immediately. By doing this your bacteria had no time to multiply to compensate the rise on the ammonia. ( this usually takes between 3-5 days in a well established tank) recommendation on this matter is, introduced no more than three fish a a time, wait at least two weeks to add more fish(keep in mind the rule of thumb about stocking levels)

And finally I will recommend you to get a product that is called Stability this will solve your problem with the ammonia. Be patient, since this will take about a week to take effect, meanwhile DO NOT change the water.

Other thing is during this process, setback the amount of food your giving to your fish at least once a day until everything gets stable. Once is resolved, vacuum your tank every other week when you performed your water change. Keep in mind that when you vacuum, you also removed beneficial bacteria that help to decompose the poop of fish. The ammonia level will raise because of these factors: Fish waste, plant matter and uneaten food.

 Hope this help you, if need more help, don't be afraid to ask.

 Guachupito
 
7/21/08   From: Thelma  To: Guachupito
Hello Guachupito,
I appreciate your input but I didn't do everything at once. When I changed my filter I waited 5 weeks before putting in any fish. Then I put in a pleco, waited a couple of days then I put in my rams. Then I waited a week and put in the killers. Then yes, stuff started to get hectic. But my point is that I do know I'm supposed to wait between stocking the tank. Also I do not add any additives to my water besides a dechlorinator and salt. But thank you anyways for your time. Have a good night.
 
7/21/08   From: thatmagicguy  To: Guachupito
Hi.
Changing water does not reduce the amount of beneficial bacteria in a tank. Beneficial bacteria colonizes surfaces where oxygenated water passes over them. They are not in the water column.

I disagree with the recommendation to vacuum every other week. Vacuuming is a tremendous disturbance to a healthy tank. It may become nescessary at times with certain fish species or certain specialized set ups. But even under these circumstances it should not be nescessary on a weekly or bi weekly schedule.

I disagree with the recommendation to add "cycle" or any other brand of so called bottled bacteria. A healthy established tank will do fine without it, and certain brands of bottled bacteria that have been stored improperly in warehouses or retail shops become bottles of decomposed material that cause high ammonia. Not to mention that certain brands cause skewed water tests.

A healthy well established tank needs very little aside from frequent small partial water changes. A 10-15 percent water change along with proper feedings and a proper stocking will result in few or no problems.

Thank you for contributing.

By the way, I too live in central florida and know most of the Sea World aquarists, who is your friend?

Bill