jetskisteve Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Some help for a friend with a freshwater setup. 60x30cm About a dozen fish, Gravel on the bottom 1 internal Rio powerfilter with a sponge inside! every time they do a waterchange they scrub the filter under the tap. Now I'm wondering where the bacteria lives? Wouldnt they be better off with an undergravel, & wash the sponge in tankwater? I'm a saltwater Guru & need advice :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 The bacteria lives everywhere. I wouldn't bother with an undergravel filter, just have them rinse the sponge in tank water instead of tapwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Depends on the bioload, just the sponge COULD be ok, but yeah they should clean it in tank water. I have read a few things that say it doesn't kill much of the bacteria using tap water (if it did I guess I have wasted $$$$ buying soap over the years!) but why risk it, go the tank water. Wouldn't bother with UGF esp in a tank that is already setup, its just a trap for fish pooh and Noah used them while collecting two of every fish... If they need more filtation (do some water tests, amonia, nitrite) then suggest they add another small powered filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Remember, Suphew, he'll be using AUCKLAND tap water. That'd wipe out everything in the sponge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Hi I'm Noah's brother and IMHO there is nothing wrong with u/g filters. Steve, how does he actually do his water change? Does he clean it right out and fill it up with new water? Does he just syphon off the bottom and fill it with tap water? Or does he do the same as above but use aged water? The syphoned water should be what he cleans his filters in. As for the u/g filters collecting gunk, ah ahh. No way. At least there is a water flow thru the gravel and there may be a bit of fine sedimentation that forms under the plate over time. But this can be cleared by turning of the air and syphoning out of the uplift tube. You can also do a back flush if you want ,by putting the water through the uplift. Either way, I'm sticking with my u/g filter, and washing any of my sponge filters, (baby's tanks) in tank water. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 I clean my internal and external filters under tap water (Auckland water), filter wool, noodles, substrate etc and have never had a problem, no Ammonia, Nitrite etc, i could just be lucky but i'm still waiting to win lotto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Thanks for all yr help I see things havent changed much since i kept FW Alan he syphons out about 30% a week dont think he vacs the gravel but i will advise I gave him a couple of better internal filters & suggested clean them alternately ( in tank water) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Thanks for all yr help I see things havent changed much since i kept FW Alan he syphons out about 30% a week dont think he vacs the gravel but i will advise I gave him a couple of better internal filters & suggested clean them alternately ( in tank water) That's cool. He should be all set once the extra filters have had a bit of time to collect some bacteria. I've mostly stopped gravel vac'ing my cichlid tank because it seems my nitrates go up when I do. I think I've got a bit of a DSB effect going on in it. I test it for a couple weeks in a row without vaccing and it has practically 0 nitrates. Gravel vac and the next week it has 60+PPM nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Thats interesting ira, i do a water change on sat and a smaller one on wed and seem to have a high nitrate prob too. I might try water changes without the gravel cleen, see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 I'm not totally confident about the DSB thing. But given that the nitrates seem to go up after a gravel vac...I'm assuming that it works about the same as in a marine tank where in a dep sand bed the anaerobic bacteria eat nitrates and give off nitrate gas and since I've seen bubbles when I vacuum my cichlid tank. Seems that the same thing happens in freshwater in a deep bed of fine gravel. I have a couple geophagus anyway which seem to keep the gravel pretty clean, I don't really get any debris when vacuuming the gravel anyway. If you DO get a lot of gunk out when you vacuum it I think you're probably better off vacuuming it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Cool thanks, il see how things go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 What does DSB mean please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Thanks Heather - I was about to ask the same thing Maybe its Deep Sea Business or Don't Stop Biting Damp Soggy Biscuits? Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 http://www.google.com/search?q=DSB%20aquarium deep sand beds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Show off - just cause you are brainer than me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: OK, I will quit thread hijacking now ........... sorry everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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