Hi,
My aquarium didn't look gross until I did a 1/3 water change and that kicked up all the garbage from the bottom. There is still a lot of yuck floating around after doing the water change that will, of course, eventually settle down to the bottom again. My question is, is my filter not working properly (fluval 304 in 40 gal tank with approx. 30 gal water) or are the polished river rocks in the bottom going to trip me up no matter what kind of filter I have? Should I get rid of the rocks or do a more frequent partial change than weekly?
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My aquarium looks gross
tlo07
Mar 06, 2005 10:57 PM
Replies (2)
dsgnGrl
Mar 07, 2005 10:38 AM
It is good to kick all that material up every so often, so the filter can suck it up. Or, when you do your water change use a siphon and pull the gross stuff up from the bottom. Your filter will work best if the output is at the far end of the tank, angled to push the stream across the bottom of the tank towards the intake tube. The river rocks will trap stuff no matter how strong your filter is.
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AlteredMind99
Mar 08, 2005 12:51 PM
Doing away with the decrotive rocks certainly will help, but is not the only way. If you like the natural look your tank has then try this:
Continue your weekly 1/3 water changes, don't increase them as you may upset the cycle in your tank.
Instead start stirring the gravel daily. Filters can't suck up particles that are trapped in the gravel, only those that are free floating in the water column. By using your siphon to really stir up the gravel all the scum on the bottom will float up and some of it can be removed by your filter. The there should be less to clean when you do your regular water change, and the water colum and gravel should stay cleaner 
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