Siphoning the bottom?

skim the surface of the gravel.....

when u press it in the bottom of the gravel all of ur tank cycling time has gone to waste because....
that is where ur tanks good bacterias culture mainly lives....
and ur suckin it out.....
its like starting all over again.....
it may look dirty but all that junk under the gravel is what keeps ur tank healthy and fish thriving.....


justr skim the surface....
were all the fish waste and left over food particles are....

meng-chieh said:

Hi

While siphoning the tank, should the tube be pressed hard into the bottom of the tank? I.E. deep into the rocks? Or should I simply skim the surface of the rocks? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Press the tube down into the gravel. You want to remove all of the solid waste that has accumulated in the gravel bed before it builds up and wreaks havoc on your system.

Ya, i agree, all my tanks have floating plants, so i siphon as deep as possible and try to get out as much debris as possible. Nitrifying bacteria mainly live in your filter, although some live in the substrate. You'll be fine giving your gravel a thorough clean.

It all depends on what you have. If you have live plants, then you should be careful of the roots. If you don't then take everything. Just be sure not to change too much water at a time.

Also, you should be careful of the strength of the siphon. If your using just a regular hose, the no worries. If you have the python syphon system, the siphon can become very strong if you turn the water on your faucet on all the way. Be careful of small fish. Sometimes they seem like they are far away then they get sucked in. Its a good thing they put a switch on the siphon though. It saved a few of my fish.

NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


the bacteria live in ur filter and as well as ur substrate!!!
mainly in ur substarate!!!!!!!!!
there are different types of good bacterias!!!!
ones that need to be exposed to air...
and others that feed off of natural nutrients that are in ur water..all that junk on the bottom is ur good bacterias HOME!!!!!
get the stuff on top of the gravel and a little below the surface never go eep down..that causes problems...

if u dig deep down to the bottom ur getting rid of all ur tanks cycling time!!!!!

it just about has to recyce if u do that.....

skim the top ive been keeping fish for yrs....
i work at a lfs....

you guys above me should also do the same...

bigfishguy said:

NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


the bacteria live in ur filter and as well as ur substrate!!!
mainly in ur substarate!!!!!!!!!
there are different types of good bacterias!!!!
ones that need to be exposed to air...
and others that feed off of natural nutrients that are in ur water..all that junk on the bottom is ur good bacterias HOME!!!!!
get the stuff on top of the gravel and a little below the surface never go eep down..that causes problems...

if u dig deep down to the bottom ur getting rid of all ur tanks cycling time!!!!!

it just about has to recyce if u do that.....

skim the top ive been keeping fish for yrs....
i work at a lfs....

you guys above me should also do the same...

Click to expand...

Not too sure about what you do, but when I kept a fish only tank, I always used my Python to do deep gravel cleanings. Also, most of the bacteria live in the filter, not the substrate, where they do live to some extent (not a majority of them live there, I would imagine only the part of the gravel that is exposed to the circulating water would have enough oxygen for the aerobic bacteria).

If you stir deep down into the gravel without having done so in a long time, it's not the fact that you're removing bacteria that seems toxic, it most likely is the release of other toxic compounds that come from the breakdown of the decaying plant/other matter.

I keep a planted tank now, and all I do on weekly water changes is skim the surface of the gravel to ensure any loose and visible decaying plant matter is removed.

that decaying plant matter feed live good bacterias that keep your tanks amounia and nitrite levels from flucuating.....
as well as the filters aerobic bacteria keeps the levels down......

stirring up the bottom releases toxins and destroys the good bacterias culture....
so not only are toxins being introduced ur tanks defense weapon is basiclly disabled except for ur filter...

if what u guys are saying is true....

then why dont u just clean the gravel out once a month or every few months>?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????//

becasue ur tank would HAVE TO RECYCLE!!!!!

siphoning the bottom is the same thing.....

its doing the same thing!!!!!!
so again i suggest to only clean the surface and a little below the gravel......

dont disturb the bottom....

thank u barkblade for backin me up here

NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


the bacteria live in ur filter and as well as ur substrate!!!
mainly in ur substarate!!!!!!!!!
there are different types of good bacterias!!!!
ones that need to be exposed to air...
and others that feed off of natural nutrients that are in ur water..all that junk on the bottom is ur good bacterias HOME!!!!!
get the stuff on top of the gravel and a little below the surface never go eep down..that causes problems...

if u dig deep down to the bottom ur getting rid of all ur tanks cycling time!!!!!

it just about has to recyce if u do that.....

skim the top ive been keeping fish for yrs....
i work at a lfs....

you guys above me should also do the same...

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the bac in the filter get all the O2 they need. In W/D the extra O2 helps, but in the case of a canister or HOB, the media is not exposed to air. The water is continually being aerated by surface agitation. The high water flow and huge surface area make the filter media an ideal place for the bac (thats why theres so much more than the gravel). I have always penetrated as deep as possible and never had problems before.