Small tank cleaning

[MikeO]

I have a question on how to clean smaller tanks. The tank in question is my 2 gal betta tank (1 male betta & 3 common snails) I don't think I can use the gravel vacuum I use for my 20 gal tank since it would remove water too fast, but I do not have a smaller gravel vacuum, could I just use normal air tubing, or is it ok to use the large gavel vacuum? The gravel vacuum has about a 2.5 in diameter on the large suction area.

 

[Nuriel]

I would just use the tubing.

 

[OrionGirl]

What substrate do you have? I use just tubing for my small tank, but I have sand--no worries about solid waste getting below the surface. With gravel, this is a concern that needs to be addressed. There are smaller gravel vacs available--I have one that is about 3/4 in diameter, with 1/4 in tubing: it moves the water pretty slowly, but enough to pull out solid waste.

 

[Ems]

I use a small gravel vac also, they're not very expensive, and would work in your situation.

 

[MikeO]

OG, I have gravel, when I was setting up the betta tank I stole it from the 20 gal tank (that 2 live plants and a large rock) The tank also has a small UG filter that came with it.

 

[aknif]

I'd get the small gravel vac. I have one that I used for my 5.5 gal, worked perfectly...

Way back in the day, when I didn't have a gravel vac, I'd stick my hand in, give the gravel a good stir and then scoop out 50% of the water while all the poo was floating around. I'm not saying that it's as efficient as a gravel vac, but it gets the job done... kinda...

 

[OrionGirl]

With a UGF, it will be very important to be able to work through the gravel and remove the accumulated solid waste. Just tubing won't allow you to clean the gravel effectively. If your LFS doesn't have a small size one, check online--they usually less than $5.

 

[MikeO]

Ok thanks OG, also I am planning on a water change today for the tank, which one should I use today, I should have next week the small one. I figure today is a good day for the change since the I got the fish on Wed last week.

 

[OrionGirl]

I'd use the tubing--stir up section of the gravel, siphon out the waste that you see, stir up another section of gravel, repeat. If there's lots of waste coming up, you may end up having to replace the water, and then repeat--this is not a bad thing, but can be a bit tedious. In my small tanks, I tend to do more frequent cleaning, so I can keep each change to about 30-40%. If I skip one, I end up pulling out half the water, re-filling, then pulling about another half just to keep them clean.