# Want cleaner gravel...



## mihaelb (Feb 11, 2009)

In addition to vacuuming the bottom, what other GOOD solutions are there to keeping the rotting food, etc to a minimum?

Currently, I have plain gravel from Big Al's with a freshwater setup. I have 4 shrimp and a siamese algae eater helping with the cleaning, but I would like to make sure that the water is clean.

Someone suggested live rock or lava rock for better quality, someone else suggested Ramshorn snails, but I'm worried about there becoming an infestation of them.

Thoughts about either of those solutions, or any other good ones? 

Thanks


----------



## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

if there's rotting food you might be overfeeding.

sand is easier to clean than gravel imo. barebottom even better.

you want to make the bottom clean or the water clean?
mechanical filtration would polish up the water to make it LOOK clean.

picking up one of those hydro sponges attached to an air tube or a powerhead would help.


----------



## atclarkson (Jan 22, 2009)

mihaelb said:


> keeping the rotting food, etc to a minimum?


ditto above, don't feed so much.

And snails won't become a problem so long as you don't overfeed either

good luck


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Good circulation and filter floss to polish your water.

And there never should be rotting food. You're probably overfeeding.


----------



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

What size is your tank ,what kind of shrimp,you might also want to add a few low light plants in there. Is your water cloudy or something.


----------



## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

I use a python to clean my gravel and I couldn't live without it now. I drain the water with the aid of a small pump which I water the grass and plants with in the summer & in the winter in my laundry sink to conserve water. Then I gravel vac the rest, I couldn't do without it and find it much more powerful then the regular gravel vac.


----------



## mihaelb (Feb 11, 2009)

Tank is 16gal.

5 red cherry shrimp. I don't THINK I overfeed, as the clown loaches will eat pretty much anything that's on the bottom throughout the day, but I still suck up a lot of junk when I syphon the bottom (not sure if it's rotting food or just fish waste)...

I have 4 plants. not sure if they are low-light or not (don't know what they are anymore).

Water is pretty clear. Amonia levels are undetectable, but it still seems that there is a lot of junk in the water that gets syphoned.


----------



## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

but that's throughout the day. the fish should consume everything within 5 minutes or so. a bit of junk in the gravel is normal. that's one of the reasons why i don't like gravel.


----------



## _Green_ (Dec 30, 2008)

mihaelb said:


> Tank is 16gal.
> 
> 5 red cherry shrimp. I don't THINK I overfeed, as the clown loaches will eat pretty much anything that's on the bottom throughout the day, but I still suck up a lot of junk when I syphon the bottom (not sure if it's rotting food or just fish waste)...
> 
> ...


That stuff in your gravel could be fish waste and probably is more fish waste than leftover food. And that's normal, not much you can do about that.


----------



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Just picked something up in your comments How many clowns do you have . Maybe this is where most of the mess is comming from. Clowns in 16 gals of water is not good these fish grow to 16 ins.


----------



## mointhehouse128 (Feb 7, 2009)

Maybe you can get more shrimp and snails, making sure you don't overfeed, so there's not an infestation of snails. But I think the clown loaches can eat some snails. Could you take pics of your plants...maybe that will help.


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

You shouldn't be keeping clown loaches in a 16g aquarium.


----------



## mihaelb (Feb 11, 2009)

Not even when they're small (1.5")? I was planning to give them away when they become bigger (2.5-3"). Guy at the store assured me that my aquarium would be big enough...I only read otherwise later


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Sure, when they are small I guess. A store shouldn't sell you fish based on the fact that while they are small you can keep them. It is guaranteed they will grow, and in this case, it won't take long.

Why buy fish to just give them away later? Why not buy fish that you can properly keep? Isn't that like, throwing money away?

A 16g aquarium is a small tank. If I had my way, I would ban the sale of anything less than a 20g tank unless you could show proof of some sort of fish husbandry knowledge! People mistreat fish way too much, and smaller tanks and lackluster filtration (and skewed filtration ratings) are probably one of the main causes. People are willing to continually spend hundreds of dollars on new fish, but not willing to put the proper money into the equipment needed to properly keep them. I don't understand it.

I guess in an industry that thrives on selling more and more fish, having a high turnover rate of fish is a good thing. From my perspective...I think it is cruel.

Sorry, got a little sidetracked there - this isn't all directed at you, to put you at ease =)


----------



## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

*Sand wins over gravel*

Want a healthy tank with growing plants no fertilizer or CO-2? Then use builders sand or lakeshore sand. You can mix in some pea gravel to make it look more natural and appealing. Stick in the plants that you want and throw in a few trumpet snails and other than a water change once a week you have no unnecessary maintenance. I may curse those trumpet snails but you won't find uneaten food in the tank. Kate can vouch for how well my plants grow.

Keeping an aquarium does not have to be expensive. It is only that way because advice is taken from the pet trade that stands to make money from what they tell you. We have had beautiful aquariums over 50 years ago before everything went high tech and expensive.


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

At the same time, with the ability to go hi-tech (or even partially), we can now successfully grow a wider range of plants, healthier plants and tailor them to how we want our tank to look.

For sure you can have a low-tech tank that has beautiful plants. I have a couple myself. I would be hard-pressed to believe that adding co2 and fertilizers are only done because of pressure and advice from the pet trade. In fact, I think the pet trade is really far behind on marketing these elements properly.

Fertilizer and co2 are typically purchased _outside_ of the pet trade itself, so I'm unsure as to how they are making a benefit from it.

You also cannot deny the science of how plants grow - and that most of the REAL information available when it comes to growing aquatic plants is from hobbyists like you and me, not any affiliate of the pet trade.


----------

