Fish tank maintenance

[alvaro1983]

Hi. I planted my tank a couple of weeks ago and cleaned it for the first time about one week ago. Now, I'm scheduled to do my first water change since and it's been so annoying with all those plants floating around. Anyways, my question is, is there a way to clean the gravel without having to take out and then replant all of the plants. I use one of those standard gravel filters they use at Wal-Mart. My other question is about if it is possible or has anyone ever tried to run a tank for about a month or so by itself. I'm gonna go back home for summer vacations but am planning on returning early to work and tend for the tank. I shouldn't be away any longer than a month but I'm not sure if I can leave it alone for a month. How would I do for the feeding, evaporation and cleaning? If you have any ideas please let me know. Thanks.

Alvaro.

[Smokey]

Howdey alvaro; I think you have incounted one of the ''problems'' reguarding a planted tank.
IMO - placing the plants into seperate containers - may help.
You have fish in the tank??? How many.

Leaving a tank unattend for such a period of time could be disasterous. I have been away for up to 10 days and was amazed at just how much water did evaporate.

Not to mention the possibility of an electrical problem. Heater -out of water -burns out/or causes the glass tank to crack.

If possible- is there a person [trusted] that could attend the tank while your are away???

[jdr3366]

Hi Alvaro,

You may want to post your question on the Biotope list. But since you are here, my experience is that I have maintained planted discus tanks for more than 3 years. First a 75 gallon tank and more recently a 185 gallon tank. I vacuum about once or twice a week, and have an automatic system to change about 100 to 120 gallons per day. I cover the bottom of the tank with about an inch or 2 inches of Seachem Fluorite and an additional 1.5 to 2 inches of #3 gravel above it.

Uprooting the plants has only been a problem when the CO2 system goes down for a while and the plant gets weak. After about a week I have found that plants establish a good root system and are actually difficult to pull out of the gravel. The longer they are planted, the more difficult it is to uproot them.

If the plants are easy to pull out of the gravel, maybe you should check the Co2 and fertilizer dosing (IMHO). And gently clean just the top level of gravel. I don't think it is necessary to go deep into the gravel to pick up waste in a planted tank.

Hope this helps,

John R

[RAWesolowski]

Alvaro,

I read your post a couple of times. It sounds like you are using an undergravel filter in your planted tank. If you are, you will find that the plants will do better without the undergravel filter and you may want to shift to a "hang on" filter such as an Aquaclear. Undergravel filters, in my opinion, trap waste beneath the gravel and provide a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty problems.

You didn't mention fish or the frequency of water changes. It is a good idea to lightly vacuum your tank with each water change. If you change water frequently, think daily, you may want to divide your tank into quadrants and vacuum one quadrant each day that you change water. John is absolutely correct in that deep cleaning of your substrate is probably unnecessary. Just clean the surface and very fine substrate and down to a 1/4" or 1/2" of larger substrate.

My experience in abandoning a tank for a period of time, say two weeks, is that unless the tank is very well established and balanced with higher plants, algae will have a field day. Considerations in planning for your trip should be lighting for the aquarium and feeding any fish. You might want to look at timers to control light duration and auto feeders set to the very lightest of feedings for any fish.