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How to keep a FO tank clean
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immortal View Drop Down
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Joined: March 18 2006
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    Posted: July 26 2006 at 11:20pm

How do you keep a fish only tank clean?  I have a 50 gallon tank set up with a picasso trigger and valentini puffer fish.  As they both will eat snails, hermits, shrimp, etc. what are my options?

The tank has been up for about two weeks.  It has about 2 inches of live sand and about 25 pounds of live rock in it.  It shares my 40 gallon sump along with my 65 gallon reef tank.

After two weeks I am starting to get junk (uneaten food, fish poop, etc) floating around on the bottom of the tank.  In my reef tank the hermits and shrimp take care of it...

In the tank I have a 230 gph powerhead, a 100 gph powerhead, a 200 gph power filter and about 150 gph coming from my sump into the tank.  I hoped that would be sufficient, but I guess not... 

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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Points: 21436 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 27 2006 at 7:48pm

Those powerheads can be sufficient if placed in position to create good water flow so the detritus stays suspended long enough to be sucked out. If you remember my tank, the water leaves the tank via a syphon tube at the bottom. This sucks detritus.

Also, you want bigger Hermits. Check with RStruhs on this board. He has to deal with this same problem in his FO tanks. He's always the first to take a large hermit that nobody else wants.
 
Also, gravel vacuming is very important along with Sand Sifting Stars to eat the leftovers.
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Adam Blundell View Drop Down
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I have the exact same problem going on right now in my tank!
Adam
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Points: 251 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote immortal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 28 2006 at 8:08pm

I put a big turbo snail in there and he started getting picked apart within seconds.  I guess I could try some big hermits but I think they would get picked on as well. 

How do I get my standpipe which is on the top of the water of course to suck up the stuff on the bottom?  How would I go about setting up a "syphon tube"?
 
Or I guess I could just use this tank to do water changes...  hook up my python and vacume the sand and then put in the new water.  I thought by going to salt water I didn't need to vacume the sand anymore...  HA
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