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Post by Carl on Feb 24, 2021 13:58:47 GMT -5
I've updated our industry/hobby leading article on the subject of aquarium cleaning that is experience based unlike most other in YouTube and elsewhere. www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.htmlHere is an excerpt: "For cleaning your aquarium (freshwater or saltwater) a Gravel Vacuum attached to a siphon or re-circulating filter works best. These vacuums are quite easy to use; simply push the bell of the vacuum into the gravel and quickly back out. If you are having problems with sucking gravel into the siphon hose, try kinking the hose with your other hand to slow the out flow to keep gravel from being sucked up. Make sure and lift ornaments out of the way and vacuum in as many dead spots as possible. It is important to get as much of this organic “mulm” out of the aquarium as possible as this is what leads to higher nitrates, ph crashes (due to nitric acid production during decay), and resulting in poor KH levels. (Please click on picture to enlarge) As a generalization based on my decades of professional aquarium cleaning over literally 1000s of aquariums, the proper use of an aquarium vacuum that includes vacuuming under ornaments and rocks as well as rinsing and/or changing of dirty filter media with smaller 25% water changes (or less) will make more difference than large water changes. In fact I've made fast water changes where I simply stuck a siphon in an aquarium at my largest service client (the Bahooka Restaurant with over 100 aquariums, most over 100 gallons), all the while I changed less than half the water in a nearby aquarium using the vacuum (& more) and while nitrates were the same at the time of changing, a check one week later showed lower nitrates on the aquarium with the smaller but more correct cleaning procedure. "
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