Cleaning Of Gravel

HI all,
My fish tank is 5 gallons and I have one male betta .how often should I clean gravel by taking it out of tank if I am using gravel vacuum once in two weeks and do a 50% water change wiith that ?
.....also another question should I do 50% or 30% change ?

 

Is the tank cycled? If so you could do weekly 30-50% WC's. Just do sections of the gravel at a time or use a turkey baster and push as much waste as you can into one corner and suck it up that way.

 

If the tank is cycled than do a 50% gravel cleaning a week.

 

If the tank is cycled than do a 50% gravel cleaning a week.

No it’s not cycled . It’s been only 2 weeks since I got my first fish . Planning to do my first cleaning . Nitrate is At safe level (40) and ammonia is showing safe too in those strips but will do it tomorrow (after14 days) as my vacuum arrives then ! Should I take out and clean gravel or let that stay in and do proper cleaning once in 5 weeks . vacuuming every / weeks with 30% water change ?


Edit : water was prepared for 1week before fush was introduced and all chemical lebels were checked . If that’s what cycling means .

 

You should clean the gravel before 5 weeks. I am not really sure about that but 5 weeks is a lot of time before the gravel gets cleaned

 

You should clean the gravel before 5 weeks. I am not really sure about that but 5 weeks is a lot of time before the gravel gets cleaned

I plan to do gravel clean with vacuum once in two weeks . Then take it out of tank in 5 weeks .is it not safe ?

From What I understand I should take out gravel and clean every 2 weeks with 50% water change ? And vacuum once a week ? (Just to let you know I have one betta in 5 gallon and a filter) Hope it sounds correct .

 

You shouldn't need to take the gravel out of the tank, doing that would get rid of the good bacteria etc that you need to keep the water healthy. Clean it in situ when doing water changes or at least every alternate water change

The tank should have been allowed to cycle before adding your fish, having the fish in there during the cycle can take longer to cycle but by disrupting the gravel by removing it to clean will stop the cycle or at the very least extend the time it takes

 

I plan to do gravel clean with vacuum once in two weeks . Then take it out of tank in 5 weeks .is it not safe ?

From What I understand I should take out gravel and clean every 2 weeks with 50% water change ? And vacuum once a week ? (Just to let you know I have one betta in 5 gallon and a filter) Hope it sounds correct .

Don't remove the gravel to clean it. Just use your gravel vac to suck up the waste while doing partial water changes.

Don't remove the fish while doing water changes either. That will cause your fish too much stress and can lead to a sick fish. I don't know if you have been doing this but some folks do so I wanted to give you a heads up about it.

Doing a fish in cycle is totally doable as long as you keep up with the water changes. I would be doing no less that 2 50% water changes each week until the cycle is complete. Once it is done a 50% water change every week should keep your little guy healthy for a good long time. Hopefully for many years to come.

If you don't already have it I do recommend you get a bottle of Prime. It is first and foremost a water conditioner but goes a bit farther and detoxes low amounts of ammonia so will protect your little guy during the cycling process.

 

I would suggest getting a 5 gallon bucket that can be dedicated for aquarium use only.

On your next water change/gravel vac, drain 50% of the tank water into the bucket.

Place a mark to indicate the water line with a permanent marker on the inside and outside of the bucket.

Then place a smaller mark about an inch above and inch below the main water line mark.

That way when you refill your bucket, you can easily match how much was drained out of the tank. Also, refilling the tank from a single bucket makes it easier to match the tank temp from the faucet.

Since you have a small tank, I would also suggest getting a 1cc plastic syringe from a pharmacy to use for measuring out the dechlorinator you use.

I always keep plastic syringes in my stash of aquarium supplies. Makes it a lot easier and more accurate to dose dechlorinator and medications as needed.

If you don't mind me asking, is that the 5.5 gallon Top Fin aquarium from PetSmart in your picture? I ask, because we bought one a few months ago.

For a little tank, it has been running great! Our daughters used acrylic arts and crafts paint on the back glass. I liked it and did the same thing to our new 55g, but different color.

 

Thank you for your reply .very helpful .. We did let the aquarium “get ready “ if that’s what cycling means . Checked all levels on the strip and showed to pet-smart guy

You shouldn't need to take the gravel out of the tank, doing that would get rid of the good bacteria etc that you need to keep the water healthy. Clean it in situ when doing water changes or at least every alternate water change

The tank should have been allowed to cycle before adding your fish, having the fish in there during the cycle can take longer to cycle but by disrupting the gravel by removing it to clean will stop the cycle or at the very least extend the time it takes

Don't remove the gravel to clean it. Just use your gravel vac to suck up the waste while doing partial water changes.

Don't remove the fish while doing water changes either. That will cause your fish too much stress and can lead to a sick fish. I don't know if you have been doing this but some folks do so I wanted to give you a heads up about it.

Doing a fish in cycle is totally doable as long as you keep up with the water changes. I would be doing no less that 2 50% water changes each week until the cycle is complete. Once it is done a 50% water change every week should keep your little guy healthy for a good long time. Hopefully for many years to come.

If you don't already have it I do recommend you get a bottle of Prime. It is first and foremost a water conditioner but goes a bit farther and detoxes low amounts of ammonia so will protect your little guy during the cycling process.

Thank you for your reply , very helpful !

I would suggest getting a 5 gallon bucket that can be dedicated for aquarium use only.

On your next water change/gravel vac, drain 50% of the tank water into the bucket.

Place a mark to indicate the water line with a permanent marker on the inside and outside of the bucket.

Then place a smaller mark about an inch above and inch below the main water line mark.

That way when you refill your bucket, you can easily match how much was drained out of the tank. Also, refilling the tank from a single bucket makes it easier to match the tank temp from the faucet.

Since you have a small tank, I would also suggest getting a 1cc plastic syringe from a pharmacy to use for measuring out the dechlorinator you use.

I always keep plastic syringes in my stash of aquarium supplies. Makes it a lot easier and more accurate to dose dechlorinator and medications as needed.

If you don't mind me asking, is that the 5.5 gallon Top Fin aquarium from PetSmart in your picture? I ask, because we bought one a few months ago.

For a little tank, it has been running great! Our daughters used acrylic arts and crafts paint on the back glass. I liked it and did the same thing to our new 55g, but different color.

Yes it is top fun ...thanks for the info

 

Thank you for your reply .very helpful .. We did let the aquarium “get ready “ if that’s what cycling means . Checked all levels on the strip and showed to pet-smart guys .

This thread will explain a fish in cycle in fairly simple terms. Just click on the blue word and it will take you to the thread.

 

This thread will explain a fish in cycle in fairly simple terms. Just click on the blue word and it will take you to the thread.

ok ,will do!

 

am glad I joined this forum ....my last question is for how long do I treat new water with conditioner (that is to be put in water).lets say if I do 50% change for 5 gallon ?

 

am glad I joined this forum ....my last question is for how long do I treat new water with conditioner (that is to be put in water).lets say if I do 50% change for 5 gallon ?

I am not sure I understand your question. If you are asking how much water conditioner to add it depends on the one you are using. Prime is very concentrated so if you use it you will want to add about 1/2ml with each 50% water change. Since you are doing a fish in cycle you want to add enough for the full 5 gallons. Once the cycle is complete you will just add enough for the amount of new water.

Other brands of conditioners use different amounts so just follow the directions on the bottle.

The water conditioners work almost instantly so the water can be added to the tank right away. You want to try to temp match the new water to the same temp as the water in the tank. You can do this be using a mixture of both your hot and cold water. Put your conditioner in the bucket as it is filling and by the time the bucket is full it will be ready to pour in the tank.

 

I am not sure I understand your question. If you are asking how much water conditioner to add it depends on the one you are using. Prime is very concentrated so if you use it you will want to add about 1/2ml with each 50% water change. Since you are doing a fish in cycle you want to add enough for the full 5 gallons. Once the cycle is complete you will just add enough for the amount of new water.

Other brands of conditioners use different amounts so just follow the directions on the bottle.

The water conditioners work almost instantly so the water can be added to the tank right away. You want to try to temp match the new water to the same temp as the water in the tank. You can do this be using a mixture of both your hot and cold water. Put your conditioner in the bucket as it is filling and by the time the bucket is full it will be ready to pour in the tank.

I wanted to ask for how long to keep new water with conditioner . You wrote put it right away . The pet shop told me to keep it for half an hour ! It’s good to know we can put it right away as it works immediately. Quantity I can see on the directions of my top fin conditioner.. Thanks again