This is a great forum! I just got my Betta (Harley) a few days ago and am almost ready for a tank cleaning. I've got small fine rocks in the bottom of the bowl. How do I deal with these when its time to clean the bowl? Do I get a really fine strainer? Do I throw the rocks out? or do I somehow rinse them using a fine material or something? Thanks for the help and I will post pics of Harley soon.
Sorry I meant to say sand, not rocks. I've read the sand can be vacuumed. That's assuming the sand is dry . Is there an easier way to do it quickly rather than waiting for it to dry as I imagine that takes a while. How do I get all the water out so I can vacuum it?
Well, I don't know how to clean the sand itself, but to get the water out you'll need a plastic tube with no holes in it, and then somewhere to dump the water. Have the tank set higher then where ever your dumping the water, and then have one end of the tube in the water (not to close to the sand, as it will suck that up as well!) and then the other end down where ever the dirty water is going. You'll have to suck the other end of the tube, but then the water should start coming out of the tank and into whereeverthewaterisbeingdumped.
When you read that you have to vacuum the sand, it doesn't mean dry. They have water siphons at the pet stores. Just put the siphon in the tank and start the suction. if it's sand, you can't put the end in the tank right on top of the sand or it will suck it up. You're just trying to get the fish poopies off of it. Look up on youtube how to start a siphon. :)
Sorry, I'm an idiot! It's actually substrate. I don't even know what I bought. I double checked it when I got home and it's definately substrate! So can I vacuum this or is there some way to clean it for cleaning? Sorry again
Don't feel bad! Any type of rocks/gravel/sand/dirt is substrate. It is just a general term. It's like going to the store to buy food. You could get eggs, bread or cheese, but it's still food.
You clean it all the same way. Does it look like sand on a beach or little rocks? And how big is your tank? Sand needs to be vacuumed, but if your tank is small enough, you can just rinse gravel when you do a water change.
Don't feel bad! Any type of rocks/gravel/sand/dirt is substrate. It is just a general term. It's like going to the store to buy food. You could get eggs, bread or cheese, but it's still food.
You clean it all the same way. Does it look like sand on a beach or little rocks? And how big is your tank? Sand needs to be vacuumed, but if your tank is small enough, you can just rinse gravel when you do a water change.
It's little rocks. Right now Harley is just in a 1 gallon bowl. The pet store told me that's all I needed. I've learned a bit about that since reading this site. He'll be getting an upgraded house as soon as money allows.
My main concern is since it's little rocks, do I just pour out most of the water, put some more in, "swish" it around and pour as much I can out? Or should I get a vacuum? Or should i get some sort of strainer (although some of the rocks are pretty small) and rinse them in that? I want to make sure it's sufficiently clean before putting the new water in.
It's gravel then :) A 1 gallon is fine for now. My one betta likes his 1 gallon over anything else. He gets stressed in anything bigger, he's weird.
Every other day, I dump the water (after taking him and his fake plant out) and swish new water a few times until I can't see anything coming out. Then fill it back up, treat it and wait for it to be at room temperature. You don't need a siphon now, but I would recommend it for a bigger tank. Strainers are wonderful for rinsing out gravel. But if it's a temporary situation, I don't see a need to get one. The swishing will be good. :)
Thanks everyone! The more I read this site, the more I learn. It's great. I went from the pet store having me believe I have a low/no maintenance fish to being able to help make sure Harley lives a happy, healthy life.
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Sand not rocks...
. Is there an easier way to do it quickly rather than waiting for it to dry as I imagine that takes a while. How do I get all the water out so I can vacuum it?
