2 things

[Mr.Fish]

First ammonia,

I did a water change about 15-25% and the water actually looks even more cloudy. I am about on the 3rd week of a cycle.

I saw these tablets that you put in and it clears clouds should I do it?

2nd

I bought a vaccum. I have no clue how to attach it to the air pump (maybe its because I have no clue where it is)

 

[Jadenblack]

I am sure some one that knows more will answer this for you, but the vacuum that I have it uses the same idea as siphoning gas.


But the whole thing under water, leave the vacuum tip under water, I plug the end of the tube with my thumb then place it in a bucket and you are off and cleaning *SUNSMILE*

Hope this helps, I am sure it will not if you have some fancy dancy vacuum.

 

[FroggyFox]

Personally I would just let the tank cycle. I dont remember...are you doing fishless or fish in cycle? Especially if its fishless I would just leave it alone. You dont need to be doing water changes or vaccuuming, it will just slow your cycle down.

If you have fish and are doing regular water changes...maybe the vaccuum is what you needed. I dont have the patience to fill the whole thing up with water and plug the end (either that or my tanks aren't big enough to do that)...I just suck on the end that goes into the bucket while the big end is in the tank. You get pretty good at not getting any nasty water in your mouth. lol

 

[lmosness]

I tried the sucking thing once & I'll never do it again. That's the closest to puking (w/o having the flu) that I've ever gotten! As far as the cyphon, I do the same thing as the others ... put (almost) all of it in the water, leave the big end in, pull the small end out (plugged) and if water doesn't start immediately coming out you can "pump" big end up & down in the water until it does. Mine is a 30 gal so I probably have a bit more room for all of this manipulating of the hose.

As far as the amonia.... if it's really bad, if there are fish in there, I would suggest a big water change (30-40%) and make sure to keep putting fresh filters in. If it continues to be a problem, you may be over feeding (I did that at first b/c they always seemed hungry).

Also, I like to use both Stress Coat & Stress Zyme in my water on a regular basis. This seems help keep things in check.

 

[Expresso]

I was thinking of getting one of these vaccumes but I plan to get shrimp, so I don't know if I will actually need this. Or if I do how can I clean the gravel without sucking up the shrimp?

 

[lmosness]

I only have one shrimp. I'm assuming b/c they are so small they won't be able to keep up w/ all of the junk. Plus I don't know that they clean up waste that doesn't go through the filter. I have little experience w/ the shrimp so far. I've got the same worry about the syphon & my shrimp, I'm planning on just watching closely. I managed to do cleanings w/ babies in there so I figure it can't be harder than that.

 

[FroggyFox]

The suction from the siphon isn't strong enough to suck your critters up usually. Sometimes if they swim up the tube they'll get sucked up (I've done it with guppy fry before) but if they're swimming away from the end you dont really have to worry about it.

Honestly, I dont think I've ever gotten water in my mouth doing that...if you feel the need to practice, try it with some fresh water in the sink first or something

 

[lmosness]

I did the same w/ some guppy or mollie fry but that it also. I'm sure I wasn't paying close enough attention to the water. Only a tiny bit got in my mouth but that was enough for me. I'm sure my father did it w/o getting it in his mouth when I was a child (hence why I thought I could pull it off) so I'm sure if one is watching out it makes things easier to get the water going.

 

[Lotus]

There are almost always instructions on the gravel vacuum on how to use it. As always, RTFM. I can't believe they don't teach anything about how a siphon works in basic science classes these days

I've never needed to suck to start my gravel vacs. Either submerse the whole thing in the tank, then take the tubing end out, keeping your thumb over it until you put it in the bucket, or use the pump-action thing that comes on most vacs. If all else fails, use a turkey baster to start the siphon. Don't forget, the bucket has to be lower than the tank for a siphon to work.

By the way, tank water is probably nothing in comparison to a mouthful of gasoline if you've ever had to empty a tank in a car or motorcycle and not paid enough attention. *crazysmil

You need to watch what your doing when you clean your gravel. Most fish will swim away, but some aren't so smart. Just pay attention to what you're doing.