Big fish tanks hard to clean?

[BirdSquawk]

Hi! I have a 5 gallon guppy setup and it takes about an hour to clean and change the water. I have always been intriqued by some of the BIG fish tanks and thier residants. But if it takes an hour to clean 5 gallons, how long will it take to clean 30, or 100!? Are there any devices that make it simple, or any tricks to keeping my tank cleaner? Thanks

 

[MickeysMom]

Larger tanks filter better....more water=less yuck.

A good mechanical filter, regular water changes of at least 10% and an occasional scrub down of the glass shouldn't take long on a 30 or 100 gal tank.

It's all about stable parimeters, good husbandry and not overstocking to begin with....

 

[Boysmom]

We have a 60-70 Gallon tank that my sons red eared slider lives in. We clean it about every 4 months. Takes us several hours from draining the water to refilling it, as we clean all the gravel and the tank, lamps, filter/ pump and his floating log. Son has had the turtle for 6 years and saved his own chore money to buy the larger tank as the turtle grew, so its just a labor of love.

 

[paulhanlon]

We use to have a 300 gallon tank it wasn't that hard to clean as the filters did most of the work and we only kept yellow belly turtles but they were fun to watch lol.

 

[BarkleyLoves]

We've had a 100gal tank with an oscar in it, and at one time turtles. The larger tanks ar sometimes easier to clean, the pumps and other things do most of the work. The only thing with my oscar was it was carnivorous and ate other fish and we'd have to vaccuum out the fish bits. gross I know.

 

[paulhanlon]

Yeah my brother use to have a tank of beautiful fish then he added a Oscar and by the next day it had eatten all his other fish apart from the pleck as it hid from it I don't think the Oscar fish is a member of the pirahna family but it sure should be the way it ate its way through my brothers other fish.

I may add I'm surprised I just searched google and it turns out the Oscar fish and pirahna are in fact in the same family.

 

[evesta]

No, unless you have stubby arms like mine I had a 55 gallon and 20 gallon long. They both were easy to clean. I always over filtered and did weekly water changes but I had large, messy fancy goldfish. Most tropical tanks don't need weekly water changes.

 

[Parrotmamma]

I have a 75 gallon with fancy gold fish in it . I use 3 fluval filters and do a water change twice a week . But it only take me about 20 min. for water change and filter maintenance . I think the bigger tanks are easier , My son has a 10 gallon in his room and I think it is more work than the big one.

 

[BirdSquawk]

Thanks for the responses! Now that i know that giant tanks are not too hard to clean, i can 'dive in' to the fishkeeping hobby!

 

[budgie_man]

At most pet stores they sell magnet cleaners to at least clean the glass.

Mag Float Floating Magnet Aquarium Cleaners at PETCO

 

[BarkleyLoves]

Yeah my brother use to have a tank of beautiful fish then he added a Oscar and by the next day it had eatten all his other fish apart from the pleck as it hid from it I don't think the Oscar fish is a member of the pirahna family but it sure should be the way it ate its way through my brothers other fish.

I may add I'm surprised I just searched google and it turns out the Oscar fish and pirahna are in fact in the same family.

Thanks for the info. We used to have two, a black one and an albino. Didn't know they were so territorial, the pet store didn't tell us, till we came home one day and one oscar had attacked the other one. I guess my vet (avian and exotic) thought I was nuts for wanting to take the fish in to see if he could help it.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I agree with the others. The bigger, the better. NOT harder to clean at all.

I had a 180 gallon reef tank. Started off with a 75, and was terrified at going larger. BUT, everyone was dead on. The 180 was no more work than the smaller tank.

Larger water volumes are actually easier to maintain, they are more "forgiving" than small tanks.

This was "once upon a time" (3 years ago)

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I have a 48g and a 10g(both filtered)

It's super easy to clean both. Once a week I remove 25% of the water and replace it with fresh conditioned water and bacteria supplement. As long as you do weekly water changes it's easy. Also fish tanks shouldn't be scrubbed clean as this just removes all the good bacteria you want and you'll give yourself new tank syndrome.

And bigger tanks are definitely easier and more forgiving.

 

[BarkleyLoves]

I agree with the others. The bigger, the better. NOT harder to clean at all.

I had a 180 gallon reef tank. Started off with a 75, and was terrified at going larger. BUT, everyone was dead on. The 180 was no more work than the smaller tank.

Larger water volumes are actually easier to maintain, they are more "forgiving" than small tanks.

This was "once upon a time" (3 years ago)

That's a beautiful set-up!

 

[ConureCrazy]

I agree with the others. The bigger, the better. NOT harder to clean at all.

I had a 180 gallon reef tank. Started off with a 75, and was terrified at going larger. BUT, everyone was dead on. The 180 was no more work than the smaller tank.

Larger water volumes are actually easier to maintain, they are more "forgiving" than small tanks.

This was "once upon a time" (3 years ago)

OMG IT'S DORY!!!! sorry couldn't help it!

 

[MikeyTN]

The bigger then tank, easier then maintenance! We had multiple tanks at one point, now just down to one 75g freshwater tank that we're upgrading when we get the living room finished....If you get the water changing hose system, it's very simple to upkeep. And yes we use the magnet cleaners, it's so much easier!!!

 

[MikeyTN]

Jersey, that's a beautiful tank. We got rid of both of ours when the equipment started going one by one and I got fed up by it when saltwater was all over my floor one night when the overflow box broke on my 55g and I was mixing saltwater in the middle of the night to save my corals and fish....that was too hectic and always worry about my tanks when I'm not home....It was beautiful like yours at one point....I lost all my pictures few days ago when my micro SD died on me otherwise I would be posting it....

 

[JerseyWendy]

LOL @ CC. Yup, and Nemo was in there, too, but he was married

Thank you much BarkleyLoves and Mikey.

Mikey, I sold the entire setup just before Christmas of 2009 because I had fallen head over heels in love with a Blue & Gold Macaw baby and needed to make a decision what I wanted more

What a bummer on how you lost your corals and fish. That had to have been quite devestating.

 

[Lintini]

Whoa, stunning saltwater setup Wendy

I have an 80 gallon hex setup with fancy goldfish. Like everyone says, the larger the better. Mine is overstocked and I run 3 different filters and I do 50% water changes every 1-2 weeks depending how lazy I am

I love fish tanks, and I think it's because they are kinda like doll houses....lol

 

[Zuzu]

I myself have a 125 gal with mainly african and south american chiclids in it. what the real key to a clean clean tank is u need a gibson pleco, they are a little costly but their the cadiallic of cleaning tanks, cause some pleco's only do the glass, so do the ground/gravel and some just do the objects/decor, but a gibson cleans it all even at times you'll see him sucking on the filter tube( almost like saying give that back i wasn't done with it lol). also you may want to invest in a long hose that vacuums out the stuff in the gravel while the other end attaches to your kitchen faucet, it helps suck the water outta your tank, then turn the nozzel and it puts fresh back in, those magnets for cleaning algae off the glass only work so much. but you def gotta keep up with amount of water in tank otherwise you have quite a bit of algae build up on underside of tank top where the light sits. also you should go with a glass top lid, their much better i've noticed compared to the plastic hard tops, meaning you cut the exact about needed outta the plastic strip in back for your filter, heater, airlines. but the plastic hard top leaves gaps with their punch out methods for stuff, leaving access points for some fish to jump out or crawfish/crabs to crawl out. had a 2 inch blue lobster that the cat enjoyed as a snack when it got out, just giving ya the trouble free info first lol.