r/nanotank • u/PerusingPerson • Dec 12 '24
Recommendations for keeping tank cleaner Help
Hi all. Have a 6 gallon Fluval Edge. Gravel substrate, a large rock, a large branch, one fist sized Anubis, a scattering of java moss, and something else that is skinny and tall with tiny oval leaves that is probably 10-15 stalks. The tank has 2 guppies, 7 ember tetras, 1 nerite snail and a whole colony of cherry shrimp. I know the tank is overstocked, but what could I do to help keep the substrate cleaner other than vacuuming? It doesn't seem like the gravel gets moved around at all and it accumulates a ton of junk. I saw somewhere it said trumpet snails will get into the gravel, but worry about their population exploding and not leaving enough biofilm for the shrimp
1
u/PerilousFun Dec 12 '24
Just aggressively shove the end of your gravel vac into the gravel. It'll stir up the mulma bit and suck up anything in the top layer. Can't do this where plants are for obvious reasons. Otherwise, mostly relying on bacteria colonies to handle the deep mulm.
1
u/Independent_Push_159 Dec 13 '24
Trumpet snails do an amazing job in the substrate. They won't get everything the shrimp want to eat, don't worry about them. Shrimp will be hoovering up leftover food, bits of biofilm the snails can't get, all sorts of crud.
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u/PerusingPerson Dec 13 '24
Will trumpet snail population get out of hand quickly? It's a small tank- what do we think the odds of a single trumpet snail reproducing area?
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u/Independent_Push_159 Dec 13 '24
I'm not going to lie, there were a lot of them. But "Is it a problem?" is a question to which the answer is a matter of personal preference. I like them, and didn't have issues with them being there. Others don't like to see snails at all, others like a happy medium. I know people have used assassin snails to keep trumpets under control, adds to the ecological complexity of your little habitat so it's a valid choice. Mine arrived on their own so I don't know if one on its own would be a likely breeder.
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u/ayuzer 28d ago
You may need more flow if the water column is too still. Get a small powered or cheap sub pump and have it near bottom of tank and aimed horizontally to give some flow for the detritus to clear up.
Undergravel filters are also amazing in keeping your substrate clean and filtering the water at the same time, but you will have to reset the tank for this.
2
u/anna_or_elsa Dec 12 '24
On my Fluval Flex 15, I use a turkey baster to squirt water around the tank a bit to get stuff up into the water, and I use a 2" net to catch what I can. The supplements are every 2 weeks vacuuming.
On other (larger) tanks I've run a DIY polishing filter during water changes and I'm thinking about getting a Sicce Shark Nano Pro 250 to serve that purpose with my Flex 15.