NYCichlidForum.com

Question is
how do you guys vacuum you tanks with sand and lots of rocks? i got lots of rocks and it pita to vacuum it .
I got 2" juvies of different malawi males ( 2 yellow blue , 3 electric yellow , blue peacock.and more) , but now my fryeri female is chasing everyone !! she has pretty hard time to get them cause they are small and will fit into holes for which she is way too big . When will she stop?

I can help with your vacuum problem but not sure on your female issue. I use a python to vacuum my tank and it works great. you can get them at any pet store. They are around 60-70 dollors but worth every penny. No more buckets for water changes. It hooks right up to your sink for pulling water our or putting water in. I hang it out the window for getting water out of the tank but its really good at sucking up the debre at the bottom.

I find it easier to clean my tanks that have a sand substrate with out the siphon tube. Hold the hose about a inch above the substrate and the mulm will and get sucked up and not the sand. I take out all of the decorations every other water change to get all of the mulm in the tank.

so if you have 20lb or small rocks , you will take them out every week for vacuuming?
i got python and its always hard to get to places, i gotta try that tube think mike id tslking about

It is up to you how often you take all of the rocks out to get all of the mulm. You can also vacuum the mulm from the perimeter. Then fill the tank back up. But as you are filling it back up aim the water at the rocks and its crevices. This will stir up the mulm. Just make sure it does not stir up too much sand. When it settles vacuum it out with the python.

I use the hydor koralia to blast out the poo in those hard to reach places. I leave the filters running while i'm sucking out the water for as long as I can. this helps to get rid of some of the poo too.

i am actually thinking about something like this
http://darko-aquarium.blogspot.com/2009 ... eaner.html
maybe couple powerheads close to gravel could force dirt to the corner where vacum will be waiting to suck it up. HMMM i smell new DIY
ill start working on it asap and will let you know

I have a few hundred pounds of rock in some of my tanks,I take it out to clean underneath about every 6 weeks to 2 months.

Usually my tanks are low on water (especially in the winter months) so I add some by way of 5 gallon bucket before I vaccuum. Once I do this all the stuff in the nook and carannies comes out and settles. After it settles I go in and vaccuum it up.

i am just curious why over winter you got low water? any particular reason?
i will do little water change tomorrow and good vacuum

Mainly because of how dry the air is during the winter. By time I get around to my 7-10 day WC the tanks are low enough on water i can almost add a full 5 gallons of water. The water is taken up a lot faster in the winter in the dry air.