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Questionville.com - Pets - Fish - Anyone have a fish tank setup that cleans itself

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Not so easy.
Submitted By: dirtytricks ( 44 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes ago )
I don't think theres a way to completly getting around to cleaning your fish tank. Your best bet would be to get fish that produce minimal waste and have some fish that clean up. you canresearch fish species and find out whether or not theyd fight. id also recommend getting some invertibretes. snails help, but they need to be kept in control. shrimp work wonders. you should be able to pick up some ghost shrimp for somethign like 5 cents each.

also if youve got the dedication reef tanks have a whole system to keep themselves clean. but its a long tedious process to set up and salt water tanks take more chemical maintinance.
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Undergravel Filters
Submitted By: frickindeal ( 44 days, 19 hours, 55 minutes ago )
Begin your setup with undergravel filters with a filter head.  Do some research, some are better than others.  Make sure you populate your tank with "algae eaters" and "garbage fish" to complement your community.  Major priority:  make sure to keep your tank away from direct sunlight.  This cannot be stressed enough.  A tank in direct sunlight will be far more difficult to keep clean, as the light will cause an abundance of algae on your glass.  Research the feeding needs of your community; many fish deaths are the direct result of overfeeding, which also causes excess waste products and excess food on your gravel (this is where the "garbage" fish come in).

It is possible, it's just not easy.  If your algae fish was attacking your community, he was either diparate size-wise to the community, just an overly aggressive specimen, or lacking food.  Again, reasearch is key.  Most reputable aquarium stores can recommend a good community of fish that will coexist without problems.
Submitted By: sanka
Undergravel filters do wonders.  If you've ever moved tanks and seen what collects underneath them you know that.  The real problem with most tanks is overfeeding, not waste.  A properly cycled tank will have bacteria that recycle waste just fine.  Overfeeding adds way too much junk into the system.  You should still vacuum the tank out at the very least once a month.
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I clean my tank every 18 months!
Submitted By: z_aksis ( 37 days, 15 hours, 31 minutes ago )
believe it or not.....trick for me is to NEVER overfeed, do not use too many fish...especially big ones. they crap more than you can clean. i have 3 medium fish 3-5" in a 10 gallon tank. i use Penguin filter without the biowheel (gimmik) and change the filter every couple months. BIG DEAL to get a  gravel vaccuum and vaccuum the old food and junk out of the gravel with about a 3rd of the water every month or so as well. replace the water and add a little dechlor. If you get hit by sun sometimes use the no-algae pellets and feed your algae eater some algae chips instead. KEEP THE WATER MOVING with the filter and or air bubbles and the temp for freshwater about 74-76 and they will be fine. My tank is so clear it amazes folks when they see it. even more when they find out my cleaning schedule...LOW MAINTENANCE! good luck!
Submitted By: z_aksis
also note that most pet store fish only live for a year or two max. ask the dealer if you want longer. i found this out and it explained a lot of my unexplained "clean water deaths" as my chemical levels in the water were fine.