Help keeping a bare bottom tank

[quasar]

Hello everyone!

I finally upgraded my 75g to a 120g! I decided to keep the tank bare bottom but the poop and debris is stating to build up, and there's only so much the siphon catches. What are some of the ways you keep the bottom clean?

My filtration is 2 SUN-SUN 304B Canister Filters, and in all honesty I'm not down to create a sump (my DIY skills are nill).

Looking forward to your tips n tricks!

 

[Galantspeedz]

Wavemaker to move the poop and debris towards the pump

 

[islandguy11]

Hello everyone!

I finally upgraded my 75g to a 120g! I decided to keep the tank bare bottom but the poop and debris is stating to build up, and there's only so much the siphon catches. What are some of the ways you keep the bottom clean?

My filtration is 2 SUN-SUN 304B Canister Filters, and in all honesty I'm not down to create a sump (my DIY skills are nill).

Looking forward to your tips n tricks!

You could use a small powerhead situated at/near bottom of tank to push all the detritus toward your siphon -- but I have found that bare bottom tanks are actually a labor of love if you want to keep them nice and presentable: meaning you have to go in every day and do a quick cleaning with a gravel vac or similar, only takes a few minutes, you've just got to get into the habit. I prefer these cheap battery operated vacs by Jeneca:



I don't use the small bags, just drain the poop water into a bucket, toss the water in the garden and then top off the tank with an equal amount of water. This helps a bit with nitrate levels.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

A bristlenose pleco and a power head to keep the debris afloat so it can be drawn into your filter will keep your bottom clean.

 

[Niki_up]

My tank was much smaller than yours, it’s a 2x2 69g cube and when I kept goldfish in it i had a bare bottom tank and I never seen any poop build up and when I drained the tank it was as simple as positioning the siphon in a corner and let it drain...and goldfish are known to be poop machines

 

[kno4te]

A bristlenose pleco and a power head to keep the debris afloat so it can be drawn into your filter will keep your bottom clean.

+1 Had a powerhead in my 120 at the bottom and it helped to clear up the debris.

Also here’s an interesting idea and vid i saw that could be done.

 

[Sac39051]

That’s a pretty dope diy overflow. Makes me want to drill some holes at the very bottom on mine.

 

[islandguy11]

+1 Had a powerhead in my 120 at the bottom and it helped to clear up the debris.

Also here’s an interesting idea and vid i saw that could be done.

I've seen that video, nice little set-up, the only issue is that the poop's gotta go somewhere (into that corner filter), where it's just going to get even messier spread over mechanical filters and worse possibly bio-media. So one would either need to regularly clean those filters, or better impo just to zap it out before it gets to that stage.

I have to admit though I'm coming from the perspective of solo showpiece or lightly stocked tanks -- those with more fish might find the other approach easier.

 

[quasar]

I like the powerhead idea.

Does it need to be at the bottom, or would midway pointing down be better?

 

[Rob909]

I like the powerhead idea.

Does it need to be at the bottom, or would midway pointing down be better?

I keep mine a couple inches off the bottom and point it down and toward the front glass of the tank. This helps create a stirring effect and pushes the detritus up into the water column. If all you’re running is a single sunsun, you could keep it in the middle and point down, or put it at the bottom and point across the tank. The suction isn’t amazing on those filters so you’d have to point it pretty much right at the intake.
I started with just a single sunsun and had the intake on the right side of the tank. I used two power heads to push everything that way from the left. I got a lot of detritus to the right side but it didn’t all get sucked up by the filter intake. Now, I have the sunsun plus a sump on an overflow. I prefer to keep it suspended so the overflow can catch some and the sunsun catches some as well. It doesn’t get everything, so I still have to vacuum. But still much less of a hassle IMO than substrate.