# Tank Overhaul Advice



## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

Folks...I have 220 gallon tank up and running and have had some success with growing live plants although the growth rates seems to have drastically slowed down over the past few weeks yet the water parameters are exactly the same. I am thinking of completely overhauling the tank and giving it a really good cleaning as the glass seems to be inherently dirty on the inside. I also have a few patches of very stubborn algae than my scrubber does not remove easily. I am thinking of removing everything including my livestock and cleaning everything really well and then putting it all back together again. I am running 3 FX5 filters and two 300 watt heaters that I could easily adapt to some sort of temporary holding tank or tanks...any ideas what I could use for holding tanks? Also is this a dumb idea and would I risk running the tank through another cycle? I was thinking of keeping as much water as needed to house my livestock, say 100-150 gallons and then return the water and reconnect the filters and heaters once the fish are back in the tank. I would run the filters on the holding tanks to keep the water running through my filters....any suggestions as to how I can accomplish this task with the least amount of stress to my livestock?

Advice appreciated.


----------



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

How long has the tank been running for?
Are you dosing any fertz for the plants and what kind of substrate? Plants? How old are they?
What is in it? 
What are your water parameters?

IMO restarting a tank is the last option but sometimes needed. As tanks age the amount of debris/sludge/algae builds up. If the tank is old than sometimes it just has to be done. My 4 year old planted tank is full of debris. I constantly run 2 hang on canisters to remove it all. The plants break down and cause a mess but Im trying to battle through it because I really don't want to restart it. Its lots of work but I enjoy it.


----------



## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

Well I did all my water chemistry tests yesterday and other than Nitrate everything seems very normal...here they are
water temp 79 degrees
GH...8
KH...4
PH...7.4
Nitrite...0
Ammonia...0
Nitrate... 80 PPM
I did a 50% water change yesterday and will check parameters again...I seem to be having issues with damn algae and I am beginning to wonder if my lights may be on to long...I will make some changes and see if that helps with the algae but I also dont want to harm any plant growth...I am not using any fertilizer and now I just remembered I wonder if my plant tabs have all but dissolved...I set the tank up in April...perhaps my tabs need to be replaced that could explain poor plant growth..


----------



## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

If you want to take stubborn stuffs off the glass, you can always use a razor blade.


----------

