Aquarium Cleaning Tools for Organic Mulm/Sludge Removal

Aquarium Cleaning Tools for Organic Mulm/Sludge Removal

The regular cleaning of your aquarium which generally includes a vacuuming and discharge of water and replacement of this water is in most cases an essential part of aquarium maintenance.

However often there are times when food gets over fed or organic mulm builds up (sludge, detritus, etc.), and a water change is not a viable option (sometimes in the case of a marine aquarium you do not have mixed saltwater readily available).
This is where tools such as the Eheim Quick Vac is a very useful and practical tool to have on hand.
While this product does not replace water changes not is it as thorough as the Aquarium Cleaning Machine (which can also change out water), it is very quick and simple to use, which neither a water change nor the Aquarium Cleaning machine can boast as to quickness of use/procedure.

Here are a few other reasons to use an Eheim Quick Vac:

• Useful for Freshwater aquariums with high DOC (dissolved organic compounds) where a large water change to remove organic mulm would cause osmotic shock. You can first vacuum with this Eheim Battery Micron Vacuum to remove heavy mulm accumulations, then perform a more "normal" water change (using a gravel vacuum such as Lees or Python)


• For Nitrate removal in marine or freshwater aquariums, vacuum as much mulm/sludge as possible (under ornaments, rocks, etc), then change 20% or more of your water as you would normally. This lowers the amount of organic material before it can go through the nitrogen cycle resulting in lower Nitrates than just performing water changes.


• Cleans gravel without removing essential bacteria


• While not an essential Aquarium maintenance tool, this is still a good investment such as a UV Sterilizer or Reverse Osmosis Water Filter

For further aquarium care information, please see this excellent directory of only the best internet aquatic resources:
Aquarium Information

For further professional based advice as to what to do first when our fish get sick:
Fish Diseases | How to Treat Sick Fish

For our recommended basic bio filter:

AAP/ATI Professional Sponge Filters

For a product that any serious aquarium keeper should be using in between water changes (please note that Amazon and others are selling clearance product that is NOT fresh and therefore does not supply the mineral Cations that makes this product so useful):
AAP Wonder Shells ONLY authorized online seller of full line fresh product
Please support the quickly disappearing professional aquarium industry by purchasing from AAP, not Amazon, Aquarium Co-op or others!

Reasons for aquarium cleaning

Reasons for Aquarium Cleaning (Freshwater OR marine):

* Nitrate control- A nitrate level of 20 ppm or less is best saltwater, 50 ppm or less for FW (you want a Nitrate level of at least 15 ppm for planted FW aquariums).
Please note; an average protein skimmer can NOT keep up with the organic waste output of an average stocked marine aquarium, and water changes for organic removal and nitrate control is still necessary in marine aquarium with a protein skimmer (there of coarse are exceptions in a reef aquarium with large amounts of live rock and live sand, heavy plant or green algae growth, and light animal load- even then added elements need to be replaced in a closed system).

I often have told my customers that Nitrate removal was a ONE (not the only) reason for water changes WITH vacuuming, and it is an important reason.
Also as for Nitrates, especially in marine aquariums, removing organic debris before it "cycles" via vacuuming is in my opinion the main focus of nitrate removal via water change.

* Ph and KH control- Maintaining a proper ph (ph levels have a tendency to drop from biological activity), KH is the buffering abilty of the water and that too can decrease. KH is VERY important and a major problem I have seen over the years in my maintenance business when calling on customers who seemed to always have problems with their aquariums and claimed cleaning their aquarium caused their problems, which of coarse is not true. Maintaining a proper KH between cleanings is important. Wonder Shells are one way, arogonite, SeaChem Replenish, are other methods.


* Removal of harmful elements. There are many toxins that can be introduced, airborne or in other ways enter the aquarium that are not easily measured.

* Rinsing of bio-sponges, media, ect in used aquarium water (not tap water). This includes sponge filters, bio balls, ceramic media in canister filters (canister filters need to be cleaned more often than many aquarists think)

* Removal of waste before it can go thru the nitrogen cycle

* Control of algae growth

* All these reasons are based on 32+ years of professional aquarium maintenance with some of the largest accounts in Los Angeles, CA

*Replacement of of your UV Bulbs inside operating UV Sterilizers every six months should also be part of regular maintenance

For more information and methods for aquarium cleaning, please see this more complete article article:
AQUARIUM CLEANING; Reasons and methods for water changes

Aquarium Cleaning

AQUARIUM CLEANING

For cleaning your aquarium (freshwater or saltwater) a Gravel Vacuum attached to a siphon or recirculating filter works best. If you have a planted aquarium, I recommend #00 sand (3-5 cm) mixed with laterite or conditioned soil with #3 gravel (2-3 cm) on top. You should NOT vacuum the sand, as this will tend to be sucked all the way thru the vacuum, and this will also disturb the natural aerobic and anaerobic filtration going on in the substrate being performed by the bacteria and plant roots.
A relatively new device that performs both water removal and recirculation thru a micron filter cartridge that is easily cleaned is the Aquarium Cleaning Machine. This new device uses a protected mag drive motor to remove or recirculate your water thru a filter (or both). For saltwater changes, this device is a money saver and fish saver. You can change 20% of your water, then keep re-filtering it thru the micron cartridge using the gravel vacuum do pick up debris. This saves having to use more salt for larger water changes and keeps a healthier aquarium with lower nitrates, as much of the debris is removed from your system before it can go thru the nitrogen cycle (adding to the Nitrate levels).

A similar device is the
Eheim Sludge Remover Vacuum. This is a more simple and easy to use device than the cleaning machine, not to mention less expensive.
However it also is not as effective, especially for larger aquariums (over 75 gallons). The Sludge Remover also is only for vacuuming out larger sludge, not true micron filtration and water changes.

For more information and methods for aquarium cleaning, please see this more complete article article:
AQUARIUM CLEANING; Reasons and methods for water changes

Other Useful Products
For replacement UV Bulbs for your Aquarium UV Sterilizer