Holiday worries...

[MattP]

Hi There, would like to know if leaving my tank for a week with no reliable friend, neighbour to oversee it, is going to be ok? Apart from some danios, congo tetras and cherry barbs which I know will be fine , I have 3 mature Megalechis thoracata which I introduced a few weeks back and a snowball plec LDA33. The cats have massive appetites and just wondered if they'll be ok for a week unattended?

Cheers Matt

[MatsP]

It'll be absolutely fine if they are otherwise happy and healthy. Give them a nice feed the night before you leave, and then they'll be ever so happy to see you when you get back.

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Mats

[Carp37]

As Mats says, these should be fine- I've got nine Megalechis that went a fortnight without food whilst I was stuck in Spain during the Ash Cloud crisis. The only thing I'd suggest is to make sure the filters are running cleanly before you go- the fish won't starve, but might run short of oxygen if a filter clogs.

[MattP]

Thanks guys that's definitely put my mind at rest!! It's funny you should mention the filter as I've noticed a small reduction in the filter outflow rate recently. This seems to be connected to our kitten "Jett" who is constantly feeling the need to climb on to the tank via the filter pipes!. Could he have put a small hole in one of them?. Occasionally there is a small gush of bubbles emanating from the outflow as if a pocket of air is building up in the filter. Is it just a matter of disconnecting the filter and cleaning the pipes to fix the problem if it's not down to the cat?

Cheers Matt

[MatsP]

Bubbles in the filter is caused by one of two things:
1. Leak on the intake pipes that let air in - quite unlikely, and certainly not caused by a kitten climbing, the thickness of the hoses uses for external filters is quite good, and it's hard to pierce with sharp blades - kittens are "weaker" than a sharp blade on a knife or some such, in my experience [obviously, if your kitten is a 6-month old tiger-cub, the story may be different, but I suspect the whole tank and filter would be at risk then!]. It is much more likely that there is some form of leak in the system elsewhere.

2. Gas build-up [mainly carbon dioxide CO2 and nitrogen gas, N2] due to detritus in the filter itself. If this gets to go on for a long time, you may also get Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), which is NASTY (toxic, smells of rotten eggs).

I suspect it's the latter, and can be fixed by taking the filter apart [in the bathtub/shower tray or outside] and washing/rinsing the filter media in old aquarium water.

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Mats

[Viktor Jarikov]

The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days. The word derives from the Old English feorwertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights". (I did not know, for one).

This I knew but far not all the details.

In biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material). It typically includes the bodies or fragments of dead organisms as well as fecal material. Detritus is typically colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose (or remineralize) the material. In terrestrial ecosystems, it is encountered as leaf litter and other organic matter intermixed with soil, which is referred to as humus. Detritus of aquatic ecosystems is organic material suspended in water, which is referred to as marine snow.

[MattP]

Thanks Mats for the filter advice. I'll do what you suggest and hopefully cure this problem. Judging by the standards of the answers I've received, you seem like a very knowledgeable lot on here. I'm becoming more and more interested in all things catfish and the PC site and particularly the forum seems like a fantastic resource to progress my hobby.

Cheers guys!

Matt

[MattP]

Hi again, just wanted to thank the members who replied to my questions on this thread as I've returned from my hols to a healthy looking tank with all inhabitants present and correct.

Cheers Matt

[racoll]

Hi again, just wanted to thank the members who replied to my questions on this thread as I've returned from my hols to a healthy looking tank with all inhabitants present and correct.

Good to hear that.

Regarding the air bubbles, I have had this a few times, and not entirely what the problem was. I think is is a leaky connection somewhere between the filter and pipework.

If this was the case though, you would expect water to leak out too, right? Maybe the venturi effect stops the water coming out?

In my case I was sure it was not CO2 build up, as it used to happen just a day or after a big filter clean.*

It was particularly bad with the Fluval FX5 I had.

* EDIT: made sentence clearer!

[MatsP]

I think the "leaky connection" will not leak if it's on the input side - because there is vacuum there, and it's easier to suck in air than it is to suck in water. Once the air is in the system, it will obviously exit through the output side. I don't think venturi effect has anything to do with it.

But I have also had filters that have been running for weeks, and THEN started to produce bubbles, and I'm pretty sure that's caused by anaerobic breakdown in the filter - which isn't a good thing at all, and a good sign the filter needs cleaning.

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Mats

[MattP]

I think the "leaky connection" will not leak if it's on the input side - because there is vacuum there, and it's easier to suck in air than it is to suck in water. Once the air is in the system, it will obviously exit through the output side. I don't think venturi effect has anything to do with it.

But I have also had filters that have been running for weeks, and THEN started to produce bubbles, and I'm pretty sure that's caused by anaerobic breakdown in the filter - which isn't a good thing at all, and a good sign the filter needs cleaning.

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Mats

How often do you clean a filter to prevent anaerobic build up? I know it's going to depend on a whole host of factors but I've read that in general about every 3 months is sufficient. Any info from you guys on your filter maintenance routines would be most welcome

Cheers Matt

[MatsP]

There is probably no realy good answer to that - "as often as is necessary" - if it starts to "burp" (blow bubbles), it's probably time to think about cleaning it.

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Mats

[MattP]

Thanks Mats, I'll be water changing tomorrow and will include a filter clean to see if this puts a stop to the bubbles.

Cheers Matt