Well, after putting it off for five weeks -- which is really a departure
from the way that I usually care for my fish -- today I finally conducted
some major maintenance on my mbuna tank.

To be honest, considering how many fish are now in the tank, it was really starting to look cruddy.

* There was detritus all over the sand substrate

* The two Penguin Bio-Wheel filters were clogged

* Algae and other garbage was all over the rock decor

* The filter intake tubes and end strainers were also clogged and covered
with algae

* The powerheads that feed water into the Penguin Bio-Wheel filters were
also covered in algae and garbage

In short, the tank was quite a mess, but I just haven't been feeling up to
the task. Now that I am sitting here aching, hot and tired, I realize why I waited so long to do this. Anyway, today's maintenance included:

* A 33-gallon water change, conducted in two parts; first 16 gallons, and
then another 17 gallons after filling it up again. This was done because I
had to siphon the sand twice.

* Siphoning the detritus from the top of the sand substrate.

* Stirring up the sand along the glass panes.

* Washing out the sponge filters in the Penguin Bio-Wheel filters

* Cleaning out the filter intake tubes with a toothbrush

* Cleaning the inside and outside of the filter boxes with the rough side of
a sponge, and a toothbrush

* Removing algae from the front and side panes of glass

One thing which I didn't do -- and which really needs to be done -- is
remove all of the thick lime deposits that are encrusted on both of the
Penguin Bio-Wheel filters. It is so hard and thick, that I will probably end
up just treating both boxes with Lime Away, and then cleaning the boxes thoroughly with fresh water and chlorine remover. Normally, I would not do something that drastic, but these filters are really in bad shape.

So, here I sit now, all aching and tired, watching my fish enjoy their clean tank, as I type away.

Oh, BTW, it looks like we still have four or five survivors from spawn
number eight, and Mama Mbuna continues to incubate spawn number nine in her favorite little cave that is located in the upper middle section of the
tank.

This tank is now full of her children of different ages, because she is the only female in there.

Until next time.



Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files. We Use Hermes II


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