Cleaning tank for make over

[Jackson]

Hi ... I have plans on making my tank over . Right now I have these snails that just keep coming . When I clean up my tank to add new substrate , rocks and a few plants.  Plants from culture tissues as I have seen that they have no pests .  Is there anything I need to know about cleaning up the tank to prevent re-infestation and just an over all prep for this make over ?

Edited September 25, 2023 by Jackson

[Jackson]

Maybe I'll  just take it down then . 

[PlaneFishGuy]

@Jackson Ive never done it but I think "No Planaria" will kill them off (Maybe spike ammonia and hurt beneficial bacteria?). I think the hard part will be the due diligence needed to prevent reintroducing them when you set things back up. Cleaning new plants and equipment is pretty labor intensive from my standpoint and outweighs the snail problems. 

Ive kept snail populations managed by making them compete for food, and cleaning my glass frequently. They seem to lose the starvation battle well before the shrimp and fish show any impacts. 

[Galabar]

I like my snails.  They help keep algae off my plants. 🙂

 

[Tanked]

If you have broken your 10 G down, than very hot water should eliminate the snails and eggs on the glass  I believe the reverse respiration topic will help with the plants.  Gravel or sand substrates and hardscapes can be boiled.  They do not have to actually boil. The snails will be gone long before that happens, as will any beneficial bacteria. Be careful not to subject cold aquarium glass to extremely hot water.  Any future snail population will always adjust according to how much food is available

[Jackson]

On 9/27/2023 at 12:08 PM, Tanked said:

If you have broken your 10 G down, than very hot water should eliminate the snails and eggs on the glass  I believe the reverse respiration topic will help with the plants.  Gravel or sand substrates and hardscapes can be boiled.  They do not have to actually boil. The snails will be gone long before that happens, as will any beneficial bacteria. Be careful not to subject cold aquarium glass to extremely hot water.  Any future snail population will always adjust according to how much food is available

What I wanted to do was change out the whole tank . All new substrate , stone and new tissue culture plants . I wanted to keep my water when I change out, to add back into the tank . Was just going to clean the filters and hope the water would re-seed the new filter and sponges , pre filters . I could just scrap everything , but be cool to save the good bacteria .

[Jackson]

It was a thought ... lol . A new 10G kit with a new sponge filter . I can save some of my shrimp and snails in a smaller aquarium . Not worried about a new start. Hate those pest snails . All the little ones make the view less appealing .

[Jackson]

On 9/27/2023 at 3:37 PM, Pepere said:

I gave up fighting the snails and learned to accept them…. 
 

as for Baby snails, Golden Topminnows do a good job of suppressing them by eating them…

All the pest snails are dinky . My nerites are monsters compared to the pests . Topminnows . I'll look into them .

[Ben P.]

What is your stocking in the tank? I like to put in a fish that eats them and let them go to town, however they are not necessarily compatible with every tank setup.  I like yoyo loaches personally

[Galabar]

If you really wanted to get rid of anything with a shell in your tank, maybe pea puffers?

 

[Jackson]

I'M going to kill every pest snail in the tank .  I demand a pest free snail fish tank .lol

On 9/27/2023 at 3:51 PM, Ben P. said:

What is your stocking in the tank? I like to put in a fish that eats them and let them go to town, however they are not necessarily compatible with every tank setup.  I like yoyo loaches personally

 

On 9/27/2023 at 6:28 PM, Galabar said:

If you really wanted to get rid of anything with a shell in your tank, maybe pea puffers?

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by Jackson

[Galabar]

Ok, so, you might be able to use RR.  Empty the tank of water, fill it with enough seltzer (or Diet Coke if that is cheaper 😉 ) to cover gravel and plants, throw a towel over it and leave it over night.

It should kill everything, including snails and algae.

Then, just use tissue cultures for plants.

 

[Jackson]

On 9/27/2023 at 3:51 PM, Ben P. said:

What is your stocking in the tank? I like to put in a fish that eats them and let them go to town, however they are not necessarily compatible with every tank setup.  I like yoyo loaches personally

I just have 5 tetras, 4 snails  and about  30 shrimp or so . Not looking to increase my bio load . Sometimes there are no snails on the glass and other times they are all out and about on the glass

[Jackson]

Isn't there some stuff the co-op sells that re- seeds a tank ? Just dose it up .

[Tanked]

On 9/28/2023 at 4:52 AM, Jackson said:

I just have 5 tetras, 4 snails  and about  30 shrimp or so . Not looking to increase my bio load . Sometimes there are no snails on the glass and other times they are all out and about on the glass

I don't know which 10 gallon fish will eat the snails. I have decided to accept them.  My HOB regulary grabs and holds some of the babies until they are dead.  Cutting back on food will help control them, and you could also use some snail traps.

[Flipper]

@Jackson  I'm jumping in here way late; just wanted to see how things turned out for you.  My 20 gallon tank has been infested with tiny pest snails.  I figured out I just HAVE to keep the walls of the tank clean of algae and biofilm and that has made the snails manageable.  My tank is 2 years old and so well seasoned, no way could I disturb my system.  So, I live with the remaining snails and suck them off the glass with each water change.

[Jackson]

On 11/8/2023 at 11:48 AM, Flipper said:

@Jackson  I'm jumping in here way late; just wanted to see how things turned out for you.  My 20 gallon tank has been infested with tiny pest snails.  I figured out I just HAVE to keep the walls of the tank clean of algae and biofilm and that has made the snails manageable.  My tank is 2 years old and so well seasoned, no way could I disturb my system.  So, I live with the remaining snails and suck them off the glass with each water change.

No make over yet .  My pest snail population has diminished to almost none at this time . Why they have subsided ? I can only come up with is that they have been starved out .  My nerites are doing fine and I drop pleco wafers for them to eat a few times a week .The pest snails don't go after the wafers , but the nerites do . My nitrates have been very low as my ph is also very low . The low ph hasn't seemed to have had any negative effect on my nerites and tetras, betta . So if this pest population goes away or at least stays the way it is . I can do a make over with much less pain than would be the way it was . I was getting a little ots with all the pest snails , but kept up with weekly 40% water changes . Also feeding my fish less to only once a day . Maybe a pinch more on occasion . They finally took to frozen brine . And flakes so I can mix it up for them .

Edited December 6, 2023 by Jackson