Cleaning glass bottom of tank?

[tumptyteapot]

I'm still setting up a tank which has a tile and then plain glass on the bottom. It's planted and the plants are in pots or floating.
The bottom of the tank needs cleaning but the plant debris that has sunk there is too big to go through my normal fish tank syphon. I can do it with a bit of ordinary hose pipe but it takes a fair bit of suck then I get water coming out so fast it's hard to control. I've been using the hosepipe, syphoning into a bucket, letting that settle then pouring the clean water back.
Is there an easier way? I'm assuming I'm going to have to clean the bottom of the tank very reguarly with 2 axolotl in it and this is a bit invasive.

 

[ilomilo]

I've found that keeping the bare bottom of my tank [currently housing 2 juvie axolotls] is fairly easy as long as you stay on top of it and don't let things sit and rot.

Which means that as soon as I see any poop, out it comes. As soon as they're done eating, all remaining food is removed. I've been using this method via turkey baster for over a month and the bottom of the tank is still as reflective as a mirror.

Although since you already seem to have a fair build up of crud, you might want to try a sponge or something similar. I had half a pack of fluval 'water polishers' [which seem amazingly similar to pillow stuffing, honestly] laying around, and I use those to wipe down the inner walls and floor once a week. They're white, so I can actually see how much gunk they pick up even though it wasn't visible to me before doing so.

As far as cleaning being invasive, mine went from freaking out and darting everywhere the first two times to now being either utterly indifferent and not moving at all, or letting curiosity get the best of them, in which case they follow my hand and fingers, often giving them little test nibbles. I've also had one of them latch onto the side of my hand with their little arms/legs and sort of hitch a ride as I was moving about the aquarium and cleaning.

 

[tumptyteapot]

Turkey baster! Genius. Off to poundland I go! Thank you

 

[Jennewt]

I've been using the hosepipe, syphoning into a bucket, letting that settle then pouring the clean water back.

You feel that there is a problem here because the hose is removing too much water from the tank? I would say this is (probably) GREAT! Don't put back any of that water. Doing substantial partial water changes is often a good idea, not a bad one. Have you measured your nitrate levels? Doing a lot of cleaning with a baster may not remove enough water/nitrate. The only way to know for sure is to test the nitrate occasionally.

 

[ilomilo]

You feel that there is a problem here because the hose is removing too much water from the tank? I would say this is (probably) GREAT! Don't put back any of that water. Doing substantial partial water changes is often a good idea, not a bad one. Have you measured your nitrate levels? Doing a lot of cleaning with a baster may not remove enough water/nitrate. The only way to know for sure is to test the nitrate occasionally.

Agreed. I wasn't suggesting that you substitute basting the bottom of the tank for good old fashioned cleaning and water changes, just that it's way more effective than a hose/siphon for light spot cleaning.

I still do partial changes once a week.

 

[tumptyteapot]

It's going to be over a month before we can get the axolotl (school holidays, away a lot etc) so I'm not at this stage I wasn't worried about nitrates, I'm just trying to get the plants to grow to provide more shade and work out how best to clean it.
Unless you advise that it's best to sort that out now I was thinking that when it gets a bit closer to their arrival I'll get the water tested and start doing it properly. I can see what you mean about it being quick being a good thing then - I wish I'd cut the hose pipe a foot longer though, it would have made it so much easier!

 

[Jennewt]

Ah, I hadn't realized that there is not yet an axolotl in the tank. After there is, you'll need both methods: the baster for quick spot cleaning and the siphon for bigger water changes.

 

[tumptyteapot]

fab thank you, and I think I'll get a longer more flexible bit of hose pipe to make life easier!