CLEANING AQUARIUM THE SUBSTRATE IN YOUR
Iwas four when I had my first aquarium. It was a small tank -- a fivegallon tank, if I’m not mistaken. I had three black mollies, a dried coral for decoration, a few strands of water weed (Egeria densa) planted behind the coral, an air pump connected to an undergravel filter, and white sand that covered the bottom. In the earlier years of Philippine fishkeeping, all our tanks had sand. All tanks were generally set up this way, because that was pretty much all the aquarium stuff we had in the fish shops. Since the only filtration available at that time was the undergravel filter, sand was needed as it served as the medium of the biological filter system. In essence, sand was an integral part of the aquarium system and the decoration as well. Hence, we all set up our tanks with sand. Having an undergravel filter was something fishkeepers bragged about at that time. Your tank would have been considered top of the line if you had this technology. Having one was such a convenience -- it meant we had crystal-clear water in our aquariums and we could appreciate the fishes more. It was a game changer, giving us cleaner tanks. Water quality was better and the fish, healthier. This also enabled us to take care of more fish in the tank. While the undergravel filter did wonders for the aquarium, it was such a challenge to clean. With the concept of nitrogen cycle and partial water change still unavailable at the time, cleaning the tank meant practically dismantling it and setting it up again. Thus, we had to put all the fish in another container. The tank was dismantled and the sand and decoration rinsed in running water. After cleaning everything, the tank was set up and the fish returned to their tank. It was such a huge undertaking to clean one’s aquarium. It was also a very risky way of doing tank maintenance. Of course, we now know today that it was a terrible way of cleaning one’s tank. Not only was it difficult, but it also totally went against the principles of proper tank maintenance.