Poop build up

what is the best way to keep feces frpm my pleco from building up on the floor of my tank. the damn thing poops so much i can hardly keep up. i have two HOB gilters plus a DIY canister filter on my tank. should i look at something like an internal filter of wave maker type thing to try increase circulation of the water? the poop seems to be quite dense and even a gravel vac struggles to pick up most of it.

 

Vacuum is the only way !!

 

cool thanx fot the replies. i shall keep it the way i am doing it then

 

A vacuum every 1-2 weeks does wonders for the water quality of the tank. The filters doesn't suck up all the poop.

 

This is the reason I gave mine away years ago, it put more cable down than seacom.

 

LOL poopy plecos...

 

Yip hahaha.

 

Ja, plecos is bad for the environment.

 

The dear plecos. Real poop machines...... But I love them! I gladly go through the trouble to vacuum every weekend just to enjoy having them in my tanks. I do not add them to keep the algae in control, I add them in my tanks because I love to look at them.

 

Pleco poops is very much like ray poops.
Dense and heavy on filters so gravel vacs are very important
However, you also dont want to gravel vac every second day.. and i hate seeing it laying in the tank

We use wave makers to create flow to get it into the sump. You will have to play round with it a bit until you get the right circulation in your tank

I have a small powerhead with an attachment that just takes some wool its easy for me to take out when i need to and does an amazing job of picking up poop or extra food the rays leave floating around when they chew their food, before it even gets to the sumps

 

i also really enjoy having mine in the tank. they are awesome little guys (although mine isnt such a little guy anymore). problem is you vacuum and you think you've gotten it all, then an hour later you have black strings lying across the substrate

i have been looking at getting myself one for a while now. especially to avoid having everything build up in the corners. the green terror will likely enjoy the extra flow as well.

 

Ja, that is true! They sometimes look like those remote control submarines attached to a looooong cable! Three of my plecos are very social. But the big guy is autistic! He lay all day in his castle and work hard on the mountain he tries to build! At night he will honor the rest of the tank with his beautiful big body (he is at least 20 cm)