Is it normal for bare tank to dirty/dusty

[ChenYW]

I recently just startup a new tank 422

1 Arowana
1 ohf
2 air filter


After one week i realize the bottom of the tank to be very dirty fill with skins like objects, sand and dust. Is it normal?

Thanks in advance.

[BFG]

Thats detritus.

[tetrakid]

To keep a tank free of dirt/detritus, there must be a daily maintenance routine, especially if the fish is costly.

To syphon away the bottom dirt daily, make a simple syphoning tool with airline tubing.

Buy 1m of hard tubing and a length of soft tubing. Cut the hard tubing to the depth of your tank and attach it to the soft tubing. Use the finished syphon to suck up dirt every day. There,s no need to suck the tube with the mouth to start the water flow. Simply immerse the hard tube to the tank bottom until the water level in the tube is high up the tube. Then quickly take it out tilting it upward and transfer the tube to a bottle or container before the water flows back down into the tank. The syphon action should start and water should be flowing into the bottle or container. Since the water flow is slow due to the small size of the tubing, there is enough time to safely suck up a lot of dirt. This tool is easy to make and should be a part of every hobbyist's arsenal of tools.

Always replenish the tank water with clean aged water after syphoning. Aged water without chemicals is good for fish (and the precious bacteria too).

[ChenYW]

What about sticky airline tubing is it algae?

[boofeng]

Slimy feeling? It's a coat of possibly algae, cyanobacteria, other organic detritus and organisms. It's not a must to clean these, usually. They're probably even helpful as a host to beneficial nitrifying bacteria.