Vacuuming Gravel

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Big Fish in a Small Pond
Apr 19, 2008
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Madison, WI
Quick, easy question this time...

I've recently added a bunch of plastic & silk plants to go along with the driftwood in my 36gallon bow front. There are maybe 5-6 large plants, 5-6 small plants, and 2 pieces of driftwood in there, and I'm wondering what's the best way to vacuum the gravel in the tank?

Should I pull all the plants from under the gravel, vacuum the whole tank, then replace them? Or is it fine to vacuum around them and every couple times I do a pwc then pull and vacuum all the gravel? Would I be better off only vacuuming half the tank thoroughly each time? When I pulled all the plants up from the gravel it stirred up some yuck, so I don't know if I'd be better off doing it another way.

Of course my priority is keeping the fish healthy and their water clean, but I worry about kicking up too much debris just as much as I worry about not cleaning thoroughly enough.

Thanks AC.
 
Ya thats what I do. Vacuum around them. Then once or twice a month I do a 'fish day' where I take everything out of the tank and siphon it. I also scrub everything that comes out of the tank and in the tank.
 
Work around them and occasionally move them. No need to tak them out and clean unless you have an algae issue not being handled.
 
rbishop said:
Work around them and occasionally move them. No need to tak them out and clean unless you have an algae issue not being handled.
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I've got no visible algae at all, yet.... I just got a timer for my lights to be on 10-11 hours/day, so it may show up eventually here.

So having those hot-spots of debris undisturbed for a couple weeks at a time isn't reason for any concern? I mean, my water tests are great, but I still worry about those spots down there... with my cories.
 
jm1212 said:
always go over the entire gravel bed. the suction from the gravel vac is not powerful enough to remove the bacteria growing on it, and going over the entire bed will help keep the tank cleaner.
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I figured as much... thought I read about someone saying they've been doing half their gravel at a time. Doesn't seem very clean or fish-friendly to me... hopefully I misunderstood or am simpling making things up.
 
I only pull rocks caves and plants about once a month,poking wherever i can get to with the siphon in between. I just figured its less stress on the fish not tearing it all up every week or so.
 
What I've always done is what most people here are saying.

I vac around the plants most of the time, & once or twice a month, I pull up the plants & try to hit allof the gravel bed.

I'm not of the opinion that you have to hit all of the gravel bed with each vaccing, as long as you vac regularly, what portions of the gravel bed you didn't get to, won't USUALLY destroy the water quality of the tank.

To be totally honest in tanks with extensive rock structures & heavily decored, it's almost impossible to hit every spot on the gravel bed each time, unless you are willing to move the rockwork & decor every time & with my fish breeding & such, as much as they do...that's NOT an option.

JMOpinion:)
 
As long as water parameters are good, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. If still unsure, make sure you draw a water sample from the bottom as well.

I don't remove my plastic plants, just vacuum around them. Tank water turn-over will keep it healthy if you have a high enough rate.
 
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