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I recently put 2 clown plecos in my 55 gallon tank that was covered in a thin coat of algea. Within the past 3 days they have made quick work of the algea but left a big mess of waste all over the sand. Now this was kind of the goal, but not at this scale. Keep in mind that i have no other fish in this tank, but i do have a few MTSs that snuck in with some plants I bought, and I just put some anubias nana in as well.

Is there anything i can do to help fertalize my plants seeing how as I have an abundance of waste, or should I just vaccume it all out of my tank?

thanks
highjinx

Your clown plecos must've been hungry. They're actually not known for their algae eating abilities. In general they don't touch the stuff or they will if there's nothing else available. They tend to munch on driftwood and vegetables.

As for the poo... a "gravel vac" isn't an option, as the sand will get sucked right out of the tank. There are a couple alternatives to consider: when the time comes to clean the sand, use a fish net to sift through it to remove the gunk, and get a powerhead to kick up the poo for the filter to suck up.

If you'd rather not have that much poo in the tank, you could get some ottos to eat the algae, as long as the other fish that will eventually end up in the tank are compatible.

As for ferts for the plants, the MTS will create enough to keep them healthy, as long as your lighting is sufficient. I've actually never used ferts in my 55g but all my plants are growing quite nicely

><>Dani<><

You can use a gravel vac with sand, but you need to be careful. You don't stick it in the sand, the way you would with gravel; instead, you kind of hold it above the sand so that it lifts the stuff off the sand, but not the sand itself. If you're going with a planted tank and with sand, the MTS are a good thing for your tank -- they'll burrow in the sand and help to aerate it, preventing the formation of anaerobic bacteria.