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Ok I am in need of advice once again. I have a lot of plants in my 55 and I need help on cleaning the gravel. My question is this. Is there a way to clean the gravel without disturbing the plants that are rooted? Or should I just clean normally and then replant anything that gets uprooted?

thanks.

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LL,

basically, the rule could be: If there are plants in a spot, don't gravel vacuum it.

But in more detail: You can still gravel vacuum open areas between plants. in areas where there is no access to the substrate, swish the vacuum hose over the plants (if small plants) or on the side of the plants (if taller) to stir up some gunk and then suck it out. I actually do know people that never vacuum their tanks, all they do is water changes from the water column. But, this of course requires a stable, well planted, lower fishload, little decaying plant matter tank.

One thing is for certain - don't uproot plants if all you want to do is to clean the tank (vs trimming in certain plants), you do way more harm than good.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Little Fish is right about vacuuming rule. This one of the main reasons I put UGF in my planted tanks over time the decaying matter and fish waste that I can't get to will break down enough to make it down to the very bottom of a tank and that were power heads come into play they will pull that out and into the water column and into the filter. I also every 2 months reverse the flow on them and let it pump water into the gravel and loosen up any gunk that get stuck in the roots that grow through the UFG.
Also I have read that a good flow of water in the the bio colony is good for healthy growth. I have found that this keeps my gravel clean and healthy. I have also found that in my tanks where I use nothing but a dechlorinator and CO2 to control pH it helps in keeping a more stable pH.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

In my 5ft tank I can only deep gravel vac along the front because of all the plants and the rocks. The Large Anubias are all tied to small rocks at the rear of the tank and about once a year I remove all those large plants and a deep gravel vac then they are replaced not being rooted in the substrate it does not effect them at all.

The Betta tank is fully planted therefore I just wave the suction tube over the plants. I also have five Anubias Nanna along the front and these can be removed easly because they are tied to small rocks.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
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Keith

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