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	Gravel Vac a Heavily Planted Tank
TW Fish Master * * Fish Slave * * Posts: 1947 Kudos: 278 Votes: 338 Registered: 14-Jan-2006	My tank has lots of plants & rocks & not very many areas where there is just gravel. I find that its really too small for the gravel vac to get in & clean the gravel properly. What does everyone else do - how do you clean the gravel properly, if there is much more planted areas than there are just gravel. I change 50% water weekly, but I usually have to take it from just above the gravel. I'll have panda corys in a couple of weeks & I'd like it all to be to their liking - so what to do? Cheers TW
Posted 21-Mar-2006 23:57
NowherMan6 Fish Master Posts: 1880 Kudos: 922 Votes: 69 Registered: 21-Jun-2004	There's not much need to push down into the gravel in different spots, just let the vac hover above the gravel and pick up all the debris/ organic matter that's collected. Every few weeks you're going to need to uproot your stem plant systems to clip and replant the tops. When you do this you can gravel vac the areas where the plants would normally be. You'll wind up covering the entire tank ground in different stages. As for ground cover plants, once they root properly you shouldnt have a problem pushin gthe vac into the a little bit to clean up the bad stuff. *Back in the saddle!*
Posted 22-Mar-2006 00:04
LITTLE_FISH *** Little Fish *** Master of Something Posts: 7303 Kudos: 1997 Votes: 670 Registered: 20-May-2005	All that NowherMan6 said, and ... ... for areas where you cannot even reach the gravel because the vegetation is so dense, wiggle your hand or the vacuum end over it to stirr up some of the gunk that you then can suck up from the water column. Ingo Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club
Posted 22-Mar-2006 00:40
keithgh Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 6371 Kudos: 6918 Votes: 1542 Registered: 26-Apr-2003	I have sections in my 5ft tank that has not been touched since it was set up three years now. I just deep clean where ever I can. This also applies for the 11G betta tank. I just wave my hands over the plants and the filter collects all the loose junk. *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 Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos Keith Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do. I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT? VOTE NOW VOTE NOW
Posted 22-Mar-2006 06:24
TW Fish Master * * Fish Slave * * Posts: 1947 Kudos: 278 Votes: 338 Registered: 14-Jan-2006	Thanks for the advice. Cheers TW
Posted 22-Mar-2006 13:54


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