Gravel Vac Question PlZ!!

[1FatFish]

Hello,
I did my first gravel vac today. My tank has been setup for about 6.5 weeks.
For the first 4.5 weeks I had only 6 neons and 1 cat fishy (tank was cycling).
After the tank cycled 4.5 weeks I went with the GF and purchased 1 gold algae eater and 2 kissing gourami. And last week I got 3 Angel Fish small sized.
Anyway, today while doing a gravel vac I noticed that the gravel seemed very dirty. My girlfriend and I were very surprised! Is this normal? I mean, the amount of waste for the amount of fish we have and the time we had the fish? We have a 55gal and were doing weekly water changes of 10%.

Thank you all..
Richie

 

[TankGirl]

In 6.5 weeks I imagine there would be tons of debris on the bottom - just based on what I pick up in my 55 when I do a water change once or twice a week with a gravel vac.

It would be good to try to get a bit of it at every water change, so it does not have a chance to build up and create water quality problems.

 

[1FatFish]

Thanks for the reply. I understand it's been 6.5 weeks.. But what I am saying is that it seemed like alot of dirt for the few fish i'd have for the 1st 4.5 weeks..
:+)

Richie

 

[TankGirl]

Sounds about right to me. Even in my tank with just tiny Endler's livebearers I pick up a remarkable amount of debris every week.

 

[poikilotherm]

Sounds right to me, too. Gravel vac at least a little bit of your tank (1/4 or 1/2 of the tank would probably be good for 10% of a 55gal) at every water change. The mulm (debris) is always pretty impressively gross. Also, if it is *really* excessive, perhaps feed the fish a bit less. Overfeeding is one of the biggest causes of problems people have with fish (IMHO).