Vacuuming Substrate?

[shellieca]

Here's what may be a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyways . . . . when a tank is going through the cycling phase at what point do you vacuum the substrate or do you? How often do you vacuum your substrate once it's established? Right now I have 2 10g tanks with 1 Male Betta each & a mystery snail, one tank has been running around 4 months, the other only 2 weeks. I also have a 46g that houses 3 female Bettas, 2 CAE's & 2 mystery snails. I've vacuumed the older 10g really well that last 2 weeks because it did have 4 fish so it needed it & i usually vacuum a little each week. The other two I did a little vacuuming with the last PWC's & of course there wasn't much but then I got to thinking if that was good idea since they're cycling. Am I over thinking it?

 

[DanS180]

Here's what may be a silly question but I'm going to ask it anyways . . . . when a tank is going through the cycling phase at what point do you vacuum the substrate or do you? How often do you vacuum your substrate once it's established? Right now I have 2 10g tanks with 1 Male Betta each & a mystery snail, one tank has been running around 4 months, the other only 2 weeks. I also have a 46g that houses 3 female Bettas, 2 CAE's & 2 mystery snails. I've vacuumed the older 10g really well that last 2 weeks because it did have 4 fish so it needed it & i usually vacuum a little each week. The other two I did a little vacuuming with the last PWC's & of course there wasn't much but then I got to thinking if that was good idea since they're cycling. Am I over thinking it?

When a tank is going thru the cycle, I wouldn't vacuum until the cycle is complete bc if there's any bacteria building up on the susbstrate, well then you're basically stalling your cycle. I let my tank cycle for about 2 months and I've only vacuumed it twice since then, mainly bc I don't have messy fish

 

[Steelhawke]

If you are doing a fish in cycling, do not vacuum the substrate, you need to fish droppings for producing the bacteria to make the nitrites which make the nitrates which eat the ammonia. You need to monitor all the reading to make sure things are not getting to bad for your fish, to high of reading can kill your fish. At this point, partial water changes are the only thing you should be doing.

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

I vaccum my substrate weekly. I also make sure 15 to 25 percent of the water is changed each week. I have an established tank and around 50 fish and do not worry about the beneficial bacteria. I do not worry cause it grows on the substrate, my 2 hang on the back filters which I have put bio media in and my fluval G3 canister filter which has alot of biomedia. So cleaning your substrate should not be a problem unless your disturbing it to much. I do a diffrent section each time I clean/do a partial water change.

 

[Steelhawke]

I was referring to his tank that was not cycled only

 

[adeebm]

If it was a fishless cycle, there would be no need to vacuum. However, since you have fish already, you should monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels and change water appropriately. You don't need a buildup of fish waste to cycle. The fish are already releasing ammonia in their urine. If you have an appropriate filter, most of the beneficial bacteria will be hosting there, and not in the gravel. Also, vacuuming will only remove waste particles and not the bacteria.

--Adeeb

 

[shellieca]

Thank you all. I have been monitoring my water & making necessary PWC's so I think I'm on the right track. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

 

[christine2012]

If it was a fishless cycle, there would be no need to vacuum. However, since you have fish already, you should monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels and change water appropriately. You don't need a buildup of fish waste to cycle. The fish are already releasing ammonia in their urine. If you have an appropriate filter, most of the beneficial bacteria will be hosting there, and not in the gravel. Also, vacuuming will only remove waste particles and not the bacteria.

--Adeeb

+1 you can vac your gravel until your little hearts content. Not gonna hurt a thing. Fish also produce waste simply by breathing.