Detritus in a planted tank

[tosviolation]

I have a moderately planted aquarium with low lighting a various crypt plants. I do my water changes which are 25% twice a week, But I usually don't go digging into my substrate too often for fear of causing crypt melt. Now my question is about the detritus. Is it going to harm my fish that I don't vacuum it out? Or is it becoming fertilizer for my plants? I use root tabs because I have a gravel substrate, bit i have noticed that when I poke the vac deep in there i can get some brown stuff out.

 

[Brookster123]

That brown stuff is probably vishpooo, that builds up quite a bit in the gravel..

 

[tosviolation]

So do I just vacuum the open areas of the substrate? Like I said I don't want to go poking into my crypts roots and cause a massive meltdown, but I dont want waste in my tank hurting my livestock. Will the plants take care of most of it ?

 

[tosviolation]

I also dont want to really vacuum to deep because them Im just wasting my root tabs right? Just looking for advice

 

[Brookster123]

Personally, all my tanks are planted and therefor have spots that I can't really vacuum, I just poke around the first inch of gravel where I can.

 

[Sk3lly]

Just hover your vac over the gravel. Its no big deal if you dont get it all. The beneficial bacteria will take care of the harmful chemicals created by detritus

 

[Rivercats]

I just wave my hand gently around the plants and over the substrate right before my WC's to lift any loose detritus into the water column and do my WC. I have kept planted tanks over 5 years without ever doing a gravel vac. You can gravel vac any area's that are open if desired but keep well away from plant roots so as not to damage them. By doing 50% WC's weekly I have never had issues with high nutrient levels in the tanks that aren't gravel vacuumed.