how often to gravel clean

[dave2010]

Hi I have a 180litre tank with 1 small royal pleco, 1 platty, 1 kuhli loach, 3 mollys, 2 pearl gourmai. Since adding the new fish the 3 mollys and the 2 gourmai the ammonia levels have settled down to 0 after doing 10% water changes daily. I was just wondering how often I should clean the gravel with the gravel pump, the gravel pump I have sucks out a lot of water pretty fast so by the time I've cleaned all the gravel it could take around 30-40% of the water which I have read isn't good to do. I was wondering how often I should clean the gravel and if I should clean half one day and the other half another day

 

[BBradbury]

Gravel Cleaning

Hi I have a 180litre tank with 1 small royal pleco, 1 platty, 1 kuhli loach, 3 mollys, 2 pearl gourmai. Since adding the new fish the 3 mollys and the 2 gourmai the ammonia levels have settled down to 0 after doing 10% water changes daily. I was just wondering how often I should clean the gravel with the gravel pump, the gravel pump I have sucks out a lot of water pretty fast so by the time I've cleaned all the gravel it could take around 30-40% of the water which I have read isn't good to do. I was wondering how often I should clean the gravel and if I should clean half one day and the other half another day

Hello dave...

One, large water change of half the tank volume per week, is all that's needed to maintain stable water properties. By changing half the water every week, you guarantee clean water, because water isn't in the tank long enough for toxins to build up and hurt your fish. The large, weekly changes also maintain high mineral levels that keep your plants healthy. Small changes do little to maintain the water chemistry.

If you have plants in the tank, you don't need to vacuum. Vacuuming can damage plant roots and removes nutrients the plants need. I keep heavily planted tanks and never vacuum the gravel. Simply remove and replace half the water in the tank every week and routinely maintain the filtration system and you'll have a balanced tank for your fish and plants.

B

 

[dave2010]

Thanks for your reply, I currently have no plants in my aquarium so I'll vacume the gravel later. I've never had a planted aquarium before but I purchased one or two live plants that were in weighted pots from my LFS which died and gave my old tank hundreds of snails! When the plants were alive they looked much better than artificial. I have a royal pleco so is there any plants I could get that he wouldn't eat or destroy, and how would I go about properly planting the plants without using weighted pots? Do I need sand or can I plant them into my gravel? Thanks

 

[BBradbury]

Vacuuming Gravel

Thanks for your reply, I currently have no plants in my aquarium so I'll vacume the gravel later. I've never had a planted aquarium before but I purchased one or two live plants that were in weighted pots from my LFS which died and gave my old tank hundreds of snails! When the plants were alive they looked much better than artificial. I have a royal pleco so is there any plants I could get that he wouldn't eat or destroy, and how would I go about properly planting the plants without using weighted pots? Do I need sand or can I plant them into my gravel? Thanks

Hello again dave...

The plants from the pet stores must always be rinsed well and removed from the pots. The rockwool that secures the roots also needs to be removed. Any strips of lead wrapped around the stem plants, should be removed and thrown away. If the plants are just put in the tank in the same condition they're in when you bring them home, the roots have no way to grow and take in nutrients. No nutrients and new water conditions usually cause the plant to die. I've used standard aquarium gravel and the plants do fine. Good lighting and proper nutrients need to be considered too.

Snails can be a problem, but if you limit the amount you feed to a little bit a couple of times a week, the snail population doesn't get out of hand. If you have too many snails, then you're feeding too much.

B