Vacuuming a planted floor

[Dagon]

Hi all.

I’m pretty new to fishkeeping and appreciate any advice. At the moment I’m establishing a planted tank.

I have another, smaller, tank which I vacuum when doing the water changes (it always surprises me how much detritus comes up even with v regular maintenance!)

I am trying to establish a planted floor in the new one. I am cautious about vacuuming and disrupting the plants.

Any thoughts on the correct approach?

Thanks.

D

 

[ZxC]

Just "shwish" the gravel vac over the surface and remove the mulm built up on the surface. The rest will decompose slowly and (hopefully) be up taken by plants.

Over time, you may notice A LOT of crap that builds up, so eventually a decent gravel vac is needed to remove the mulm. A lot of the time, if you are having trouble keeping nitrates in check it can be caused by too much organic material being decomposed in the upper layers of substrate.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Dag...


I don't vacuum my tanks, planted or not. Vacuuming just disturbs the bottom material and then you have debris floating around the tank for a time. The truth is, you don't need to vacuum at all. Everything in the water dissolves in time, so by just removing the old water and replacing it with clean treated tap water regularly, you're removing whatever has dissolved in it.


B

 

[Dagon]

Hi Z

Thanks for your thoughts. Your thinking sounds good to me. The tank is young, so I’m concerned that the planting needs to mature etc. But it is reassuring to hear your thoughts on the long run.

Cheers

D

 

[King Fisher]

I think vacuuming depends on what you got in the tank. If you've ever owned a pleco/catfish or cichlid you will have a pile of poo on top of areas your carpeted tank in two weeks time. It comes down to accumulation vs decomposition. If accumulation is higher then you got a problem. Also, the more poo build up the longer it takes to break down and be removed by water changes only. In the meantime, it sits decaying in the new water you added. PPM in terms of water quality is relative to how much bad stuff is in your tank and how much is removed. I tend to remove the bad stuff when possible.

 

[Angellove78]

Tank is just starting... I'd go with eco complete or fluorite for your substrate. I know it's a pain to change out knowing you already have your plants in. But it's so much better to just have the waste soak into the bottom the feed the plants better. Just like natural wild life.

 

[King Fisher]

Natural environment has a much larger footprint. The waste is spread out more as they are moving not loaded into one relatively small area. Water volume is substantially larger as well.

 

[ZxC]

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the name for how much "nutrients" a substrate can hold onto/release for plants. Eco-Complete has a CEC rating just above sand, so basically 0. It still grows plants very well, but the nutrient holding capacity of eco-comp is insignificant in planted tank.

 

[Dagon]

Thanks all for the insights.

The tank is lightly stocked with small fish that seem to produce little visible waste. So far, water changes, without vacuuming, seems to be sufficient.

I’ll keep an eye out for build up, but hopefully the plant/mulm balance will be ok.

Thanks again.

D

 

[King Fisher]

Thanks all for the insights.

The tank is lightly stocked with small fish that seem to produce little visible waste. So far, water changes, without vacuuming, seems to be sufficient.

I’ll keep an eye out for build up, but hopefully the plant/mulm balance will be ok.

Thanks again.

D

Look up "Old Tank Syndrome" and read it over.

 

[Dagon]

Hi KF

I am familiar with old tank syndrome. I also appreciate your point about the potential for a build up of detritus to result in a water problem over the longer term.

There are some uncarpeted areas that I will see if there is a build up of material - so far I’ve seen no discernible solid waste (although I probably should check again).

Just so I am clear, what is your specific advice on maintenance/vacuuming?

Thanks

D

 

[Dagon]

One other thing I should mention, I am cautious about waste build up so remove any dying plant material.

I also only feed every other day. The fish seem fine with this. It also means that there are no leftovers.

I’d hope that contributes to a healthy tank environment.

D

 

[King Fisher]

Like Z said, "swish" the vac around over the top. My vac is pretty strong so just placing it over your carpeted plants where it's nearly touching if not slightly touching should work. At the least, it should suck up the larger stuff but most importantly it will free up some holding capacity of your substrate. What could it hurt? Just my 2 cents.

 

[Dagon]

KF

Thanks very much. Sounds like great advice, much appreciated.

Cheers.

D