Takin out the trash

[adiliegro]

Hey guys...today, I look at my tanks bottom and see a lot of trash there that needed to be taken out (poop, old food, etc)...so, I proceed to vacuum this crap up and do a danged good job of it, if I must say so. The bottom looks clean, the water is clean with nothing floating around etc...I fill my 5 gallon jug up, and proceed to pour my fresh water in. Once the jug is empty, I look in the tank and ****ed if there isnt more trash floating around than I got out. stuff that looks like hair, food, poop, I thought I saw a cow go by at one point. I dont understand it...how can there be more trash when I pour it BACK than there was when i took it OUT? Trust me, I poured FRESH water in, not the same water I took out.

What gives?

[QuietDusk]

Same thing happens to me when I gravel vac and do water changes. I guess all that stuff is trapped in the plants, gravel, etc. and we just don't notice it when we're cleaning. Then when we pour the fresh water in, the force of the current knocks it all loose. So the water looks dirty, but I'm sure it's actually cleaner than it was prior to the change.

[_dan_]

try stirring the gravel a little bit to get more of the gunk stirred up

[jmoore]

all that junk also collects on the decorations that you have in the tank.
I like to think of it as a good thing...as all that junk that was just sitting there is now making its way towards the filter, and it saves me the trouble of having to take them out of the tank and clean them off.