Best way to vacuum the planted tank

[judyheitz]

My dilemma is every time I clean my tank (7-10 days), I disrupt my plants with my python siphon. How do your clean the substrate without unrooting the plants? What do you use?

 

[Fresh2o]

I assume you are referring to vacuuming the substrate. I just do water changes. Siphoning the substrate near the plant’s root can result in damage. Also, there are a lot of nutrients that are being removed each time you vacuum.
It depends on how densely planted the tank is. If there are open areas of substrate that is plant free, the vacuum away if you must.
Another thing you can do is take a turkey baster or similar device and shoot a jet of water at the substrate to help suspend the debris. There the debris has a better chance of getting removed by the filter or through a water change.

 

[kashif314]

I never siphon the carpet. What I do is to rub my hand on it and the little debris and fine particles comes out and I then pull the water out by hose. Its always risky to siphon when you have carpet.

 

[ZxC]

I press my siphon HARD into my carpet of MC. It's amazing how much crap I suck out.

I then place the siphon near plants I'm uprooting, which sucks all the crap away as I lift the plants out of the substrate.

I then swirl and swish the siphon around thew rest of any accessible area of substrate.

I don't care about removing nutrients, I dose 30ppm NO3, 5ppm PO4, 30 ppm K weekly and micros daily. Organics rot and feed algae (ammonia) fertilizers do not.

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Maintenance

My dilemma is every time I clean my tank (7-10 days), I disrupt my plants with my python siphon. How do your clean the substrate without unrooting the plants? What do you use?

Hello Judy...

The organic material that collects on the bottom material is always dissolving in the tank water. This is very nutritious for aquatic plants. What isn't used by the plants can be removed by performing a large, weekly water change. It isn't necessary to vacuum the bottom material.

B