Stirring gravel

[amartin655]

I’ve read about 20 articles now about stirring and vacuuming the gravel in a cycling tank. Everyone of them contradicts the other. Some say absolutely do not stir or vaccum the gravel because you’ll harm the bacteria thats trying to get settled in. Other people say you absolutely have to stir the gravel to get air in there and old food and stuff out so that bad bacteria don’t take hold. Should I be stirring the gravel? And if so how much.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello again a...

You don't need to vacuum or otherwise disturb the bottom material. During the cycle, you simply remove and replace a third of the water every few days. After the tank has been running for a few weeks, increase the water change to 50 percent weekly for the life of the tank.

B