what to do about the dirty gravel

[lukerom]

Hello
I am at the end of cycling my tank and getting ready to put more fish in but I have a problem. The white gravel I have for the tank is getting really dirty. I change the water and vacuum the gravel weekly and it still is starting to look bad. I don't know what to do should I change the gravel for a darker color and how do I do that with out to much hassle and will it mess up my cycled tank? Do I cover the old gravel with new gravel? Is there a better way to clean it? I would like to get some more fish in there as soon as I can.
Thanks

 

[Kelli fish]

I also have the same problem?

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[Fishdude3233]

What color is the gravel? If its brown those are diotomes and will go away by themselves. They are very common in new tanks.

 

[Coyne]

+1 to Fishdude's post.
Some fish, like plecos, and snails like to eat diatoms. So you might have that going for you.
I had the typical diatoms everywhere in a 20 long, and it only took two Nerite snails 24-36 hours to clean it all up.

 

[Khuligirl93]

How long do you leave your lights on a day? Diatoms photosynthesize, so excessive light can cause them to grow more than normal. I'm skeptical of diatoms "running their course" like so many people say, because I still get them in my 6 year old tank.
Getting a different colored gravel is definitely an option. The easiest time to make the switch would be now before you have fish. I used to have white gravel in my tank but I got rid of it because after a couple years the white paint started coming off and the rocks started turning brown and green, plus I wanted to move towards a more natural aquascape.

 

[venymae]

if it's just stuck on gunk and not diatoms you could try rubbing the gravel between your hands and seeing if that helps. I have white gravel and it doesn't look as good as fresh out of the bag, but it's still good and white....post a pic will you?

 

[lukerom]

I have fish in the tank already should I just cover the gravel with new gravel.

 

[Khuligirl93]

That looks like diatoms to me. If you put new gravel on top the same thing will just happen again. How long do you leave your lights on?

 

[lukerom]

I leave one on most of the day

 

[Khuligirl93]

Try cutting it down to 6 hours, or off all the time except when feeding or looking at the tank. My guess would be your light is on too long, causing algae.
It might be a good idea to get a timer.

 

[Hulka9]

I had that too when I setup new tanks. It always went away on its own for me in a month-ish.

 

[lukerom]

I will try shutting off the light most of the day I am about to put more fish in should I put another algae eater in I have one now.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I would not recommend that. After the algae goes away you'll just have to start feeding wafers. What type of algae eater do you have now?