# Planted tanks + cleaning question...



## CraigStables (Oct 5, 2003)

Right, thinking of going with a heavily planted tank with one of my new ones. But was wondering what the deal is with doing gravel vacs if your tank is heavily planted. Its going to be next to impossible to get into all the different areas to vac the crap up, so what do you do, just leave it? And if you do just leave it how do you stop it causing high ammonia?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

In my tropical tank, I dont feed as much and I have a pleco, clown loach, and ghost shrimp to help clean up the extras. My piranhas it should be more interesting since they will eventually eat all of those. Dippyeggs had told me to just get in there right after feeding and stir up the un-eaten food and suck it up quick or I guess I could just push it towards the filters and change them a little more often. It is a pain though, and sometimes not always the best to use a python, can be much easier to use buckets to take water out cause you can get smaller syphons that can fit into tighter areas and you can get different shapes of syphones that way.


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## CraigStables (Oct 5, 2003)

its not really uneaten food Im worried about, as can easily get that after eating as wont leave it in the tank longer than 5-10mins. Its more the poo and stuff thats harder to pickup!


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

My 30 gallon that is almost fully planted and has a full array of fish does get quite a bit of waste, I have found though that as long as I clean it the best that I can and as I am doing it swirl the gravel and suck up the stuff that floats up for a second my ammonia has never been a problem. Dippyeggs might have some more insight though.


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

I don't clean or do water change in my planted tank. I let nature do all the work.


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

CraigStables said:


> its not really uneaten food Im worried about, as can easily get that after eating as wont leave it in the tank longer than 5-10mins. Its more the poo and stuff thats harder to pickup!


you have sand or gravel?

With sand, i just lightly fan my hand above the plants and stir up the poo and let the python suck it up. I plan on doing this tho only once a month. 
With gravel id imagine just leave it as it will rot and become plant food.


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## CraigStables (Oct 5, 2003)

Ex0dus said:


> you have sand or gravel?
> 
> With sand, i just lightly fan my hand above the plants and stir up the poo and let the python suck it up. I plan on doing this tho only once a month.
> With gravel id imagine just leave it as it will rot and become plant food.


It will be gravel. Yeah I think its just going to be a case of pickig up what I can, and then letting it rot down for the plants. Think I'll add extra filtration to the tank!


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## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

I think if you just clean where you can, it should be sufficient. Plants take up ammonia, so if your tank is so heavily planted, it shouldn't be a problem


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

ya, you will be fine.

Usually, planted tanks have smaller gravel anyway, which makes it harder for particles to get lost in the gravel to rot and foul your water.

Anyways, if you miss some, plants eat nitrates, so it becomes dinner for them. Many people even have to add nitrates to their tanks, because the plants eat it faster than they are being produced.

I have 1 P in my planted tank, and I have to add some nitrates so that they don't bottom out. I only gravel vac where there is no plants, and that is a very small area lol


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