Hi everyone:
I was curious how vigorous folks are here with gravel vacuuming. I have a 26 US gallon tank with artificial plants. Every week or two, I remove all the plants and rocks and do my gravel vac. I have an older vac with a cylindrical tube that I use to scoop up the gravel at a 45 degree angle or so and then let it fall back in place. By the time I'm done, I've removed about 20-30% of the water and the gravel is pretty uneven. I do a bit of leveling again to get it all smoothed out again. The tank is also a little cloudy afterwards but the next day it is crystal clear again. You can really tell a difference after the maintenance is done.
By question is how vigorous one needs to be with the gravel vac. I've read that some folks just let the tube hover over the gravel. I really don't see a lot of debris on the surface of my gravel for that approach to be very effective so I always use my "scoop and drop method" - the only drawback is the 12-24 hr. cloudy period afterwards.
Anyways, the technique does seem to be working since the fish have been very healthy and the tank looks great.
Thanks for any input.
I was curious how vigorous folks are here with gravel vacuuming. I have a 26 US gallon tank with artificial plants. Every week or two, I remove all the plants and rocks and do my gravel vac. I have an older vac with a cylindrical tube that I use to scoop up the gravel at a 45 degree angle or so and then let it fall back in place. By the time I'm done, I've removed about 20-30% of the water and the gravel is pretty uneven. I do a bit of leveling again to get it all smoothed out again. The tank is also a little cloudy afterwards but the next day it is crystal clear again. You can really tell a difference after the maintenance is done.
By question is how vigorous one needs to be with the gravel vac. I've read that some folks just let the tube hover over the gravel. I really don't see a lot of debris on the surface of my gravel for that approach to be very effective so I always use my "scoop and drop method" - the only drawback is the 12-24 hr. cloudy period afterwards.
Anyways, the technique does seem to be working since the fish have been very healthy and the tank looks great.
Thanks for any input.