Gravel Vac/water Change Discussion

[Ethos]

Alright, so i was just reading the matenience thread, and I realized that some people thing there's a difference between a water change and a gravel vac.
I've always vaccumed my gravel once a week, and that takes out the water. I thought thats what you did once a week.
But then I realized some people only vaccume their thanks once a month?? How can that be? I leave my tank unvaccumed for 2 weeks and the gravel looks dirty....I can't imagen going a month?
Do you guys do water changes and vaccumes as different things?
Besides it getting dirty, isn't it also kinda impractical to do a water change a vaccume seperetly? I mean...For both you put a siphion in the tank, for both you have to refill the tank still....

What do you think?
What do you do?

 

[Briarmoor]

Alright, so i was just reading the matenience thread, and I realized that some people thing there's a difference between a water change and a gravel vac.
I've always vaccumed my gravel once a week, and that takes out the water. I thought thats what you did once a week.

The 2 could be separate items. For instance, I can vacuum the gravel in the 55g by the time I fill a 2.5g bucket, then I am just sucking up water from the tank the rest of the buckets. For the 10g, I can't get both sides of the tank gravel done before I take out too much water, so I alternate sides each week. Usually I am done with the gravel vacuum as I take out a 2.5g bucket from the 20g tank.

If I was doing a PWC after meds, then I might not also be doing another vacuum if the PWC was done in the same week.

 

[Tolak]

You don't need a gravel vac if the tank has no substrate. Only 3 of my tanks have gravel, they have powerheads or pumps mounted low with prefilters to keep the bottoms clean.

Here's one in a bare bottomed 55, I vac the bottom once a month or so with the syphon hose;

Here's another 55 with gravel, you can see the end of the white hose that leads to a 1,000 lph pump with a prefilter on the right. The filter is peeking a little behind the rock;

Even with the overstocking of angels, and the large plecs, it only needs monthly gravel vaccing. Overstocking means overfiltration, what the prefilter misses the other filters pick up. It's a cheap takeoff on this idea; http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php

Gravel vacs remove water way too slow if you have a lot to change. I use 1" o.d. hose to drain & to vac the bottom of bare tanks with larger fish. I drain 5 gallons per minute with these. Fry tanks get treated a little more gently, 1/2" hose with a sponge on the end. The sponge keeps fry from going on a fast trip to the 35 gallon can with a 1,300 gph pump that drains into my sump pump.

Tolak

 

[annka5]

I change water twice a week but only use a gravel vac on as part of one of a change about every 3 or 4 weeks. I just don't think it needs done more often than that - the gravel doesn't look grotty, nitrates are very low, etc.

 

[andywg]

I water change once a week (or fortnight) and then I might vac the substrate once a month, usually less (like I think about 2...perhaps 3 times this year). I find that I have enough circulation in my tanks that the vast majority of debris is caught in the filters, not the sand.

I'm currently fighting a pile in the large tank, but a small powerhead is my secret weapon in that.

To answer the first point, A gravel vac and a water change are two completely different things, it's just that a number of people do the two together.

 

[Ethos]

Hmhmh...I have very light colored gravel, so that might be a factor.

 

[millym]

hi
i know what you mean about the gravel looking dirty ours tends to after a week
i always do a 3 bucket water change (about 25%) whilst vacuuming the gravel every week on our 44us gal tank & in our fry tank i do a gravel vac & 25% water change weekly + inbetween i often just do a 2L or so water change with a jug.

 

[tetraqueen]

hi
i know what you mean about the gravel looking dirty ours tends to after a week
i always do a 3 bucket water change (about 25%) whilst vacuuming the gravel every week on our 44us gal tank & in our fry tank i do a gravel vac & 25% water change weekly + inbetween i often just do a 2L or so water change with a jug.

I am new to the game and do it seperately.
I have an electric vacumm that filters the water back into the tank during the cleaning. . I do this week one. week two i syphon which also sucks dirt out of the gravel and I ned to change the water. I take of about 25% then I leave to get dirty. filters are on all the time but I like it clean and also like it a bit as its bacteria.

i may go over to week one and three now as my plec is dirty. but they need a rest.