How Much Do You Syphon?

[BETTY BOO]

how much gravel do you syphon during each water change??

do you do a deep syphon or just hoover over the top??

 

[frapadoodle]

When I had gravel did the deep hoovering. Now with sand and live plants, more of a skim so as not to gather up too much sand.

 

[kkcrd11]

In my coldwater goldfish tank with gravel I do a good clean all over the gravel once a week( and for as long as it takes me to syphon 30 L of water ) but only move the ornaments and plants out every fortnight and clean under them.

My other tank is a sand subtrate, tropical and I clean this weekly however I only hover above this and not for as long but i do give the sand a stir as well afterwards to make sure its moved about a bit as i've heard if its not it can become toxic as it gets compacted .

But i'm not an expert and just do the best i can really and hope i'm doing the best i can for my fishy friends

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd say if you have gravel, you want to be doing a deep clean every time. Any decor, like rocks or stones you move (I do mine once a month or so) and clean underneath. If you have a lot of plants, just do your best to go around them without disturbing them too much.

Sand can be done with a 'hover' over the top.