Hybrid Filtration To Avoid Gravel Vacuum

[tabes]

I've just started a new 10 gallon freshwater tank and I've been performing the gravel vacuuming of bottom as prescribed. The vacuum is necessary because the sediment and waste isn't pulled in by the filter on the back of the tank before it settles along the bottom. Has anyone ever come up with a way to capture that sediment and waste and remove it from the water without having to use a manual gravel vacuum to do it?
 
 

 

[Byron]

The quick answer is no.  If you had a filter with a strong enough flow to actually capture everything, no fish would be able to tolerate it.  But you wouldn't want to either, for the health of the biological system.
 
Biologically speaking, in most aquaria the substrate is the most important "filtering" area, more-so than the filter itself.  The prime duty of a filter is to mechanically filter particulate matter out of the water.  Biological filtration to help clean the water will also occur, it can't be prevented.  But the filtration processes that occur in the substrate go beyond this.  Nitrifying bacteria (dealing with the ammonia/nitrite issues) is only one aspect; there is a host of various bacteria living in a healthy substrate.
 
In some of my tanks I dig into the substrate in the open areas with the end of the water changer, and in other tanks I rarely if ever do this.  Each tank is biologically unique, and the depth of the substrate, tank size, fish load, and live plants all factor in.
 
Byron.

 

[tabes]

Thank you Byron for the response.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'll add that in a planted tank, you certainly wouldn't want to remove everything as well, as this is ideal fertilizer for the plants - once its broken down by the bacs.
 
Our tanks are far, far more biologically diverse than we truly realize.  There are hosts of different critters that all contribute to a fully functioning biosystem.  We can't really replicate nature in the small boxes we are keeping everything in... but not being able to remove everything and just removing what we can isn't a huge problem, its beneficial.  We don't want the tanks to be too clean.  Of course, we also don't want them to be overly dirty either.  Its a delicate balance that we are seeking to achieve.