Maintaining A Hard To Clean Tank?

[LyraGuppi]

I'm planning a large tank with a lot of stacked driftwood that, in the future, will be hard to siphon. There are open areas that I'll be able to reach, and enough room for fish to get under the wood. I've heard of tanks be kept without siphoning (or at least not often), does this work well? It's going to be moderately(?) planted.

 

[hobby5]

I haven't siphoned my tank since years Use sand as substrate! Some current will mostly do the job.

 

[gmc1]

I don't syphon either

 

[fluttermoth]

As long as you make sure you don't overfeed, so the mulm is actual fish poo, and not undigested or left over food, it's not really a problem, apart from perhaps cosmetically. Water quality is more important.
 
Just do what you can reach with your siphon so it doesn't build up too much and look messy

 

[LyraGuppi]

Thanks guys! 

 

[Akasha72]

I don't syphon my substrate either ... if I did I'd have buckets full of sand. What I do have is a handy gadget that attaches to an air pump and you hover it just over the substrate. It sucks up bits of poo, empty snail shells, dead bits of leaf etc into a cotton bag. The water just passes through the bag meaning that there's no need to top up. What I then do is put my net in the top of the tank and empty the cotton bag into the net. I've worked out that my sand will fall through the net but the stuff I don't want won't so if my little gadget has sucked up any sand I just return it to the tank
 
This is the gadget
 
https/www.amazon.co.uk/Algarde-42150S-Power-Cleaner-Single/dp/B000S5JMZ6?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

 

[NickAu]

 
I don't syphon my substrate either ...

Same here, My tanks are heavily planted and it just cant be done

 

[HarpyFishLover]

 

[LyraGuppi]

Thanks again. c: Nevermind about it being moderately planted, it's packed with plants.