To gravel clean or nit

[Lamie]

Would it be ok to miss the gravel clean and just do a big water change. The gravel is clean and I have a sick fish and need to change the water and also add salt and gravel clean if I didn't have to do it would make it so much easier

 

[GaryE]

I gravel clean once or twice a year, and have very healthy tanks. Just don't overfeed.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. You don't need to vacuum. Everything in the tank is constantly dissolving. So, by changing most of the tank water every few days, you remove everything that has dissolved in it. I haven't vacuumed in quite a while. I just remove and replace most of the tank water in my tanks every four to five days.

10

 

[Colin_T]

If you normally do a gravel clean when you do a water change, then you can miss a few gravel cleans every now and then. However, you should try to gravel clean regularly to prevent a build up of fish waste in the substrate that can lead to disease outbreaks (usually protozoan).

If you are treating a fish, you don't have to do a gravel clean now but do one after you finish treatment to remove medication and dead pathogens from the substrate.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I almost never vac my planted tanks. This includes one 75 gal. tank where the plants are all in pots or attached to wood or rocks. I want almost everything one might vac. to sink into the substrate and become mulm. This is the best substrate plant food there is, IMO. I also use substrate ferts as well.

I vac. most non-planted tanks weekly. Many of these are heavily stocked breeding or grow tanks and they must be vacuumed every week.

 

[jaylach]

I do gravel vacs but not ever water change. One of the main reasons I vac the gravel is that I run under gravel filtration and it helps keep the filter plates clear. Even with that I avoid areas where stuff is planted in the substrate.