Vacuuming The Substrate

[reeferkeifer]

Howdy all. I am a freak about keeping my tank clean. One thing I do is vacuum the gravel every 2 weeks with my 25 gallon water change for my 90. I also do a 15-20 gallon water change with no vacuum on the other weeks (weekly water changes overall). When I clean the gravel I do a good deep cleaning of the bed so I can get the gravel looking white again. Am I overdoing it? If I were to suddenly vacuum only once a month with the same water changes weekly, could I harm the tank? Ya'lls thoughts. :Thinkingof_:

 

[crew]

First off - is it actually gravel? or is it sand?

 

[reeferkeifer]

gravel.... crushed by Angels hands from the finest rock in the world

 

[snowmansnow]

You're ok with vac the sub

I think you're fine.
That being said ...

if your parameters are swinging after such water changes you may want to cut back a tad

 

[russ-iv]

imo the tank will adapt to the aquarist's husbandry.

eg: if you dont vacuum a lot, you can cause a crash by doing so
if you do vacuum a lot, continue doing so... life will find it's way in other untouched parts of the tank

 

[bcavalli]

Perhaps you could add some more members of your cleanup crew that will help keep the sandbed airated and allievate some of the necessary cleaning. Some will work with your sandbed and others won't.

 

[myreefclub0070]

I haven't clean my sand bed in over a year in my latest tank, I'm with Brett, stock up on snails, sand sifting star fish, diamond back goby and cuc that is dedicated to the sand and you'll take out one more chore on your list.

 

[jennm]

Everything poops. Even the cleanup crew.

Vacuuming is a must, IMO. Personally, I vacuum at every water change, always have. You will really only remove detritus, not 'life'.

It's a good idea to fan the rocks too - kick up the crud that settles there. Use a power head like a leaf blower or even use a turkey baster to blow water into the nooks and crannies, once that crud settles on the sand, vacuum that up too.

You don't have to be 'perfect' at it, you'll never get all the poop out, but if you can get much/most of it out, your tank will be better off for it.

Jenn