Cleaning a heavily planted aquarium?

Question

How do you clean an aquarium with heavy plants/decorations. Like drift wood, ornaments etc. Do you still vaccum the gravel?

Answer 1

A planted tank does present a bit of a cleaning problem. If there are open areas, you can clean them with a gravel vac, but you can't really use one of these properly around the plants, or you'll risk damaging the roots. If the driftwood is free, you can pull it up while you vacuum around it, but if it's got plants attached with roots into the substrate, you can't really move these.

I've found that using some fish and inverts to clean in these areas are about as much as you can do. Kuhli loaches, small freshwater shrimp, and Malaysian trumpet snails are the best - they're thin and can get into tight spots, and the loaches and Malasians will burrow into the gravel just enough in seach of food and hiding places to keep it aerated and clean. If you're not familiar with malasians, they're only about 3/4 inch, hide in the gravel during the day, and don't eat plants. Just don't overfeed the fish, because if they have a good food supply, they multiply like crazy. If you feed as you should, they snails stay within reasonable numbers. The kuhli's will also help keep the numbers under control.

Answer 2

How can you clean the tank when it’s full of plants? The simple answer is, carefully! A gravel vacuum doesn’t work very well when there are roots and plants growing out of the gravel, and with other substrates you can’t use this method either. Cleaning the bottom of the tank if you over-feed your fish can be very difficult and take a very long time. If you get the balance right, it’s not necessary very often, which makes it easier Most plants need food to grow. Some of the food comes from the fish waste, but other nutrients will still need to be added occasionally. This really is part of the tending of the plants, so it will become part of that routine, but still needs to be considered. Why should plants need to be tended? Remember that an aquarium is a closed environment. In there, many things can make a difference to the quality of the water even to the extent of polluting it so much that the fish die. Rotting leaves and plant matter are a big source of pollution in aquaria. Tending the plants is simply making sure that any dying leaves or stems are removed promptly, not left to rot, and making sure that the plants stay healthy and looking good. One plant can take over the tank very quickly, while others take time to grow, so one of the tasks is to keep everything in balance during the growth, and maintain that balance in maturity You now know what plants you are going to use, so now you need to choose the substrate for them. Some will be happy with gravel, others will need special aquarium plant substrate such as Flourite, some may need sand, yet others could need a compost base. Research is the key all the way through this. Once you know what plants you are looking at, the substrate needs to suit them. Bear in mind that some plant substrates can be very expensive, so choose wisely. Are we getting the idea yet? A planted aquarium is not just a matter of throwing a few plants in and letting them get on with it. Many people term this now as aquascaping, and it has become something of an art. You can spend a little or a lot, depending on the final effect you want, but it’s not to be hurried in any event!

Answer 3

If the plants are real plants I wouldn't vacuum the gravel. What is your setup? Low light or high light? In a low light set up you're not supposed to do much maintenance, only top off the water and do a water change every few months. The plants act as a natural filter, absorbing and using the nitrates while oxygenating the tank. They use the fish waste as nutrients.

Answer 4

first thing scrap the glass and let it settle for an hour so that any algae or dirt on the window will settle on the bottom and be vacuumed off too , vacuum the gravel with a siphon but be extremely careful and go around each plant and drift wood for about 30% of water you can try half a tank each week of about 10 - 15 % , smaller and frequent water changes are better than one big one,

good luck :)