Cleaning your planted tank?

[fishy12]

How do you manage to get every piece of waste out if your planted tank? Especially if its heavily planted I mean how do you ge around the plants to siphon or scoop it out? And what filters do you use? I heard that HOB's or air filters just make the CO2 useless? Just some questions to find some stuff out

 

[poly-nomial]

How do you manage to get every piece of waste out if your planted tank? Especially if its heavily planted I mean how do you ge around the plants to siphon or scoop it out? And what filters do you use? I heard that HOB's or air filters just make the CO2 useless? Just some questions to find some stuff out

The same as a normal tank. Just hover over the top of the substrate and don't stab the tube into the substrate. It is definitely more difficult than non-plant tanks.

 

[KYeasting]

I don't usually try to get every piece of garbage out. I just siphon as much as possible out and call it good. The same goes for my lfs; they have a tank with so many plants you can hardly get your hand in the tank. I'm not too sure about the use of CO2, I haven't hooked anything up to my tank.

 

[duke33]

Nice Nova! Like said, just vac the areas you can get to. I Assume the rest goes to feed the plants. I've read that a planted tanks works best with the least amount of surface agitation as possible.

 

[fishy12]

Nice Nova! Like said, just vac the areas you can get to. I Assume the rest goes to feed the plants. I've read that a planted tanks works best with the least amount of surface agitation as possible.

Hmmmm then how do fish get air? Because air gets in water thro surface agitation...I heard canisters work best...but idk if there is any smallenough for a 30gal...

 

[emptyhead]

I never clean my planted tanks.

 

[szymon328]

even without surface agitation the fish will get oxygen cuz the plants make oxygen o and i have the same problem trying to get poop from around plants except that my elodea is doing a bad job at rooting so i don't wana use a syphon any other ways?

 

[fishy12]

Ok, So whts the best filter for a planted 30gallon? If the tank is planted

 

[emptyhead]

Ok, So whts the best filter for a planted 30gallon? If the tank is planted

That depends on how heavily planted and stocked your tank is.

For a 30g, I would just get an appropriately sized HOB, like a bio wheel 150 or 200. If I had the money though I would use a Fluval 205.

If your tank is lightly planted and heavily stocked, then a larger filter may be necessary.