Heavy Planted - Cleaning?

[Vitaliy]

I love seeing very heavy planted tanks but it is always puzzling to me how do these guys manage to keep them clean. Generally I like to do light gravel vacuuming on weekly basis, and once in a while I end up flipping everything over and cleaning absolutely everything. It seems that cleaning would be impossible without damaging the plants, root structure, and especially substrate layers.

How do they do it!?

 

[cmersits]

Usually heavily planted tanks aren't packed with fish. Usually just some tetras, and the tetra poop is so small that is just disolves and the plants eat it
I haven't cleaned my 20 gal planted in 6 months! and not one fish had died and the water tests are all fine.

Who ever said planted tanks are harder to keep... is a big fat liar. Myabe harder to start, but deff easier in the long run

 

[Hakon]

Yah, the plants eats the dropping of the fish, you only have to clean some if the dirt lays above the substrate, or on the plants.

 

[Art_Giacosa]

Hi,

Planted tank folks either don't vacuum or vacuum just the top portion of the substrate. It really depends on your fish load. I have a tank full of platys and they can, well..., "dirty" the substrate very quickly. So, I vacuum once or twice a month just the surface of the substrate.

HTH.

 

[fishnutham]

I have a heavy planted tank also stocked with larger fish i vacuum the surface gently monthly to remove large waste decaying leaves ect the rest turns to a carbon source for my plants my parameters have always been spot on

 

[downset21]

I vacuum the top. I have baby monsters in my tank, check out the signature... My tank is doing great. I want to know if somebody that has ground cover, like glosso or sag... if they vacuum too. most people probalby have small fish so it's not an issue for a planted tank.

 

[guppy]

When keeping mid-sized fish (6" or larger) I planted the plants in small pots so I could move them as needed.

 

[fishnutham]

When keeping mid-sized fish (6" or larger) I planted the plants in small pots so I could move them as needed.

thats cheating guppy

 

[ShadowVengance]

I can take out the bamboos, which are the only live plants in my little tanks without damaging them.

I dont vacuum out my 55g planted, it has an undergravel filter + an oversized emperor filter.

I keep a bunch of loaches and coryadora, they only dig up the odd twig, but most plants are in pots, but plants arent effected.

fish are some tetras, + larger community cichlids, and gourami's + rams -> undergravel filter = a plus.

Looks nice n' spiffy.