# Gravel Vacuum



## renee (Aug 13, 2011)

Just a question.. Im new here and new to fish I only got a 10 gallon tank until I get the hang of this so far had my fish two months only one died... They were Walmart fish lol... Walmart was remodeling their store and announced they were giving away free fish that day so I brought home about 9 tetras. Now they are doing really good suprisingly. The question is I just dropped live aquarium plant bulbs in the tank like 4 of them so when they grow up how do I go about using my gravel vacuum without hurting the live plants?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Most people don't gravel if they have planted tanks and just let the plants use what is there. If you really wanted you could vacuum around the plants.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I agree with Ben. If you have a heavily planted tank, you probably don't have to vacuum. If there's just a few plants, vacuum around them, but leave a wide space around the plants because the roots will branch out. If you have a heavily planted tank but notice lots of debris, you can gently hover the vacuum over the plants to remove some of the bigger pieces.


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## renee (Aug 13, 2011)

I just planted them in a water bottle container I washed out I planted four.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Wait... what? You planted them in a water bottle in the tank? I'm confused..... just plant them in the gravel in the tank...


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## renee (Aug 13, 2011)

I cut a water bottle down the middle so I could have it length wise. Then I cleaned it put it in the tank put gravel in it and put my four plant seeds in there. I did this cause I like to vacuum my gravel I think its fun and I dont wanna suck up a plant in the process. Btw do plants feed off of fish waste?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Oh, I see what you mean, lol. That should work, as long as there is enough depth and space for the roots to spread. Yes, plants do use fish waste and mulm (the brown gunky stuff that builds up in the gravel) as nutrients. So, when vacuuming, try not to get all the mulm that's right near the plants (in the bottle.)


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