# How do you clean a planted tank?



## megademon (Nov 17, 2010)

I have a planted tank with a lot of live plants. I've been vacuuming around the plants but now I see that there is a lot of stuff near the plants and I don't want to harm the plants. How do I clean the tank without damaging the plants?


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

honestly, I don't vac my 30 gallon planted; that's how 

the plants consume the fish wastes like a natural fertilizer and keep the water parameters prefect



but it's going to vary from tank to tank, depending on what types and how many plants, and the bioload of the inhabitants as well


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I dont vac my gravel either.I do waterchanges,but just pull out 50% of the water and add back fresh.The mulm is good for the plants,and will feed them.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The plants may consume the nitrates produced by the waste, but largely the waste is still present. Dark substrate will hide most of it. It is still beneficial to vacuum if you have open areas. I don't do it that often in my planted tanks.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting close to your plants. I don't want to damage them and it doesn't take too much suction to suck up a clump of baby tears.


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

majerah1 said:


> I dont vac my gravel either.I do waterchanges,but just pull out 50% of the water and add back fresh.The mulm is good for the plants,and will feed them.


you do more than me

I have yet to change the water in mine either 

not counting the couple gallons that might get changed when I service the canister filter...


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## AbadHabit (Sep 9, 2010)

I never vaccume the bottom either. Plants eat it all. The open areas, my pleco does a couple wags of the tail, their brushed clean. I run about 30-40 ppm on nitrates. I just have to trimm mine every week.


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

Have you thought about snails or maybe shrimp? Snails are how I clean around mine. I don't vacuum my planted tanks either. Same reason of not wanting to damage anything.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I agree whole-heartedly with everything above - look at your tank as a pond. Plants in a pond live in the dirtiest of dirty water, and their roots are buried in substrate so dirty it's practically slime. The dirtier your tank, the better those plants will perform. It's a balancing act between cleanliness and plant health that you must suffice yourself with.

I don't vacuum my gravel at all, and haven't done so for the last year. I push root tabs in occasionally, and I do 10%-30% weekly PWC's to replenish the ion concentrations in my water. I have earth-colored substrate so there's really no ability to distinguish dirty from clean.

And a cleanup crew will help with this. Shrimp are my personal favorite, but I know people who will even go to their LFS and ask for a handful of the pond snails their tanks are infested with. Those little guys are da bomb if you don't mind seeing specks all over your tank.


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## BETTABOUTIQUE (Jan 16, 2011)

megademon said:


> I have a planted tank with a lot of live plants. I've been vacuuming around the plants but now I see that there is a lot of stuff near the plants and I don't want to harm the plants. How do I clean the tank without damaging the plants?


My husband has a 75 gallon community planted tank. One thing that helps are his Cory Cats and his Algea Eater. He also just works around the plants with his finger to loosen up any debris that is there that he wants to remove. Plus 25% weekly water changes. 


Melissa
owner of The Betta Boutique 
Kaukauna, WI


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Unless your willing to uproot the plants (which I'm pretty sure you don't want to), then don't worry about it. Just do WCs as normal.

If the gunk on top gets to be too much, you can use just the hose of your gravel vac and get right up against the plants without harm.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I gravel vac the open areas twice a year, never pull the plants to clean it either.
There is still alot of sediment in the gravel but I just clean by the glass to make it not seen.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

megademon said:


> I have a planted tank with a lot of live plants. I've been vacuuming around the plants but now I see that there is a lot of stuff near the plants and I don't want to harm the plants. How do I clean the tank without damaging the plants?


sounds to me like you're doing fine.

my .02


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## megademon (Nov 17, 2010)

seems like everyone else isn't vacuuming. glad to see that I'm not the only one 
I have tons of shrimps and snails in the tank but I could still see the waste on the bottom of the tank.


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

In my heavily planted tanks i dont touch the gravel at all, its there for the plants to use, specially as i dont add fertilizer


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## tinman (Nov 3, 2009)

mine doesnt exactly come under planted tank but i do have some live plants in there  

i have a snail working on it and when im doing my water changes once a week i just stir up the water and collect what ever is possible by the siphon and rest gets sucked by the filter


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