sillygoose
New member
What do you guys think of gravel "vaccing?" It seems like I've heard opinions both ways.
to gravel vac or not???
- Thread starter sillygoose
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ColaAddict
In Memoriam
I have worms, starfish, crabs, conch. they stir up the sand for me. I never touch the sand.
ynnhoj86
New member
its a must! keeps sand white and takes away nasties in the sand. also vacuuming out the detritus in sump is another must. the water column is the cleanest part of the tank. when you remove water, you are pretty much just taking out all the clean water. Kind of like it you poo in the toliet, if you wait 10 mins, all the waste is on the bottom and the cleanest party of that water is in the middle. wouldn't recommend drinking it tho 
sillygoose
New member
OK - do you do just a portion of the gravel at a time or all at once? How does it affect your little sand critters - microbial and little bugs etc?
I had some pretty huge NO3 spikes a couple years ago that coincided with vacuuming events. I stopped because of it.
I had some pretty huge NO3 spikes a couple years ago that coincided with vacuuming events. I stopped because of it.
99Trev
New member
I do not vac at all (tank will be 2 years old in September). I did a lot of research (online), asking on several forums, and decided not to vac. Let the live sand, and "critters" do their work. IF the levels of things become an issue, then it might be something to look into. But from what people said vacuuming caused more issues than saving anything. With that being said, the sand does need to be moved from time to time. That is where thee worms, snails, etc come in to play. If the sand becomes compacted then it cannot filter out and clean and be "live"
ColaAddict
In Memoriam
again, I have worms/crabs/snails/starfish/conch to clean my sand. I have amphipods/copepods that I don't like to suck out, so I don't vaccum my sand. If you have a good clean up crew, no need to cloudy up your tank with sand.
ynnhoj86
New member
i do it all at once. you shouldn't have any NO3 spikes if you do it right. when you do it, you want to make sure the tube sucks out the dirty water until its clear in the tube, then you move to the next spot. I've seen more benefits than not. just remember, clean up crews don't eat poop. nothing in nature really does. Also, clean up crew poo as well.
Back in old days, people used to use plenum. if you dont what it is, google it. it was a basket that you put in the sand and you can't touch it because it was like a netted box for a raised sand bed. It worked great for the first couple years, but after so long, it harbored so much gunk, it caused tank to crash. ive seen it first hand, and OMG, that basket with the sand in it smelled so bad. worst than skimmer cups. this all is just my opinion
Back in old days, people used to use plenum. if you dont what it is, google it. it was a basket that you put in the sand and you can't touch it because it was like a netted box for a raised sand bed. It worked great for the first couple years, but after so long, it harbored so much gunk, it caused tank to crash. ive seen it first hand, and OMG, that basket with the sand in it smelled so bad. worst than skimmer cups. this all is just my opinion
victornator333
New member
this is a great example of why i love this hobby. there is no "right" way to do it. everyone has their own methods that have given them success
sillygoose
New member
The reason I'm asking is that I am getting a bit of that dreaded brownish gravel. Part of it may be that temps are going up. We've had a couple of gobies but they always make such a mess - of course they never stay too long either the little jumpers...We are wondering about "renting" one again.
Skinner
New member
its a must! keeps sand white and takes away nasties in the sand. also vacuuming out the detritus in sump is another must. the water column is the cleanest part of the tank. when you remove water, you are pretty much just taking out all the clean water. Kind of like it you poo in the toliet, if you wait 10 mins, all the waste is on the bottom and the cleanest party of that water is in the middle. wouldn't recommend drinking it tho
What about "Floaters"????
ynnhoj86
New member
lol true, i didnt address floaters. im gonna have to say the middle of the water column is the cleanest.
aquaph8
Love The Fish
Ha ha ha
99Trev
New member
Not the same "beast", but I broke down my freshwater tank last night. Since I got my saltwater tank the freshwater tank (I am ashamed to say) was not a hight priority. For the last 2 years minimal maintenance was done on it. Changing the foam pads and charcoal in the filter and adding water was the extent. No vacuuming, no water changes (for 2 years). We had 3 swordtails and 3 neon tetras in a 40gal tank. The last tetra died a couple of weeks ago. the swordtails kept spawning, and there was 7 of them (that went to a new home thanks to Craigslist).
The gravel had some "gunk" in it, but not as much as I though there would be. There was a fair amount of algae in/under the rocks. Prior to getting saltwater, I vacuumed it every 2-3 weeks, and the "gunk" that vacuumed out then was equal or more than what was in the gravel when I tore it down. Not sure what all that means.... and now I am rambling.
The gravel had some "gunk" in it, but not as much as I though there would be. There was a fair amount of algae in/under the rocks. Prior to getting saltwater, I vacuumed it every 2-3 weeks, and the "gunk" that vacuumed out then was equal or more than what was in the gravel when I tore it down. Not sure what all that means.... and now I am rambling.
