PhishFor20

So i bought a vacuum for the tank, just a cheap one at walmart. So i just basically jam the tub part over every square inch of the tank and suck up the gravel and then shake it out right?

andy65

Not all of your gravel just half of it.

You can start a cycle if you do all of it

Other than that yes, your right. Just do little bits at one time.

sirdarksol

I disagree. I have never de-cycled my tank by vacuuming all of the gravel. The bacteria clings to the gravel. It doesn't just live between the pieces. Besides, the majority of the bacteria that keeps your tank healthy is in the filter. What lives in the gravel deals with the waste that settles in the gravel.
The biggest reason to not do the whole tank is just time. It's hard to vacuum the bottom of the tank if you're doing a 25% water change.

PhishFor20

So i should just do the top layer? And never mess with the bottom layer? I thought someone said to kinda stir your gravel when you vacuumed...whatever i dunno

sirdarksol

I do a moderately deep vacuum in my tanks with gravel. If you've got a UGF (under gravel filter), you want to to deep vacuums frequently, to help keep the filter from getting gunked up.
In my tanks with sand, I just vacuum the top layer and let the snails stir the sand bed.

The reason you want to stir the gravel is to avoid allowing anaerobic pockets to build up. Once these build, they can kill off a tank when broken.

PhishFor20

k...thanks

Tavel

You can basically do it any way you want...most of the bacteria is in the filter and on the plants or anything that gets current. Bacteria isn't going to chill where it's being starved or resources, so it's not at all evenly distributed throughout the tank. And any bacteria that you pull out of the bed is usually with it's very own chunk of poop, so there's no net change.

You can clean the gravel however works for you.

When I had my turtle in my tropical community, I would do a FULL gravel cleaning with every weekly water change. I changed a lot of water (18 gallons or so), so I had the time to clean it all. The tank never re-cycled or anything.

Fish don't poop nearly as much as a turtle, so you don't need to clean the gravel as thoroughly. I don't want to mess up my decorations, so I just jab at the surface to agitate the stones (never pushing INTO the stones), then hold it until I see it stop pulling debris up...then move on.