sunstrip

At the moment (in the 55G...48" long)...I have substrate that is smooth gravel that are about 3/8" in diameter and it's around 2" thick....when I feed...I always turn off the filters and bubble stone (for 5 minutes)...and feed at one end of the tank in the same place...so most of my food waste is concentrated at that end.

Now this is my idea....remove the substrate (at the end that I feed) down to about 1 single layer of gravel (about half an inch) for 2/3's of the tank...and the other third leave it at the 2" depth...and move my live plants to that area...in this way (by my warped thinking...LOL)....keeping the tank clean will not only be easier...but much more efficient and effective.

What do you guys think ?

Also...(sorry for the 2 part question)...in a non-planted tank...would I be able to do the entire tank at the thin level I described above ?

sirdarksol

Second question first, if you don't have rooted plants, there is no requirement on substrate except for that presented by the fish themselves. Some people have gone with an entirely bare bottom. 1" should be good (you'll want to leave some in to allow your cories to be able to sift through the substrate.)

sunstrip

Thanks sirdarksol....sounds like a plan then...I even came up with a way to anchor the fake plants(since there wont be enough gravel to hold them down)...I'm just going to remove the bases that they came with and hot-glue small suction cups in there place....and whalla...no need for substrate to hold the plants in place....a good idea if I may say so myself...LOL