40 Gallon Tank Removing Substrate To Clean It

[QSmith307]

My fiance is telling me that I need to take the substrate out of my aquarium and rinse it with hot water every few months. I have been keeping fish for 3 years now, doing a a good bit of research the whole time, and I have never heard anything that suggests doing this. I have really only heard the opposite.

So please tell me, should I be taking my substrate out and washing it???

(Of course, I have been cleaning it with the gravel vacc, making sure to kick up the debris and such to get it all.)

 

[PeterFishKeepin]

Welcome to fishlore

ive never heard of soaking/washing substrate in hot water, substrate grows the benifical bacteria in the tank, it can also be part of certain fishes homes. I doubt doing this is going to help your tank, maybe somebody else knows but i don't think you should do this.

 

[Kellye8498]

Oh no no no. You have beneficial bacteria living in there. You just gravel vac and leave alone all substrate and decorations.

 

[takimoto12]

What type of substrate is it? Like gravel or sand?

I was always told that doing something like that could disturb the bacteria in it or cause an ammonia spike by kicking up a lot of gunk. It also sounds like it would also be extremely tedious for you and stressful for your fish. I don't see why regular gravel vacs, water changes, and a good filter won't take care of any issues. Also, detritus and gunk is a good thing in a tank, especially if you have plants in there.

 

[Kellye8498]

What type of substrate is it? Like gravel or sand?

I was always told that doing something like that could disturb the bacteria in it or cause an ammonia spike by kicking up a lot of gunk. It also sounds like it would also be extremely tedious for you and stressful for your fish. I don't see why regular gravel vacs, water changes, and a good filter won't take care of any issues. Also, detritus and gunk is a good thing in a tank, especially if you have plants in there.

All of this as well. The ammonia that could be released could kill everything and you need that detritus for bottom feeders and other scavengers if you have them. It’s free ferts for live plants. Seems like waaaaaaay too much work to do in order to actually mess up part of your cycle.

 

[Flyfisha]

The information your fiancé has is now outdated.
Yes it was what was done 30 or more years ago.

While some of the old school fish keepers refuse to change or believe in the nitrogen cycle it’s totally out of date with scientific research..

The correct thing to say is only clean 1/3 of the gravel each week. However in an established tank it is my opinion you can clean a lot more gravel than that?
The last thing you should do is one big clean of gravel , filter,ornaments and glass all on the same week.

In short .
No don’t remove the gravel to clean it.

 

[Kassh4815]

I’m the same as everybody else. I water change once a week and gravel vac half the tank 1 time a month. When I change I’ll vac up surface material but won’t push down into my sand until it’s time. Taking it and rinsing it is nothing but a headache and does more harm than good IMO.

 

[QSmith307]

Thank you, everyone!! I thought I was living in an alternate universe when he said that, and acted like I was wrong for never doing this! My fiance does not keep fish, he just knows more than the average person because he watches me do it. He started finding all these articles that said to clean the substrate like this, and I couldn't find any that said not to (probably because not many people are talking about it anymore). From what I knew, I was pretty sure this was harmful, and I had never seen an experienced fish keeper who said to do this. Thank you for restoring my confidence in myself! I'm also very happy I don't have to take my substrate out and clean it!

Also, I have two tanks, one with sand and one with gravel.

 

[Kassh4815]

When I had gravel I vacuumed half the gravel every 2 weeks. More crud gets down into the cracks than with sand in my experience.

 

[takimoto12]

Thank you, everyone!! I thought I was living in an alternate universe when he said that, and acted like I was wrong for never doing this! My fiance does not keep fish, he just knows more than the average person because he watches me do it. He started finding all these articles that said to clean the substrate like this, and I couldn't find any that said not to (probably because not many people are talking about it anymore). From what I knew, I was pretty sure this was harmful, and I had never seen an experienced fish keeper who said to do this. Thank you for restoring my confidence in myself! I'm also very happy I don't have to take my substrate out and clean it!

Also, I have two tanks, one with sand and one with gravel.

Given your experience, sounds like you're the expert in fish keeping in this relationship . Always helpful to double check on this site for conflicting information. I know it's helped me for a number of conflicting or incorrect statements I've received from LFS and random people.