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Re: [APD] Speaking of substrate vaccuming -- or - What wonderfully rotten stuff you have!



Whether yo need to vacuum or not depends on how much
detritus collects in the substrate, and that will depend on
the fish load/fish-food dosing, amount of plants and amount
of pruning, filtration, etc.

Thre is not need to to go deep if that will disturb plants
or plant roots -- if those plants are healthy, leve them be
and vacuum the the very upper layer of substrate where you
can get to it and only as often as doing so brings up a
rich load of detritus.

A lot of the detritus is organic material of which the
growing plants can make some use. But there  can be too
much of a good thing. If the detritus collects over time,
if it builds (and it probably will in some spots), then
sooner or later you'll have to remove some of it. The stuff
that's collecting in (and on) the substrate is pretty much
what collects in the media of your filter.

Depending on your tank's conditions that might mean every
week or only once a every few months or even as rare as
only every few years in a slow-grow set up. In fact, some
folks put soil underneath the substrate (instant rich
mulm/detritus) when they set up a tank. Others of us like
to earn our detritus the oldfashioned way ;-)

So you don't have to be a fanatic about it. Planted aquaria
are more forgiving than other aquaria. 

As the barber often hears, "Just a little off the top but
not too much" ;-)

Good luck, good fun,
Scott H.
--- Benjamin Hong <bkhong at rogers_com> wrote:

> In a heavily planted tank, where it is somewhat
> difficult, is it true that
> it isn't necessary to vaccume the substrate?  I'd heard
> this somewhere and
> thought it a bit strange, but am also fishing for a "yes,
> it's true" as a
> heavily planted aquarium also means it's a PIA.


=====
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