Water change question

Keeping large cichlids I do multiple water changes a week. I dont just change out water I gravel vac out the poop each time because I find it unsightly and gross when the fish moves and stirs up the mess. So am I weird? That wasnt the question...

Do you do the same? Gravel vac each time?

Always grav vac, or else you're just diluting the nitrate. Thats how I was taught.

I gravel vac so often I find that when I open my filters to clean every 2-3 month's they always were clean. I extended the service out now even further and they are still pretty clean. This was just one of those things I did, wasnt sure if everyone else did it too.

I was told to gravel vac & sorta stir up the gravel when done and I've been told to gravel vac with just lowering the vac into the gravel & pulling straight up to reduce disturbing the bacteria colony living in the gravel. Which is right?

So i do vac trying not to disturb the gravel too much but sometimes i just skim it along the top of the gravel. I don't like the unsightly fish waste - when our platy was alive it was a poop machine, and I had to vac a lot.

I do 2 water changes /week. I gravel vac on one of those changes only.

VsKitchen wrote:I don't like the unsightly fish waste - when our platy was alive it was a poop machine, and I had to vac a lot.

Wait till you have a big cichlid or pleco. Theres times the gravel vac can barely get the poo off the garavel.

DMD123 wrote:

VsKitchen wrote:I don't like the unsightly fish waste - when our platy was alive it was a poop machine, and I had to vac a lot.

Wait till you have a big cichlid or pleco. Theres times the gravel vac can barely get the poo off the garavel.

I gravel vac every time, figured that was the point of a water change was to remove waste that the filter didn't pick up. I don't stir my sand up cause it will get sucked into the filter but I do run a skewer through it every once in a while to loosen the sand up a little

DMD123 wrote:

VsKitchen wrote:I don't like the unsightly fish waste - when our platy was alive it was a poop machine, and I had to vac a lot.

Wait till you have a big cichlid or pleco. Theres times the gravel vac can barely get the poo off the garavel.

I don't have the tank space for any big fish, though I've been thinking about maybe some dwarf cichlids...I've been thinking about several other types as well... Choices, choices

I remove everything and get into the gravel once every 2 weeks. In fact, I may be due for that now..lol

So what water conditioners do we all use?

Due to the high volumes of water I go through with a large tank I use Seachem Prime.

So how about you guys?

Spyral wrote:I remove everything and get into the gravel once every 2 weeks. In fact, I may be due for that now..lol

I used to shove the vacuum into the gravel when I had it also, I've since switched all my tanks to sand now. Looks more natural, poo stays on top and it's softer on the bottom dwelling fish bellies.

primes a good choice.

Prime