What do you think?

[Little Guys]

This is my tank.  The plants are attached to two pieces of wood.  I have been "vacuuming" around the wood however I am noticing the substrate needs are really good cleaning.  I have Tetras, shrimp + a bunch of babies and a few corys in the tank.  It would be a big disruption however I am thinking I need to remove the wood and do a really good vacuum.  Do you think this is too distruptive to the inhabitants?

[Tony s]

I’m not sure I would move anything. You may have a ton of shrimp under there and not notice. Clean what you can, the rest will be fine 

[mynameisnobody]

Agreed, if loosing the shrimp isn’t an option, I’d leave it alone. You can put some panty hose on the end of the gravel vac to prevent shrimplets from being sucked up. Are your water parameters good? If they are, then all the more reason to leave it be. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Agreed with the other homies that I personally wouldn’t disrupt the system for a gravel vac. It’s just good plant food. 

[Lennie]

You use aquasoil? If so, at least personally I havent seen anyone vacuuming aquasoil like a normal substrate

 

at best prople usually try to keep the top surface cleaner and thats it. I have never vacuumed aquasoil myself. It naturally can get dustu and mushy anyway

[Rube_Goldfish]

Above sand, I'll sometimes swirl my siphon hose to kick up mulm or detritus that I'm trying to remove without disrupting the sand. You could also use a turkey baster to kick stuff up, then suck it out from the water column. That way you're not disrupting the substrate or the wood.

[Little Guys]

Thank you all for your reponses.  I am less than a year into being a keeper.  My parameters are rock steady and good.  When I look at the edges of the substrate against the glass it is definately brown.  If I put a new plant in or rocks get kicked up that kicks up a lot of detritus.  Are you saying this is okay?  I guess that makes sense because a stream would have the same stuff in it although a stream has moving water.

[Pepere]

I like using a turkey baster to puff stuff out of the substrate and hoover it out with a siphon.  I am not too convinced that detritus and decaying vegetation is great plant food myself.  My experience with it is that it is good algae food.  Cleaning it out seems to help controlling algae for me.

[Flumpweesel]

If I'm doing a big clean in the tank and need to move my hardscape I only work on one side of the tank at a time so that everything that wants to can go and hide away from me. 

I then give them a bit of break (and  me ) before starting the other side

[johnnyxxl]

On 6/8/2024 at 7:46 PM, Little Guys said:

Thank you all for your reponses.  I am less than a year into being a keeper.  My parameters are rock steady and good.  When I look at the edges of the substrate against the glass it is definately brown.  If I put a new plant in or rocks get kicked up that kicks up a lot of detritus.  Are you saying this is okay?  I guess that makes sense because a stream would have the same stuff in it although a stream has moving water.

The brown is detritus which is actually soil forming from the debris in the tank.  Think of it like the compost you put in the garden.  The stuff is better than alright,we want that to feed our plants.