# cleaning planted substrate ?



## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

for a planted aquarium, what is done about cleaning the substrate ?, is this something that is done, or just ignore it for the life of the aquarium ?

is there a life expectancy for this ? can we expect a time when roots have grown dense enough to prevent Malaysian trumpet snails from moving ?

do we just let detritus/mulm accumulate for the plants indefinitely ?

siphoning the substrate i'm sure has gotta be rather harsh on plant roots, replanting those that got loose.

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i know a lot of questions, but lots of curiosities all around the same issue.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

You don't clean plant substrate, if you try to vacuum it like gravel, you'll just make a mess. Plant substrate is a permanent thing, set it once and forget it. Best you can do is just skim the surface and try to remove whatever debris you can see.


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

ya, that's what i had been doing, ... just one of those really odd strange ideas.

this something you just let build up for the life of the aquarium ?, ... has anyone had any problems they figure is related to detritus buildup or is this just thoughts of a wild imagination ?


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I gravel wash my ADA Amazonia tanks all the time using the Marina Mini Vacuum. There is a method to it. Just do it slowly and meticulously and as the scape changes more area are opened up to being cleaned. I do this with shrimp and fish in the tanks. I've said this before, not all aquascapers agree with me on this (especially those who add ADA additives to the substrate - as I don't).  This is just my personal experience and have been doing it for YEARS in all my planted tanks).

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## SpeedFactor (Dec 1, 2011)

I use ADA Amazonia as well and I find it near impossible to clean properly so I just rescape my tanks every few months. I find my nitrate levels start to rise if I do not clean my substrate.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Tom Barr advised uprooting a section every month and gravel vacuuming it. I have been able to do my Florabase but haven't tried to do my ADA AS yet, but will have to do it some time this year.


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## crimper (Oct 20, 2010)

I wont do it, provide a good filtration and a balance system and you'll maintain a clean aquarium. I never cleaned or vac my ADA substrate. My 2 cents


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I have massive filters on my tanks and I still get a lot of detritus in my substrate. I vacuum it to monitor and maintain nitrates and so I can prune and harvest plants more easily when changing the scape without giant sediment clouds.

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## grizadams_7mm (Aug 29, 2011)

I agree that the substrate does need a little cleaning every once in awhile, I'm using both ADA and fluval shrimp stratum, I just carefully use my gravel vac. once the vac is about half full I stop the flow let the stratum fall while most of the crud still floats then let the flow go again and repeat. Just have to be careful and watch what your doing and all should be good, its almost like using the vac on sand. Slow and steady wins the race


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

so there's no real view of 'right' or 'wrong' about cleaning substrate for planted tanks


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## crimper (Oct 20, 2010)

In this hobby, dont be scared to try unconventional wisdom. I always validate everyones claims, try what they say and stick on what works for me. 

Cheers!


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## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

i have base layer and additives. i still want to do the gravel vac since im getting unwanted buildup of mulm and outbreak of cyano. everytime i do a water change, my hc pearls but a day later it doesnt. ill let you guys know how it goes. would probably do it on wednesday.

I lied. Did it today with nice results. 
This is before vacuuming it with the marina mini. 








And After








The water did not get too cloudy and I believe i got more than 3/4 of the area. The rest is under the hardscape. 









I'm seeing signs of the cyano dying down. The base layer rocks did come up but I still had to vacuum it. The replanting and fiddling with the hardscape before kind of called for this type of measure.

In sum, I had success with this method. I have base layer and the 5 ada additives.

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


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