# To vacuum the gravel or not vacuum the gravel?



## bubbles4ever (Jan 19, 2015)

Do you guys vacuum your gravel when you do a water change? I've heard mixed things about it. Some people have said that it's best not to cause it holds beneficial bacteria and it could mess with my cycle but others say to do it because it holds so much nasty junk and most of the beneficial bacteria is in your filter media anyways.

I cleaned only a little bit of it today but want to clean more just looking at it cause I can see all the nasty stuff.

What do you guys do?


----------



## 17eddyd (Mar 17, 2014)

In both of my tanks (betta and community) i vacuum the gravel, about every other month. It works out just fine for me, Ive been doing it for almost two years and my tanks are totally fine.


----------



## selah (Oct 14, 2014)

I vacuum 1/4 each water change so 1/2 per week and no problems.. a lot of the good bacteria is in the filter..


----------



## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

I vacuum my gravel sometimes, just because of the build up underneath. 


You won't have much with a single betta, but in my community tank that is another story;-)


I have never had an issue though.


----------



## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I recommend doing a at least a partial gravel vacuum with every water change. You are not going to remove the beneficial bacteria. It's not free floating, it is colonized on the gravel.

You should always vacuum the corners of your aquarium first as that's where most of the debris will accumulate.


----------



## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I agree with mike. I personally vacuum once to twice a week in my 2.5 gallons. I do two 50% water changes a week and depending on my schedule I will either vacuum during both water changes or just one of them.


----------



## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

Ok - the question is are you *CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF* cycling your tank?

If you are *CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF* cycling your tank, then just vacuum sparingly.

If you have a cycled tank - then go ahead and vacuum that sucker!


----------



## Polkadot (Feb 10, 2013)

Yes I gravel vac during every weekly water change.


----------



## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Greenapp1es said:


> Ok - the question is are you *CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF* cycling your tank?
> 
> If you are *CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF* cycling your tank, then just vacuum sparingly.


The OP's tank _is_ cycled

And my answer is still the same.


----------



## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

I vacuum the crap out of the gravel every time I change water.


----------



## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

I vacuum just to get the poop out, which I can rarely spot.


----------



## TerriGtoo (Jul 2, 2013)

The important thing to remember (and please forgive me if someone above brought this up.) is that you do not want to change out your filter media at the same time you vacuum your gravel. You want to vacuum the gravel, and then a day or so later you should change your filter media out if needed. If you do both at the same time you run the risk of losing much of the BB.


----------



## Alyssalovesbettas (Jul 19, 2014)

I vacuum every time I do a water change in my community tank. In my 2 other betta tanks I only vacuum every once in a while, most of the time I just take out water!


----------



## Jamila6452 (Nov 3, 2014)

Pro-vacuum 4eva!!!

:BIGcool:

Seriously, my vacuum gets out so much gunk, I can't imagine not using it. The BB is in the filter, I'm not concerned about my cycle.


----------



## bubbles4ever (Jan 19, 2015)

Haha thanks guys! I'm glad to hear it because seeing all the gunk in there was seriously grossing me out!!!


----------



## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I use sand in my tanks, but I vacuum as much as I can every time I change the water. Whether it's necessary or not, it looks gross, and I don't like it. Plus, most of my tanks have bottom feeders like cories, and I don't want them to be swimming through poo.


----------



## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

Not that OP needs it, but yes, another +1 for vacuuming.

It also gets up leftover food wastes  (in addition to the poo!)

My personal opinion is ::
Definitely more important for
1) tanks w/"mates" (there is too much solid waste for the BB (beneficial bateria) to handle in an enclosed setting)
2) Single guys w/o filteration
and of course any tank in general  hee hee


----------



## FrogBetta (Oct 19, 2014)

YES of course. You have to get rid of all the debris that gets there - poop and food left overs. Just smell the water after you clean the gravel - I would NOT want to swim in that.


----------



## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

I don't vacuum my gravel on every water change. But once a month I will vacuum about half the gravel and next month do the other half. Most of my tanks are community tanks not single fish and in over 2 years never had any issues. 

Like others have said you will lose some of the bacteria but most of your healthy bacteria will be in your filter. And what you do lose will not be the health bacteria you want anyway, so with it gone it leaves room for new to grow.


----------



## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

I vacuum gravel but only once a month.


----------



## fishtankwatcher (Feb 5, 2015)

*nothing brilliant here*

Also for small tanks (1 - 6g) w/only Betta, I use a straw in an airline tube to vacuum their bottoms & do the water change :idea: It works just like the full sized siphons, but on a much smaller scale!


----------

