Question: Tank siphoning

[chezr]

I have spent a lot of time on this website reading and collecting information, but I have a question about tank maintenance that I cannot seem to find find the answer to. I know that to keep a healthy tank I should do weekly water changes of around 20-30%, but should I be siphoning through the gravel at the bottom of the tank, or should I just be draining the water?

This may seem like a silly question, but I have kept fish for many years and during water changes I always siphoned through the rocks to pick up any waste. It seems like this would be a difficult thing to do in a densely planted aquarium without uprooting all of the plants and making a mess.

Should I be siphoning into the gravel to remove waste? and if so, how should I go about doing that in a planted aquarium? Also, if it makes a difference, I will be using a filter with a very mild current.

Thanks you for taking the time to read this.
-Tyler

 

[Lusiwarrior]

Hi chezr,
as you probably already know the substrate must be so big that the newts not able to swallow or so small that if swallowed passes through your digestive system without causing damage. The intestinal impaction is an evil that is avoided very easily! In my case I chose to sand, which is almost dust. And why? The plants adapt better and rarely uproot; the visual appearance is pleasing to the eye; the dirt is on the surface and therefore is easier to pick up / clean.
The changes of water is limited only to suck up the amount that you're going to replace.
I have helped!

 

[chezr]

Thank you for the help. I am not using sand, but even with large substrate that can't fit into the newt's mouth, waste will continuously build up at the bottom of the tank in between the rocks. I have always been under the impression that this needs to be removed from the tank to retain a balanced water chemistry. Do you think think I will not need to siphon the bottom?

 

[Joost]

If you have a good balance in the tank (less animals, exept snails, Asellus, shrimp etc) and a lot of plants, a good layer of gravel, there is not much work to do. I almost never do water changes in my tanks.