Vacuuming Gravel

[JCason]

I have added several plants into my tank now and can only reach the bottom to the gravel in a few places. With having lots of plants, do I still need to get to the bottom and vacuum it or can I just do water changes and let nature take its course with the bottom. The tank is not overstocked and what little food reaches the bottom is eaten up by my shrimp. So should I just start just doing my normal 25% water change without vacuuming, or should I just at least hit the spots where I can reach?

[RTR]

Tanks heavily planted with rooted plants are rarely deep vacuumed. Just suck out the debris on the surface of the gravel where you can get to it easily. The roots of the plants take care of the gravel and use the mulm as a nutrient source.

[JCason]

Thanks RTR. I did a search also and found the answer. Guess I should have done that first. Mod, you can delete this post.