Messy pleco and water changes

[fishorama]

I agree with all the above & will add the white substrate shows "dirt" much better than a darker color.

What are your other fish? It sounds like you may be overfeeding, adding to the poo problem. Except for bottom feeders, I go for < 2 minutes of "flake time", 5-10 min seems too long.

 

[shin0r]

Plecos make an enormous amount of crap.

I currently have a Gibbiceps, a Gold Nugget, a Rusty, a BN and a Snowball in my tank; the amount of waste is incredible. I run 2 filters and change 40% of the water twice a week. It's quite a lot of work, but plecs are awesome.