NO substrate vacuming!!!!

J double R said:
minus the constant drip system, likewise. I keep a steady wc regimen, and I don't touch the gravel in my heavily planted tanks unless there is detritus built up, which there hardly EVER is. That said..



I have taken 0 precautions against algae... and I have none whatsoever, even with the high light in my tank and lack of CO2 (for now). Recommend checking your nutrient levels, because overgrowth of algae is not "a given".
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well i still have to fined the balance in my tank because my setup is one of a kind. i have my diy canisterfilter hooked up to my co2 and my diy hood light with 29 cfls. i also have regular pea gravel uncoated and untreted.and also flat rock in my tank. I also introduce local plants, fish and drift wood into my tank. with these peramiters and no precautions agents algae it is a given. i will keep playing with my light untill i fined a happy balance.
 
fishorama said:
I think if you can get the flow so most all the crap gets sucked up by the filters you don't need to vac or only rarely. I always end up with stuff trapped in stem plants or someplace else & don't like my bottomfeeders to have to nose through detritus. I also tend toward well stocked, well fed tanks so lots of poo.

I'd also clean my filters more than I do, detritus breaks down into the water column, raising TDS as others have said. Just as easy for me to vac as water change more. I don't see being able to automate WCs any time soon, tanks all over, but I'm sure it'd be nice.
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i am actualy working on auto water changer right now. just in the beginning processes of pricing and finding all my parts but should be done no later than next year. and i will be selling and testing on here after i get my copyrights and pattens.
 
I am convinced ,you cannot convince another person who is convinced on doing something a certain way.

(did I say that right)

water changes are key.
but are they?

it really depends on the situation.
for instance, a walstad tank won't get many water changes and probably no vac's but it is also lightly stocked and usually heavily planted..
you can lower maintenance in these low tech tanks.
you do need to consider the stock and the stocking level , add in filtration(which may or may not add to pollution depending on it's maintenance)
the set up..is the tank heavily planted? which many heavily planted tanks have little to no vac's.
shrimp can be a barometer in some tanks where they can safely be housed.. they are a sensitive species.. which lead us back to the stock,,species that are sensitive may require more tank maint..EG more water changes and heavy vac's

so there ya go.. no real answer as much of this is subjective.
 
Star_Rider said:
I am convinced ,you cannot convince another person who is convinced on doing something a certain way.
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:iagree:

Do me a favor, come back in a year and tell me how things went.
 
Tags:

mother nature in a tank, substrate, vacuming, why bother
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Impossible.

And if my memory serves me correctly your tank is far from stocked as a Walstad tank. Star is correct, there are setups that require little to no maintenance but I highly doubt yours is one of those...
 
its not convincing me thats a problem its experience. i love to do things for my self. love to make my own mistakes but also like to know what will happen if i do so it isnt a shock when it happens. and i will also know how to remedy the problem when i have a problem. i appreciate all of your inputs and your expertise is helpful but i want to reinvent the wheel lol. hey maybe ill even learn something.
 
Vacuuming

I only use the vacuum for the 25% water changes to clean the gravel and drain the tank at the same time. I stop vacuuming when the water level is down to 75%
 
Sploke said:
I'm in the minority here, but I vacuum very few of my tanks. The planted ones have decent amount of substrate, the unplanted ones have minimal substrate or barebottom and good flow. I use a constant drip system that does about a 15% water change daily on the four main FW tanks, so unless I see pockets of debris building up, they don't get vacuumed.
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I'm with Sploke, I quit vacumming my substrate YEARS ago, but all of my tanks are moderately to heavily planted. I'll occasionally do a lite pass over the substrate in young tanks that haven't filled in yet, but once the plants take over, I never worry about it.


Victor...as long as there are plenty of plants there's no problems, not for shrimp, not for fish, and not for plants.
 
here's the way i look at it. turn the water off to your toilet but dont stop using it. i guarantee that you will have your water back on within a week.

yeah your method will be great for plants. but horrible for your inhabitants. poor fish.

i can also say that if you buy a dog and leave it in a kennel in the back yard and never clean up after it, the animal cops will come and take the dog away.

the walstad method creates a small ecosystem that can take care of itself. if its not done right that ecosystem will crash and burn.

i know that you're gonna do whatever you feel like doing. but... would you want to live in that tank?

just my 2 cents.
 
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