I also took the UGFs out of my small tanks....I can keep them cleaner without those. About once a month or so I take all the gravel and everything out and rinse it all in the old water....getting all the "gunk" out of the gravel. I give the tank a good wiping out and refill with 100% clean conditioned water. Weekly/biweekly cleanings are usually just a 50% water change. I don't worry about cycling in these small tanks since I am always changing water out of them. I only keep betta in the few one gallon tanks I have...and they're doing quite well.
