This is the only time you should be cleaning the gravel. But its commonly recommended every time you change your water, you should vacuum the Gravel as well. Some of my fish thought it was food so took a bite and swallow it. Fish tank vacuums are designed to quickly and easily remove bits of uneaten food and other waste that settles to the bottom of the tank. Rinsing your gravel will get rid of that bacteria. The water that is removed with the debris using the gravel vacuum is replaced with dechlorinated water, which performs a water change in your aquarium. Though, how important the gravel is in the fish tank can make lots of fish raising beginners confusing since people usually use gravel only for decoration. 3. I usually do every Thursday, but I was moving decor in my tank poop and all kinds of stuff started rising up to the top. Generally, dirt accumulates faster in smaller, plant less and overstocked aquariums. To me, every 5 days because Fish poops alot and they always get stuck in the Gravel. In which case, you should do thorough gravel cleaning every two weeks. For such a huge tank, I would monitor your parameters until your levels become a problem. Can You Put Gravel in a Fish Tank After Water? So I got the master test kit and found out it was 80ppm.... so … Once your gravel is in the tank, you should only vacuum it. Unless you are severely over feeding your fish or providing water changes too infrequently, you should be able to vacuum between 1/4 and 1/3 of the gravel … If, at any time, the gravel gets too high in the gravel vacuum, you can easily release the gravel from the vacuum by plugging the other end of the siphon tube with your finger or thumb. I have a male kenyi in my 10 gallon and I vacuum the gravel weekly to do a 25% water change. The siphon serves the dual purpose of not only removing fish waste, uneaten food, and dead leaves from the gravel or sand, but also removing old tank water and the excess nitrates in them. Cleaning your fish tank gravel with a vacuum made specifically for the fish tank is the easiest method of cleaning. Also two months ago found out my test strips weren't accurate for nitrates. It has more great uses for fish development that could be affected if you don’t know how to clean old aquarium gravel in the right way. The gravel vacuum should stir up the gravel and remove debris without sucking up the gravel. Gravel hosts a lot of good, helpful bacteria that are beneficial for your aquarium. I've got planted tanks, and while some of them don't have plants that are disturbed by a gravel vac, I do have a "cryptocoryne tank" and they don't even like a gravel vac anywhere near their roots. So my actual question is, how often should I gravel vaccum? Only clean gravel before putting it into your tank for the first time. Be sure to vacuum the entire surface of the gravel thoroughly so that all debris is removed. Remember to vacuum and wash the gravel often to prolong its life. Vacuuming the gravel removes the waste from your tank, as well as giving you the 15-25% water change. Of course, you can put gravel in a fish tank first, but it’s not at all recommended. How often you’ll clean your gravel will depend a lot on the dynamics of your fish tank. With a 60 gallon tank planted wall to wall with plants that can't stand a gravel vac, it's a critically important topic. Pouring gravel into a tank full of water can make a mess and loosen up the debris. Check out our gravel vacuum article for detailed instructions on how to start a siphon (and how to stop it if you accidentally suck up a small fish). The gravel in a fish tank is its own “filter” for bio-degrading waste products produced by the fish. 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