Hi Robyn,

How exactly do I clean a fully loaded planted aquarium? I have heard different things.

someone said I don't need to clean the gravel at all because the plant will eat up all the waste, and if I do vacuum the gravel it will disturb the roots.

Others said I should vacuum around the plants to suck up all the waste products and dead plant materials.

What exactly am I suppose to do?

Thanks

You're right. There are many opinions. I prefer to vacuum around the plants as best I can without disturbing them. You can use thinner tubing like air-line tubing to suck things up where you can't reach a gravel tube. Otherwise, if you can't get in there, I suggest adding more good bacteria. I use BZT (http://www.united-tech.com - call them and ask for the Ponder's Special for a smaller quantity). It keeps the debris levels down in my tanks and ponds. It really helped with my tank with a 14" pleco who poos up a storm. When I clean it weekly, there's almost no poo left now that I use the BZT in the last few years or so. Plants can't eat waste. They can extract nutrients after they break down. But, guess how they break down? They rot with the help of bacteria, some good and some bad. Noxious gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide may be produced as things decompose in anaerobic conditions in the gravel bed. Those of us with ponds make sure to remove as much debris as we can to prevent this sort of thing. Planted aquariums are like little ponds.