When to Vac Gravel?!

[Cichlid*Newbie]

Just wondering at what point i can vac my gravel...its pretty icky in there, tank looks clean, but i dug down into the gravel..and there's a lot of junk hidden in there...and i still have ammonia reading in my tank...had the tank almost two months?

[Wild Turkey]

Just wondering at what point i can vac my gravel...its pretty icky in there, tank looks clean, but i dug down into the gravel..and there's a lot of junk hidden in there...and i still have ammonia reading in my tank...had the tank almost two months?

Vac it everytime you do a water change

[xoolooxunny]

did you finish your original cycle? If yes, then are you overfeeding? Normally in an established tank with no plants, you can vac a small portion with every water change, but never do it all at once, or you'll have a good chance of getting a bacterial bloom. Me, i never vac, i have plants and lots of bottom dwellers so the top stays clear, and the stuff that settles down is gold for the plants.

[duce]

if its dirty then clean it.

[Sniffles]

I gravel vac 2 times a week.Also you need to keep up the water changes to get the ammonia down to as close to zero as possible.

[gm72]

Ammonia should always be zero when the tank is stable.

Vacuum weekly when you do your water changes and you should be fine.

[SkinnyChicken]

The types of fish you keep will also play a big part in how often you clean the gravel ... my discus (and most cichlids for that matter) are very messy and I vac my whole gravel every week ... but my livebearer tank gets its done once a month if that ...