# Decor/ Plants While Changing Water



## gate113 (Jan 31, 2005)

Ok I have had my fishes for about 6 months now. I only have two decors and one plant in a 16 gallon tank. Anyways...I see lots of beautiful tanks everywhere. I plan on buying a new tank and planting it heavily with artifical plants (not yet ready for real ones). 

My question is, is it hard to vacumm the gravel while in a heavily planted tank? I use a vacumm gravel so (since my tank is not that packed with decor/ plants) I can easily go around the tank and vacumm without really moving the decor around. But what about when it is packed with decor? Do I have to keep removing the plants everytime I do water changes and re-arrange it? (remember they are going to be artifical)

Thanks for any help/ comments.


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## AshleytheGreat (Jul 24, 2005)

Im guessing it will be a little harder but I have large stones as a substrate in my 20 gallon tank and i dread vacuuming it. You see the stones dont fit in the little plactic bottom that would hold the plant down so every time i clean it all the plants float to the top and i have to re-place them. Its a pain...so my suggestion is to not get a large substrate.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

I always remove my plants and move them around when I do a water change, I like to make sure that I get the debris that gets under the plants.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

In my opinion, plastic plants are more trouble than the real thing. With real plants, you don't vacuum the gravel near the plants because it would disturb the plant roots (and the plant roots make sure that nothing chemically nasty goes on there). I just hover the vacuum over the gravel to get up the stuff that's collected on the surface (like you would with sand) and don't bother with deep vacuuming at all

With plastic plants, gravel vacuuming is much more difficult than it is with just gravel on the bottom!


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## gate113 (Jan 31, 2005)

Thanks for your input guys. Im definetly not going to use large substrate. Same pebble sized ones but maybe just a tad bit bigger. As for using real plants, I dont know...it kinda scares me using real plants. I do not think Im ready for it and dont want to ruin the poor little fishys home. lol Thanks for all your help. Other adivse/ experience is welcomed of course!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

Lexus said:


> I always remove my plants and move them around when I do a water change, I like to make sure that I get the debris that gets under the plants.


I second that one. sometimes you can get some big nasty messes down under those plants (fake of course) If your not ready for live plants then its ok, fake and live plants both have their pros and cons.


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