How do u guys clean it when the gravel are covered with grass? And wouldnt thr be alot of dirt stuck underneath the gravel?
Well, if the entire tank bottom is covered in grass or plants, I just don't vacuum it up at all. If it's partially covered, I'm willing to siphon the areas where there aren't plants, or navigate around them to get at least a little bit cleaned up. It's not a perfect science.
As for your concerns about dirt underneath, you don't often have dirt as the substrate, and if you did have it under your gravel you wouldn't be able to vacuum it at all. In that instance, you would rely on the massive amounts of plants in your tank to absorb a lot of waste, and depend on regular water changes to remove the chemicals that will build up much more quickly without vacuuming.
You might also choose to use a waste destroyer chemical additive when you can't vacuum to break down the solid waste, so that you can remove it via water changes and proper filter maintenance. Regards,
Do not vacuum the planted areas, that dirt is food for the plants, Clean only the plant-free areas.
