cleanning gravel in a planted tank

[tman]

Im a beginner, and I was concerned about continuing to vacuum the substrate during water changes in a new planted tank. Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks Tman

[mewickham]

Vacuum away! If you added laterite to the lower layers of substrate, only vacuum the upper substrate layer to keep from removing it. If you have an undergravel filter-- not the best idea in a planted aquarium-- vacuum deeply everywhere you can.

Hopefully, you picked a small size gravel. Larger pebbles have large spaces between them that let uneaten food and detritus fall more deeply into the gravel bed. With small-grained gravel, detritus mainly stays on top and reduces the need for vacuuming deeply.

[tman]

Thanks for the comment Mike