Thats how i set mine up. I also use a mixture of clay, some soil, silica sand and mulch....but i wouldnt recommend doing this unless you want to wait six months to be able to see into the tank...but it does work really well. But yeah...peat is most effective at the roots, most (not all) aquatic plants get the majority of nutrition throught the roots as far as organic food goes. Plus the root balls become huge due to the fact that there is really no restrictions for the root growth due to the softness of the peat...if that makes sense. And Vaccum, lol, i dont do this with planted tanks. I believe that if it is heavily enough planted there should be no need. Let the plants do the cleaning up! I like the look of the odd couple of leaves etc on the ground, to me it looks more natural, but thats just imo. The only thing i ever do is still up the ground from time to time....maybe every three months with a tooth pick. This is gentle enough to not disturb roots and yet strong enough to flip the gravel over....mostly to loosen the odd debris and get rid of any algae on the substrate. And im sure, you will let me help you set it up... PPPLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE!!!!!!!!!!
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