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When the plants really fill in well they eat most of the gunk that builds up.
If too much gunk builds up beneath the top layer and it bothers you, just gently stir it with something then suck it up.
Since my tank is so heavily planted I can't use a regular vacuum so I just use aquarium tubing and suck up anything that wont break down fast. The tubing is small enough to fit between plants and decorations. It is flimsy though so I need to stiffen it it up somehow. Maybe I'll attach chopsticks to it with aquarium sealant. lol
You can always top your pellets off with sand, that way the plants love it and it's easier for you to clean.
The main key is not to overfeed your fish, the plants can handle quite a it of waste on their own.
How bigs your tank?
In each of my tanks I have a homemade soil substrate made up of 1/2" to 1" red shale clay plus fluorite tablets, then covered with 1-2" of sand. I have had excellent success with this type of substrate over time, as it really feeds the plant roots, and it's cheap, too.
I really like the compact fluorescent Coralife light fixtures - they're expensive but worth it. They're much higher light than some of the other options, yet not so bank-breaking as some of the metal halide types of lamps. With the Coralife lights I've been able to grow great tanks full of plants without the addition of CO2 - which can be expensive and fiddly.
I use sponge filters in my small tanks and waterfall-type power filters in my larger tanks.
The other secret to my success is several Amano shrimp in every tank. They really keep the gunk and algae from getting overwhelming. Of course, you can't keep them with fish that are too large or aggressive, but luckily I'm in love with anabantids, plecos and loaches so it works out well. I rarely need to vacuum at all, and I also rarely have to do big water changes; usually I can just top off what evaporates.
Thats what I do here too wind! Minus the shrimp, can't afford them LOL. Man I want some cherries though, I checked out that shrimp forum and went gaga! lol
The plants do such a great job at cleaning it really keeps your upkeep down.
I do use co2 though, just set up a DIY system, I'll write another article for that. It's cheap and so far it works great.
Your soil sounds great, ive been toying with the idea of making some homemade soil, maybe Ill get the time this year.
Thanks for yalls comments, it really is encouraging.
I got lucky on the shrimp. My best friend has planted aquariums too and she gave me a bunch of cherry shrimp that bred in her tanks. They do a decent job but they're so tiny... I think the Amano shrimp do a better job of keeping the tanks clean. The Amanos came from my local pet shop at $4 each, and that was a steal since getting them online and paying for shipping would have been a huge ouch to the wallet. There are only a few in each tank, but they've been in there for 3 years and they're thriving. My fish guy only gets them in once in a blue moon but when he has them I always get some more. They really do the trick. They do breed and have eggs but the fry don't survive. I tried a couple of times to actually raise the fry but they need brackish water and it has to be pretty exact - I've never been successful to date. Now the cherry shrimp do just fine breeding away all on their own - so long as they aren't in a tank with something that eats baby shrimp!
I tried DIY CO2 and it was okay, but seemed like every time I turned around I needed to fuss with it. I finally got rid of it and the plants really seemed to do just as well with just the high light compact fluorescents. I don't try to grow any really demanding plants, though. If I were trying to get CO2 to pearl on a bed of riccia or something, I guess then I'd have to break down and do CO2 again.
Yeah, I'd probably avoid co2 in your shoes too.
I was worried about mine at first but got off well with it.
Wish I could find some free cherries, lol.
It's pretty easy to set up a brackish tank. Maybe I'll do an article on that too. Hmm.
I made the mistake of yanking my bladderwort out too fast and had an algae outbreak lol.
Pearling was a really nice surprise for me. It's so pretty!
