Is it bad to take out the gravel and wash it everytime you do 100% change?

[Wendyjo]

For what it's worth, most of the things in the water that are dangerous to our fish are not even visible to us.

[Shirleythebetta]

I think you should try to up your water changes until you get upgraded. You will probably still see the cloudy water at least for a little while in the bigger tank. Its pretty normal.

[shellieca]

On a small volume of water like that you should do more water changes per week.

[paloverde]

Just going to toss this into the mix, not all gravel is naturally colored as in it is tinted/dyed/ or epoxy coated and can cause a hazy effect as it starts to break down and expose the gravels true mineral content.

[Laki]

I would wait. Get a 5 gallon and then you can use a filter and not have to change it twice a week. A 3.5g is fine, nice and roomy but if you want to save yourself twice weekly changes by using a filter and maybe even hope for a stable cycle, then go for a 5g.

[Wendyjo]

You can cycle a 3.5g as easily as a 5g.