Bare bottom fish tank

I've been reading lots of good things about bare bottom fish tanks. The main benefit is that it's very easy to vacuum the base of the tank. If I vacuum my gravel properly it takes me an hour to get rid of all the detritus. Also as my goldfish has grown it has been able to swallow some of the gravel which has then got stuck in its mouth.
 
I have been removing the gravel two handfuls at a time every water change. The two plants I had in the tank were pothos and spider plant which I replanted into terra-cotta pots with the original gravel holding them down.

Right now I'm about half way and have already noticed that the bare bottom half is far cleaner.