Can my tank live again??

[cellodaisy]

I still consider myself a newbie, but here's my 27 cents anyway:

Mainly 'cuz it's cold outside therefore it's cold inside (I'm too cheap to heat my house properly) and being wet and cold is not fun for me.

I understand---I live in NH and we try to cut our heating bill, too---but poor water quality is not fun for your fish and for them it's not a choice.

The other thing is I'm kind of trying to simulate seasons for the fish so the water quality improves during the spring when spring rains bring in new water.

I've never heard of simulating seasons with intentionally inferior water quality. Is there any reason to believe that this helps your fish in any way?

I think if I put the fish somewhere else temporarily and remove the plants I do have and the rocks and driftwood I can clean out all the duckweed and the scum algae.

I would be cautious about disturbing everything all at once. I've read some very sad stories on this forum about aggressive cleaning efforts ending in fish deaths because the biological filter was knocked out or some gas build-up was released. Perhaps a regimen of large daily water changes would be a good start, combined with scrubbing off the tank and decorations a bit at a time.

I got the turface as several people on here told me it was a great substrate for a planted tank which is what I was wanting. Do I need to add another CF light?

I'm afraid I have nothing helpful to offer regarding substrate or lighting, but I would say you should worry about your fish first and then make another thread about your plant issues/questions when that's settled.

Good luck!

 

[BreezeRuehls]

Put your fish in a small, cheap tank, and get to work, Rip out the plants, boil the rocks, and break out the scrubbing pads. (you may need to take a day off work)

 

[jpappy789]

I've never heard of simulating seasons with intentionally inferior water quality. Is there any reason to believe that this helps your fish in any way?

I agree. Sure, spring rain may bring in new water, but that's not to say that before spring the water just sits around and collects nitrates and other byproducts. There still is going to be an influx of new water to some extent.

I see no reason why water changes should be less frequent other than a busy schedule or just pure laziness. JMO...