Easy Balance: Water changes every 6 months(!?)

wow, and here I was getting concerned with 5 ppm

When I tested before my last water change it registered 5 ppm of nitrate, but I have a filstar xp-3 loaded with Eheim biological filter media and a penguin 330 on a 46-50 gallon bowfront (the person I bought it from said 50 gallon, but I see tanks for sale at the store about the same size say 46 so the tank is a 46-50 gallon :)) I agree with still doing water changes. Think of all those maintance chemicals that you add and where do they go? nowhere or they are breaking down into who knows what? I one time left some water with dechlorinator in a closed container after a few days open up and smell it whew! I usually do about 5 gallon change no more than every 2 weeks or every week.
 
The amount of filtration you have has nothing to do with nitrate buildup. Nitrate is product of biological activity, and decay, and nitrification. You can add as much filtration as you like, it won't remove nitrate. Proper stocking and feeding combined with water changes will keep nitrate levels down.

Things are different in a planted tank since the plants absorb nitrate.
 
OK, then I have a good balance of plants, fish and filtration

Because I'm definitely NOT understocked, and they are definitely not underfed! LOL! Geesh, looking at what I prepare for my fish food wise, I bet my husband wants to be a fish!:D (cucumber and greens for the plecos, occational protien rich foods, shrimp and flake foods, but he'd probably pass on the mosquito larvae :p). Hmmmm, I probably vacuum my tank more than my living room too. LOL!
 
Now that is one thing I am touchy about. I try not to clean my gravel excessively, just because. I find that weekly or bi-weekly gravel vacuuming is plenty, especially since I am hysterical if any food goes un-touched or stays at the bottom for any length of time. :p
 
When I ran conventionsl ugf or no ugf at all tanks (those were all FO tanks) I vaccumed and fluffed like a madman. Wih Oscars, it would literally be 3-4 hours each week before the tank cleared back up. with the RFUG, I only skim the areas around the plants, and churn the rest a little. the amount of waste that ends up in my filter sponges is way more than I can get out of the gravel. Gotta love the RFUG set-up when it comes to vaccuming. I have less build-up in 2 months than I used to get in a week without undergravel filters. Aneroebic pocket are not a concern at all anymore either.
Dave
 
??

I'm planted and lightly stocked, I pretty much never get the gravel. I clean the glass, sponges, java moss, plant leaves, change water, prune, etc. But the stuff that hits the bottom is left for cories, snails and heterotrophs. Well and some junk does get resuspended when I pull up plants for pruning and replanting, most of it gets sucked out of the tank with the water change. The rest is either filtered or settles back down.

Without supplementation, my NO3 would never be above 5ppm.
 
I vacuum the parts I can get to (unplanted)

Which is pretty much in front of the glass or things I move around. I do it with the siphon when I'm doing my water changes (OK, now you see I rarely vacuum my house :)). OK, I have to ask what is an RFUG???
 
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