Your plants do not remove DOCs and TDS. In fact, they contribute to the load.born2lovefish said:
No water change = OTS, plants or no.
Roan
Monthly Water Chanes???
- Thread starter fishieperson321
- Start date
No water change = OTS, plants or no.
Roan
its just as critical to do water changes when you have plants as it is without. yes, plants remove nitrate, but they also remove many other micronutrients, and excrete even more. these can only be rebalanced (good ones added back, bad ones taken out) through water changes. otherwise not only will your fish die of OTS, but your plants will too.
wild habitats have a MUCH smaller bioload than what we put in aquariums, because we have all this technology that make it possible to cram all these fish into little glass boxes. a freshwater lake probably has 1/100th of the fish as the standard aquarium, maybe even less. plus it has a whole lot more plants. wild habitats also have constant influxes of fresh water from streams and rainfall, while old water goes out to sea or seeps into the ground where it is filtered, replenished, etc.
so if your going to have an aquarium, you have to remember that it is a heavily overstocked chunk of wilderness stuffed into a little glass box, and YOU have to play mother nature and make sure it stays healthy.
wild habitats have a MUCH smaller bioload than what we put in aquariums, because we have all this technology that make it possible to cram all these fish into little glass boxes. a freshwater lake probably has 1/100th of the fish as the standard aquarium, maybe even less. plus it has a whole lot more plants. wild habitats also have constant influxes of fresh water from streams and rainfall, while old water goes out to sea or seeps into the ground where it is filtered, replenished, etc.
so if your going to have an aquarium, you have to remember that it is a heavily overstocked chunk of wilderness stuffed into a little glass box, and YOU have to play mother nature and make sure it stays healthy.
fishieperson321 said:
I am always amazed how people can put hours and hours into their interests and hobbies every week, but so many people look at proper fish care as a burden. In my opinion, if you can't make the time, or think of it as a chore, maybe having fish isn't the greatest idea for you. They are not decorations - they are a responsibility that can give you much enjoyment if you give them a little attention and proper maintenance. And I DO NOT say this to be mean or disrespectful, nor am I singling you out. But you have to keep in mind, that unlike most other hobbies, there is a living creature counting on you. The fish can't tell you directly how often it wants it's water changed - instead it just shows you the signs of neglect by not being colorful, or by being stunted, or by getting a disease, or even death. Once you have a system down, especially with only one tank, it takes mere minutes to perform a water change. I have 10 tanks at the moment and I can get through all my weekly maintenance in less than about 2 hours a week, and that's with taking my time. It's not a chore - it is MY responsibility based on MY decision to take on the tropical fish hobby. Personally, I would have a hell of a lot more respect for someone who decided that keeping fish just wasn't for them as opposed to someone keeping fish for the wrong reasons, and making the fish pay the price.
i agree. i spend hours just sitting infront of my tank staring at my fish, thinking of how to rearange my plants, what plants to add, etc. this is probably one of the first hobbies/pets i've had that i haven't gotten bored with in 6 months. probably because fish don't really require much from me, other than water changes, which takes me like 10 minutes, and food, and turning their light on and off.
oh yeah.....you have enough time to come hang out on a forum, yet you don't have enough time to do a water change on your fish tank once a week? that doesn't seem right to me..
oh yeah.....you have enough time to come hang out on a forum, yet you don't have enough time to do a water change on your fish tank once a week? that doesn't seem right to me..
Roan Art said:
Actually, there is a bacteria that eats nitrates, but it anarobic and will not survive with any oxygen. I thought about not even saying anything since some might say that since there is a bacteria they don't need to do water changes. Like I said though, the bacteria is anarobic, and you need to set up a special system for it. Even with it though, water changes still need to be preformed on a fairly regular basis.
Best bet, do the weekly water changes.
hey this is was a good post, i have relaxed on my 20 and 10 grow out tank, it's been like 10 days, so i was reading these and went and did a 50% water change on both.
I do weekly (more like 10 days) 50% water changes on all my tank except for my reef tank, the norm seems to be about 10-15 every 1 to 2 weeks.
I do weekly (more like 10 days) 50% water changes on all my tank except for my reef tank, the norm seems to be about 10-15 every 1 to 2 weeks.
water quality
please help me with some idea and informations. i am having salt water aquarium for almost a year. just a small 2ft, 72ltr tank couple of fishes(10-11 fish) some live rocks. lately i am having some problem with my water hardness,kH. its been dropping quite often within a month. i am using sera kH up to raise the level but doesnt seem to work. its currently at 3dkH. :help: as i calculated it should be around 9-12dkH-correct me if i am wrong. i am using top filter and active carbon. previously it was ok. just lately the level has been dropping. my fishes seems to be fine but i am worried knowing that the level is so low.any idea why is this happening? what should i do?
thanx
please help me with some idea and informations. i am having salt water aquarium for almost a year. just a small 2ft, 72ltr tank couple of fishes(10-11 fish) some live rocks. lately i am having some problem with my water hardness,kH. its been dropping quite often within a month. i am using sera kH up to raise the level but doesnt seem to work. its currently at 3dkH. :help: as i calculated it should be around 9-12dkH-correct me if i am wrong. i am using top filter and active carbon. previously it was ok. just lately the level has been dropping. my fishes seems to be fine but i am worried knowing that the level is so low.any idea why is this happening? what should i do?
thanx
Well -- I won't be the first, but you are grossly overstocked.nemo_remo said:
Ignoring that -- what are your other parameters? pH? If you are trying to raise it, are not changing water and it will not stay up then something is pulling it down.
I had plenty of time to do it when I first got my tank, but with school and work, I barely have time to sleep!!! I will soon quit my job so that I can do aquarium maintenance every week.
