Neglect Proofing a Tank

P

PurpleSmurf

AC Members
May 4, 2005
351
0
0
39
Colorado Springs
purplesmurf.com
I'm leaving for college in August, obviously I can't take my 20g and my parents have alrady said they won't really do too much tank maintainance aside from feeding so I'm trying to figure out what I can do to really keep things clean.

Right now the plan is to buy several ramshorns, 5 ghost shrimp, and pay my brother to perform 30% waterchanges each week. But I'm worried about several things: the snails should breed to match the algae and waste present in the tank, but is there the chance they'll turn on my plants? Would it be better to "infect" the tank with pond snails or do they rasp plants too?

To keep algae under control should I spend the money to upgrade to 65w lighting and a CO2 system? Or would I be better to let the snails and shrimp take care of it?
 
1. I would instruct your parents on how much to feed and stress the issues of over feeding.
2. Get the lights on a timer.
3. Get your bro to do the 30% changes.

That amount of maintenance is probably better than 85% of the tank out there.
 
saying 85% of the tanks out there that get poor care is a pretty big number considering you have no idea how many people have aquariums, Most of the people I Know do their part..... As far as snails only breeding to the amount of algie in a tank, Wrong, snails will breed and keep on breeding untell you are like many people you here that can;t give away snails fast enough.....
And there allot of People in collage that have fish tanks in the dorm rooms. Several are people in the chat rooms I visit.
 
Yeah, is there a reason you don't want to bring your tank with you? I know dorm rooms are cramped for space but you can always make room.
 
Mykayel said:
Yeah, is there a reason you don't want to bring your tank with you? I know dorm rooms are cramped for space but you can always make room.
Click to expand...

I agree, I leave for college after next year, and I know for sure I'm not leaving my bichir and eel behind (just the glass cats, because they're so fragile).
 
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/frm/f/4686048124

Check out this forum. Most of these folks change their water once 3 or 4 times per year. Overfeeding is encouraged. It is a different set up focusing on balancing the tank so that plants convert ammonia and nitrites and nitrates, and the fish waste and excess food as well as a potting soil substrate generate co2 for the plants. It is a balance of fish, plants and lighting. This will not work with a straight gravel substrate. The gradual decay of organic potting soil is required.

Check out Diane Walstad's book "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.". It is in most libraries. Other books and research validate her assertions. Contrary to what I have read on several forums, Diane still encourages the original techniques described in her book.
 
Snails only multiply to meet the food supply, whether direct from over-feeding ir indirect from the algae resulting from excess nutrients in the water. They do not live on water, they need food and if you do not provide that food they will not multiply to excess. That concept of snails multiplying endlessly is an aquarium myth propagated by folks who do not, or do not know how to, maintain a tank properly.
 
RTR said:
Snails only multiply to meet the food supply, whether direct from over-feeding ir indirect from the algae resulting from excess nutrients in the water. They do not live on water, they need food and if you do not provide that food they will not multiply to excess. That concept of snails multiplying endlessly is an aquarium myth propagated by folks who do not, or do not know how to, maintain a tank properly.
Click to expand...

Since he was talking about getting ramshorns & he has plants, I'll share my experience with both. I bought 2 of those darn snails and they went to work making more snails pretty quickly. I don't over feed, I have some algae but not a lot, and my tank is moderately planted. (or was) By the time of my wedding last November the snails were thriving. We left for 2 weeks for our honeymoon & when we came back my plants had been completely mowed down to the gravel. Of course they need a food supply, and for these snails it was my plants. By they way, the algae was relatively untouched.
 
Doing water changes 3-4 times a year is absurd. Nitrates,Nitrites, and Ammonia are not the only things that build up in the tank. Hormones for one are constantly being released into the water and keep building up. Yes plants do remove nitrates, but you can not keep healthy plants without resupplying the water with trace elements, most often it can be accomplished with doing WCs. If you look in nature, water does not sit stagnant in one place with no change, its just the opposite, you always have some kind of turn over with the water. Water flows into a pond, water flows out, rain falls into the pond, etc. Yes it is possible to keep fish alive for a long time without doing proper water changes, is it good and healthy for them though? No.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom