No water changes ever. Why am I not having any problems?

Bioload:
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5 x amano shrimp
7 x siamese algae eater
3 x one inch flame gouramis
3 x three inch gold gouramis
1 x four inch pearl gouramis
1 x one+ inch black neon tetras
10-13 or so white cloud minnows (Don't remember how many I bought, and they are very difficult to count).
1 x 4 inch bristlenose pleco

As far the poeple guessing the low bioload, you are partially right, it took me about a year to gradually reach the current level of bioload.
I realize that currently my bioload is a little bit beyond the rules of thumb, but I am trying to figure out where I can put another tank (I live in a NYC apartment).

Substrate:
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- Blue aquarium gravel, I do not clean. (I would mess up the plants if I did.)

Maintenance:
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Weekly water checks
bi-weekly trips to LFS with plants. (Mostly water sprite)
when needed top offs, with dechlorinated tapwater. (I figure it has things that the plants need)

Photos:
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Will post soon to this thread. (prolly next weekend)

Supplements:
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I used to add "aquarium plant food", but stopped using it about a year ago as an experiment, with no negative effects on the plant life.

Measured levels:
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PH is so low that it doesn't register on my test kit. (I know that CO2 injection creates carbonic acid.) (I guess I need to get a better test kit..)

Nitrates, Nitrites and ammonia is unmeasurable.

Should I be measuring anything else?

Also, what exact effect does the crushed coral have? Does it add alkilinity, or does it add buffering, or both? Also how drastically will this change my levels? (I am a little scared to throw them into shock..)

Also, does anyone know of any human edible plants I could be growing? (Make my garden not only decorative but nutritious) ;)

P.S. - Thanks for the tips on the Diana Walstad method. I will definitely read up.
P.S.S. - I feel better knowing that others have followed similar methods.
 
Weeser said:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108172

This is his tank from about a month ago, with the stocking listed you should of had water quality issues, there isn't many plants in the tank at the time of that post, not enough to eliminate tank maintenance, i would check the water parameters again just to be sure, you have enough stock to create a good bio load, and not enough plants to take the load off...:)
Click to expand...

I had just given away a ton of water sprite it grow really fast with my 130W compact florescent.
 
TitusvilleSurfr said:
something is....fishy here
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In the other "photo" thread the OP stated it was his first tank in 25 years making it seem like it was a new tank, but in this thread he stated the tanks been running for 2 years ... Possibly that is a different tank? The fish surely dont appear to be 2 years old.

Hmmmm you are correct, something doesnt quite seem right.
 
That's really a lot of fish for a 36 gallon. When the gouramis hit sexual maturity, you may have some aggression problems.
 
For starters lets understand the reason why most planted tankers do so many water changes.

Typically, a lot of us are shooting for the high tech style with high light, CO2 etc.

With this comes lots of dosing of ferts. PO4, KNO3, micros etc. Typically we overdose these fertilizers to prevent a lot of algae from destroying our tanks. The reason for 50% water changes is to make all those levels bottom out and put fresh water back in so that we can dose all over again. Its a very delicate balance, and by not doing a water change you are letting the dissolved organic compounds build up to lethal levels for fish.

Diana Walstads program works basically by layering the substrate with potting soil then capping with sand and then a coarse substrate on top. There is no fert dosing involved with this style and water changes are typically not done. Only top offs. There have been many many tanks set up this way that have been set up for years without a water change.
 
247Plants said:
For starters lets understand the reason why most planted tankers do so many water changes.

Typically, a lot of us are shooting for the high tech style with high light, CO2 etc.

With this comes lots of dosing of ferts. PO4, KNO3, micros etc. Typically we overdose these fertilizers to prevent a lot of algae from destroying our tanks. The reason for 50% water changes is to make all those levels bottom out and put fresh water back in so that we can dose all over again. Its a very delicate balance, and by not doing a water change you are letting the dissolved organic compounds build up to lethal levels for fish.

Diana Walstads program works basically by layering the substrate with potting soil then capping with sand and then a coarse substrate on top. There is no fert dosing involved with this style and water changes are typically not done. Only top offs. There have been many many tanks set up this way that have been set up for years without a water change.
Click to expand...

If you have a high enough bioload, can't you skip the ferts?
 
Yes you can. However the bio load wont necessarily guarantee that you are getting the proper levels of ALL nutrients. If the plants are happy and show no signs of any defeciencys, you are golden. You cant mess with success right?

Adding crushed coral will only add calcium back to your system. it is being depleted by your CO2 and that is why the low ph.

Do you use liquid test kits or the strips?
 
I don't dose any ferts, I just like to do water changes to introduce clean water into the system and remove DOC's. I only have medium and low light, but the plants grow pretty fast in the med light setup (130W CF, 55 gallon tank).

Still, no one has yet explained how the "natural" method keeps DOC's to a minmum.
 
Plants absorb these DOC's. Its what they live on. When you prune or remove a plant you are effectively removing them.

Plants will strip a water column of most anything thats in it.
 
well DOC is handled in nature..the idea behind the Walstad method.

many plants and bacteria consume the DOC..remember the plant also utilize minerals too.
my understanding tho in the walstad was there was no addition of CO2..doesn't CO2 really produce carbonic acid(lowering the pH) and when the CO2 is turned off the pH should slowly rise?
 
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