Tanks with live plants

Tycoon

Tycoon

AC Members
May 29, 2007
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For those of you who have a planted tank, how often do you do water changes for that particular tank? Do you still do regular weekly PWC's or something?


Well from what I know... live plants eat ammonia and nitrates and if they can consistently maintain a low nitrate level, then we won't need to do water changes that often right?
 
Tycoon said:
For those of you who have a planted tank, how often do you do water changes for that particular tank? Do you still do regular weekly PWC's or something?
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I still do big water changes on daily basis and my plants are thriving well.
Well from what I know... live plants eat ammonia and nitrates and if they can consistently maintain a low nitrate level, then we won't need to do water changes that often right?
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There will be too much accumulation of dissolved minerals if you don't perform water changes. Nitrates, on the other hand, do serve as food for the plants.
 
Oh.


You're right about the accumulation of dissolved minerals. Deng and I thought I could get away with not having to do weekly water changes now :o
 
There are those who maintain that frequent water changes are not necessary, but they're generally regarded as the "vocal minority".

With planted tanks, it partly depends on your dosing of fertilizers. Most planted tank people want their plants to grow, so they subscribe to a high ferts dosing regime, to make sure htat they don't short their plants anything they can use. This results in a build up of NO3 and minerals that is not desirable to fish and inverts. The solution is, for a strict EI dosing routine, 50% weekly PWCs. It is a safe, proven approach. There are other variations, PPS, for example... El Natural (fewer PWCs, see references to Diane Walstad's book). There's more on all of this at APC

Persoanlly, I dose at ~ 1/3 of EI levels and do ~50% changes about every other week.
 
I have a planted tank and I still do my weekly 25% PWC.
 
I have 2 heavily planted tanks, but mine are low light and medium light, so I don't dose ferts or add CO2. I still do 50% water changes weekly on one of them, and twice weekly on the other because there are discus in there.
 
50% water changes weekly on my tank. I like to meddle and i think the fish appreciate it, plus it helps make sure theres no buildups of hormones or other undesirables.
 
Even in a planted tank the water changes are just as necessary as they ever were before. For the most part you still have to do the water changes not less of them. I do weekly water changes in all of my planted tanks and all of the plants and the fish are as happy as can be.

Marinemom
 
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