Bnicholson

Hello,

I have a fairly heavily planted tank 29g that is overstocked by the standard 1 inch per gallon rule.

My question is, I almost never get any nitrate readings (or ammonia or nitrite), should I still be doing water changes? My understanding is that the main reason to change the water is to bring the nitrate down.

Thanks,
Bob

aquarist48

Yes...frequent water changes are a necessity. If not then your fish are swimming in their own waste. The filter should be changed (floss) and carbon replaced (if you use it) every 3 weeks.

djbrist

Bob, I can see your point, I've even read that some aquascapers create almost "perfect" closed systems that can "function" like self sustaining, but I have a hard time believing that it can be done as perfectly as in natural environment. I wish to try to replicate the beauty and intricacy? of the natural open system our critters' ancestral heritage came from. I might suspect those of us with planted tanks, and s/w with liverock and inverts, are trying to do just that and water changes are necessary to "replicate" that open system. Sorry if I'm sounding off, just spent part of the day reading a good thread about ammonia in our tanks, and prestine conditions are in forefront of my thoughts.

Dave

Bnicholson

Actually, I'm not saying that I shouldn't have to do them but I'm just wondering how frequently w/c should be done in a heavily planted tank. The situation is obviously quite a bit different then a tank where toxins build up quite quickly. I'm constantly taking cuttings out, shouldn't that remove most of the nitrates?

Nate McFin

If for nothing else it would be important to do water changes for the plants.
Eventually you will deplete minerals and nutrients that your plants need. Most heavily planted tanks will actually have to ADD nitrates to the tank as the fish waste will not produce enough to keep the plants healthy.

IIIHawKIII

also....what test kit are you using? API's nitrate tests are notorious for not givin accurate readings because of not shaking enough.

you really really need to shake bottle #2. A LOT. and rap it on a hard surface a couple times.

MrWaxhead

Actually water changes ad very minimal nutrients to you plants they do add some but very minimal, and your fish can add enough macro nutrients via poo (if you have enought fish and filtration and plants to handle them) to keep them healthy if your not putting to much light on them (its about finding a working balance of light and nutrients, to much light will require more nutrients). I have not added macro N P K nutrients to my 50 gallon in almost 2 years only micro nutrients the fish poo give my plants more then enough macros. That being said I do water changes once a week but only a small one, I take about 5 to 10% out and replace and my levels are always 0-0-under 20 nitrate. I have let it go 3 weeks just to see if it went out of wack and still did not get ammonia or nitrite but I still like to do a small weekly change.

I have changed my stock in that tank since I first posted and it is very overstocked based of the 1 inch per gallon but its also species over stocked, I have 40 cardinal tetra and 10 white skirts and 10 amano shrimp 1 sae and a featherfin cat in there and they are very peacefull, in fact the cardinals got more and more content the more I added and look stunning in a mass shoal moving amounst the plants and scape. I am also running three filters and have two powerhead keeping flow in the tank towards the intakes on the filters and the water is crystal clear and the fish are happy and the plants grow like stink. I have zero bickering in that tank amounst the fish, no sickness and no deaths.

agabr123

that will depend entirely upon how heavily overstocked you are. also, even though your nitrAtes may be very low, you'll still want to do water changes at least once every two weeks to replenish the oxygen and minerals that come in fresh water