Caliban07
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi All,
Its been a while. I’m just curious why so few (particularly on this forum) are reluctant to try the no water change method when keeping plants and animals in your glass boxes.
I realise that many of you will add fertilisers but this is still possible using the no water change method. You just don’t need as much. The best part about the no water change method (and for me) no dosing method, is that I get to use fish to control the rate of plant growth.
Plant type is important to keeping my fish and shrimp healthy. I stopped using tap water as I realised quickly that my tap water is more harmful than the water that is in the tank. I just top off minor evaporation with RO or rain water. I have no algae except a the tiniest bit of BBA on a few pieces of eco complete that has been there from the beginning.
Plant growth is slow. But it grows. What some people don’t realise when they talk about Liebigs law of the minimum is that it states ‘growth’ is dictated by the most limiting mineral. It mentions little about deficiency and in my tank this is exactly true.
The other thing is that I run moderate lighting for 12 hours a day and nothing terrible happens like its supposed to.
I run a small internal filter and I leave the sponge to clog. This creates anaerobic zones within the pores that facilitates denitrification. I have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates on the API tests. My tap water is soft and TDS sits at 120ppm.
I have snails, shrimp and a few fish. All doing well. Sometimes I squeeze the sponge filter in to the aquarium and with a few hours the mulm disappears. The tank is super efficient at scavenging minerals so algae has no chance to survive or grow. Leaves breakdown faster than I have ever seen and the substrate is so clean. The water is becoming clearer as my small pick up becomes more clogged. The mulm is so light it floats in the water column but will soon be gone.
I do not disturb the microbes, I do not alter the water and I do not mess with the plants. I spend hours now looking in to the tank instead of ‘cleaning’ it.
I’m truly at piece with the hobby now and could cycle a new tank within hours using my sponge.
Really wanting to share this experience with others. The steps are repeatable. Look after the microbes and they will take care of the rest.
Patience is the key. Nature has all the time in the world.....
Its been a while. I’m just curious why so few (particularly on this forum) are reluctant to try the no water change method when keeping plants and animals in your glass boxes.
I realise that many of you will add fertilisers but this is still possible using the no water change method. You just don’t need as much. The best part about the no water change method (and for me) no dosing method, is that I get to use fish to control the rate of plant growth.
Plant type is important to keeping my fish and shrimp healthy. I stopped using tap water as I realised quickly that my tap water is more harmful than the water that is in the tank. I just top off minor evaporation with RO or rain water. I have no algae except a the tiniest bit of BBA on a few pieces of eco complete that has been there from the beginning.
Plant growth is slow. But it grows. What some people don’t realise when they talk about Liebigs law of the minimum is that it states ‘growth’ is dictated by the most limiting mineral. It mentions little about deficiency and in my tank this is exactly true.
The other thing is that I run moderate lighting for 12 hours a day and nothing terrible happens like its supposed to.
I run a small internal filter and I leave the sponge to clog. This creates anaerobic zones within the pores that facilitates denitrification. I have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates on the API tests. My tap water is soft and TDS sits at 120ppm.
I have snails, shrimp and a few fish. All doing well. Sometimes I squeeze the sponge filter in to the aquarium and with a few hours the mulm disappears. The tank is super efficient at scavenging minerals so algae has no chance to survive or grow. Leaves breakdown faster than I have ever seen and the substrate is so clean. The water is becoming clearer as my small pick up becomes more clogged. The mulm is so light it floats in the water column but will soon be gone.
I do not disturb the microbes, I do not alter the water and I do not mess with the plants. I spend hours now looking in to the tank instead of ‘cleaning’ it.
I’m truly at piece with the hobby now and could cycle a new tank within hours using my sponge.
Really wanting to share this experience with others. The steps are repeatable. Look after the microbes and they will take care of the rest.
Patience is the key. Nature has all the time in the world.....