LIBuckeye
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello everybody,
I have a 20 L tank with a lone male dwarf puffer (was two, the other one died in September), and several plants. I also keep a 5 gallon snail farm.
I usually change the water every week (20% for the puffer tank, 50% for the snail farm). Today I tested the water for nitrates right BEFORE I did the water change: the puffer tank was 5-10 ppm, the snail tank was at least 40. I did the snail tank's water change but held off on doing a water change for the main tank because I wanted to make sure that I'm not actually depleting the plants of nutrients. I have an algae problem in my 20 gal, and the only plants I can get to grow well are java ferns. Every other plants is either turning brown or is getting covered in algae. I have been considering getting a school of ottos to help with algae. I know puffers can be aggressive, so I "experimented" by getting some grass shrimp. I put some in with the puffer right when he normally would be fed, and he didn't go near them. I found one of them dead a week later, but it didn't appear to have been eaten at all. I put some in with the snails and most of them died too, I guess I should start changing that tank's water more often.
So my main question is if I need to hold off on water changes for the 20 L (switch to 20% bi-weekly maybe?) so that the nitrates will go up a bit more for the plants? Thanks!
I have a 20 L tank with a lone male dwarf puffer (was two, the other one died in September), and several plants. I also keep a 5 gallon snail farm.
I usually change the water every week (20% for the puffer tank, 50% for the snail farm). Today I tested the water for nitrates right BEFORE I did the water change: the puffer tank was 5-10 ppm, the snail tank was at least 40. I did the snail tank's water change but held off on doing a water change for the main tank because I wanted to make sure that I'm not actually depleting the plants of nutrients. I have an algae problem in my 20 gal, and the only plants I can get to grow well are java ferns. Every other plants is either turning brown or is getting covered in algae. I have been considering getting a school of ottos to help with algae. I know puffers can be aggressive, so I "experimented" by getting some grass shrimp. I put some in with the puffer right when he normally would be fed, and he didn't go near them. I found one of them dead a week later, but it didn't appear to have been eaten at all. I put some in with the snails and most of them died too, I guess I should start changing that tank's water more often.
So my main question is if I need to hold off on water changes for the 20 L (switch to 20% bi-weekly maybe?) so that the nitrates will go up a bit more for the plants? Thanks!
