cleaning and maintenance in a planted tank?

[kadzo2013]

Hello,
I have recently (in October) adopted a 70l aquarium with some fishy residents and two plants still in their pots. One plant has really done well, the other not so much. But I'm not looking for advice on that. My goal has always been to have a healthy planted tank ecosystem that is as close to self-sustaining as possible. I am clearly not there, but just planning ahead and there's one question that's stuck in my head - what is regular maintenance and cleaning for a planted tank? More specifically, do you vacuum the substrate? Or is it more, gently do a water change and try not to touch anything?

Currently the two plants are still primarily in their pots (I have trimmed some of plant #1 and stuck it in other places) and I haven't very minimal substrate. And as the tank is new and until recently was very overstocked, I've been vacuuming the substrate every week at least. But when I upgrade the substrate - is it right that it's something clay based and more nutrient rich under sand? Then I'll be planting the plants more correctly, upgrading the hardscaping, adding some foreground plants and mosses, and then stocking some shrimp. At that point...do I do anything to the substrate anymore?

 

[G2-B]

It all depends on balance: how many fish vs. plants you have in and around the aquarium. Ii is easier to maintain that balance in larger than in smaller tanks.

• Fewer fish and/or more plants result in less maintenance.
• If you want to go self-sustainable, you can indeed start with a 1-2 cm layer of moistened base layer (I use old potting soil) and put 5-8 cm of washed riversand on top to isolate that base layer from the water column. See my post RESCUE MOVE.
  If you like undergravel filters, use a filter pad or 2cm pea gravel on the filter base with 5 cm sand on top. That works well too.
• Get some snails, shrimp and/or bottom feeder fishes to clean up the detritus on top of the sand and that reduces maintenance even more.

A bare gravel tank needs to be changed and cleaned more frequently, up to twice weekly if the fish load is high enough, because there is nothing to remove the waste products.
A sand tank with sufficient plants and adequate cleaning crew will hardly collect any detritus and you may be able to go weeks or even months without water change.
With external plants with water roots (pothos, philodendrons, papyrus etc.) or an aquaponics setup you may never have to change the water at all.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Self sustaining aquariums really arent a thing. You will always need to something. You might set things up to minimise water changes, but then you need to other things instead like dosing mineral content.

I know someone very knowledgeable, used to be a very active member here, who just doesn't do any water changes. But the things he needs to do instead are more effort than just spending 15 minutes a week changing half the water.

You can fill the aquarium with plants to consume nutrients, you can restrict the number of fish to limit waste, which means those toxic waste products dont build up. But the natural processes that happen in aquariums use up mineral content from the water. With no water changes to replenish those minerals, you then need to dose mineral salts instead to keep mineral content up and keep those natural processes working. Water changes also reduce harmful pathogens.

Really, the easiest thing to do is get into a regular water change routine. Changing a third to half the water every week. Add a dose of all in one fertiliser with your water change.

As for substrate, almost every commonly kept aquarium plant will do fine in standard gravel or sand substrate. Some plants dont even need substrate as rhyzome plants arent rooted. The only time that a specialised planted substrate is needed is for high demand plants, that also require injected CO2, specialist high intensity lights, and nutrient dosing regimes. The exact opposite of low maintenance.

Keep things simple. Don't overstock. Keep low demand plants. Gravel or sand substrate. Root tabs for any rooted plants you may have. Have the light on for 6 to 8 hours per day. Change half the water once a week. Dose a water conditioner and all in one plant fertiliser with your water change.

I'd also add that a 70 litre aquarium isnt very big for having lots of plants. Unless your plan is a Dutch style aquarium where you essentially never see your fish, 3 or 4 plants will be enough for 70 litres.