My over grown and neglected tank
- Thread starter SS317
- Start date
not changing for 6 months is a recipe for disaster especially running CO2. I would start doing small water changes over a gradual period now and wouldn't disturb the bottom. Have you checked your PH lately? If you can get away with no water changes for 6 months it is very likely there are high amounts of anaerobic bacteria in the substrate. If you stick your finger or something in the substrate and move a small section very gently I would guess there will be a few bubbles released, this being toxic in large amounts.
Also google old tank syndrome. Worth reading up on.
Beautiful tank though.
Also google old tank syndrome. Worth reading up on.
Beautiful tank though.
Hi all,
That is not "over-grown and neglected", it is perfect. I'd maybe up the water changes, but other than that I'd keep it how it is.
I don't think you need to worry about the substrate becoming anaerobic as your large plant mass will have an extensive root zone and these will help keep the substrate aerobic.
cheers Darrel
That is not "over-grown and neglected", it is perfect. I'd maybe up the water changes, but other than that I'd keep it how it is.
I don't think you need to worry about the substrate becoming anaerobic as your large plant mass will have an extensive root zone and these will help keep the substrate aerobic.
cheers Darrel
Some people wont be taking it apart though and need to be aware that they could lose all their fish if they leave their tanks too long. PH levels can crash and as far as I am aware the cycle in your tank can start to reverse producing nitrites. If the tank is left undisturbed and no minerals are added to the tank the water has no buffer capacity and could crash at any time. CO2 lowers the PH as well especially suddenly through the night when your plants are throwing out CO2.
You can wake up with fish on their backs and gasping at the top in the morning. Take it from me, I experienced it. Lost 3 good plecs luckily saved the rest of my tank with an air pump on full for an hour.
If it happens through the night not much you can do and I never use CO2. Gets you without warning!
You can wake up with fish on their backs and gasping at the top in the morning. Take it from me, I experienced it. Lost 3 good plecs luckily saved the rest of my tank with an air pump on full for an hour.
If it happens through the night not much you can do and I never use CO2. Gets you without warning!
I'm with you 100% I'm not saying hay don't do water changes or that what I've done is the right thing to do and to be honest I took all the fish I value out long ago, it's more of a I'm a lucky lazy guy kind of thread.
It looks beautiful to me...Sounds like you have the delicate balance of the nitrogen cycle working correctly for you, Great work!! this is often hard for most people to achieve, cos we overload the bio, I suspect your ratio of fish to filtration is perfect..maybe small water changes more often..is all I would suggest. Otherwise I wouldn't change a thing 
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lovely tank. Obviously weren't lazy when you put the tank together.
The ultimate is to have a self sufficient tank/biotope, your own little eco system in a glass box with little effort. The fish can just live on shrimp or baby fish and algae. Maybe most needed is water top ups now and then. Very tricky.
If you don't want to do water changes by all means don't, just be interesting to see how long it stays stable for. Also how your readings change over time.
my goal was to have a low work style of tank and it has been, I used to do 30% water changes every 2 weeks and test water all the time but other then that it was easy to look after, but priorates change and as it's been looking ok it's been left to fend for it's self, while I would like to see how long it stays stable this tank is going to end up full of driftwood and the new home for my L134 colony.
Hi all,
In a planted tank, if your fish are near the surface just before lights come on it is a sign of high CO2 levels and needs addressing urgently.
cheers Darrel
You can get this if you don't have much carbonate buffering, as the NH3 - NO2 - NO3 conversion uses up carbonates as well as oxygen, but I don't think this is as likely to happen in a heavily planted tank, with a small bioload, as the plants will preferentially take up the ammonia, stopping it entering the filter. The water quality in planted tanks is infinitely more stable and resilient than in an un-planted tanks and this gives you quite a lot of leeway.
This has happened to me as well, I'm pretty sure it is an oxygen effect, where you have a lot of plants respiring and adding to the bio-load and insufficient aeration or water movement. The actual oxygen content may be reasonably high, but high CO2 levels can lead to problems due to the Bohr effect. Rheophilic fish like Plecs are particularly vulnerable to low O2 levels or high CO2/O2 ratios.
In a planted tank, if your fish are near the surface just before lights come on it is a sign of high CO2 levels and needs addressing urgently.
cheers Darrel
Nicely planted tank! I'm sorry that your ripping it down but sometimes it's nice to redecorate. It just makes such a mess. I've considered going down the CO2 route (even bought all of the equipment except for the canister), but I've always feared the dreaded ph crash, so I've just stuck with low light plants and no CO2.
If your Ph is dropping low at night when you're running C02, You should turn your air up over night or add another stone, This will dissipate the excess C02 out into the atmosphere, as the plants don't use C02 while they are sleeping, the excess C02 will drop your ph if it isn't bubbles out...
Seriously , I wouldn't touch it , its beautiful as it is..Would like to see what you do to it, if anything..
Seriously , I wouldn't touch it , its beautiful as it is..Would like to see what you do to it, if anything..
Trust me you don't want to see, most of the plants have gone to my mum and a few to mates.
The tank will be driftwood only but I'll try and add a bit of style, hope my Ls like it.
Hi all,
You can ensure that you don't have pH problems by using a 4dKH buffer, this provides sufficient carbonates to maintain the CO2 ~ HCO3 equlibrium.
The real problems with CO2 are that:
1. It makes it more difficult for CO2 to diffuse out of the fishes gills, so you need to ensure you have very fully oxygenated water. Have a look here for details <http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=829>
2. As you get near the end of the CO2 cylinder you are very likely to have a CO2 dump that kills all your fish. Until this problem is resolved I won't be using CO2 in tanks containing any livestock.
cheers Darrel
You only need CO2 to grow a very small range of plants, things like Hemianthus callichtroides that aren't really aquatics. All CO2 does is make your plants grow more quickly if light and nutrients are present. Light drives photosynthesis and carbon uptake.
You can ensure that you don't have pH problems by using a 4dKH buffer, this provides sufficient carbonates to maintain the CO2 ~ HCO3 equlibrium.
The real problems with CO2 are that:
1. It makes it more difficult for CO2 to diffuse out of the fishes gills, so you need to ensure you have very fully oxygenated water. Have a look here for details <http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=829>
2. As you get near the end of the CO2 cylinder you are very likely to have a CO2 dump that kills all your fish. Until this problem is resolved I won't be using CO2 in tanks containing any livestock.
cheers Darrel
Ive been using co2 on my planted tanks for over 8years and I've never had any drama with crashing or co2 dumping or any other thing.
buy good gear and use a solenoid to turn the gas off when the lights go out, IMO a true planted tank should be very lightly stocked.
I think people tend to overstock planted tanks, I mean it's about the plants the fish should just add a little movement.
buy good gear and use a solenoid to turn the gas off when the lights go out, IMO a true planted tank should be very lightly stocked.
I think people tend to overstock planted tanks, I mean it's about the plants the fish should just add a little movement.
I agree SS...:yes: My C02 is my own DIY system, 70L overrun with all sorts of plants, High output lighting, Sponge filter and Good quality HOB, I have not had an issue ever with it, it is lightly stocked with a few panaques & shrimp...works for me..:thumbup: