Tank conversion from high to low tech

[FishSoup]

Hey guys, in order to lower maintenance, and hopefully eliminate some algae too, i'm thinking of converting my 1 foot high tech cube tank into a low tech.. just wondering if there are any possible problems that might occur if i just remove the co2 injection?

Tank specs:

1 foot cube, volume approx. 7 gallons

Present co2 injection: 1 bubble per 3 seconds

Substrate: Gex red, with a layer of greyish (i think granite based) gravel on top.

heavily planted, approximately 80%

lighting: 24w, translates to 3.4 WPG, 10 hours a day

Fert regime: Seachem micronutrients, potassium phosphate once a week. 5 squirts of micro and 10 squirts of the K2PO4, in solution form, from the small squirt bottles from Daiso.

Plant species: Bacopa caroliana, Cryptocoryne lutea, Cryptocoryne balansae, Cyperus helferi, red tiger lotus, US fissidens, hygrophila difformis, blyxa japonica, barclaya longifolia. and one very small pogostemon helferi (downoi).

Fauna: One pair of Apistogramma gibbiceps, 6 microrasbora, 2 otos, 2 yamato shrimp.


Are there any forseeable problems if i just stop the co2 injection? Or how should i carry out the conversion in a way that minimises disturbance to the balance?

If the conversion to low tech is not safe, i may choose not to do it... keeping my fish and plants healthy is still the most important thing

[bbpippen]

First of all bro, all aquatic plants flourish and thrive with co2 injection.
Its like oxygen to us humans. Plants that can survive in low tech are basically not flourishing, just surviving.
Hope you get my point.

And also for small or mini planted tanks, the wpg rule doesnt apply and 24w seems to be sufficient for most plants, but if you want better growth, you have to increase the lighting wattage.

hope it helps you

[FishSoup]

I understand the bit about plants growing better with co2 injection.

Basically, the reason behind converting to low tech is to minimise the weekly maintenance that is required to prevent plants from choking up the tank when i am overseas or otherwise busy. So, while i still want the plants to survive, the aim is to slow down growth rates.

The possible problems i fear might occur would be things like plants melting or something along those lines, due to the decreased co2 levels that would occur if i just suddenly removed the co2. Crypts for example are notorious for melting when conditions change drastically. Does this include drops in co2 levels?

Also, would a drop in lighting and fert also be required? Given that co2, lights and ferts are in a three-way balance, this would seem to make sense. However, should i decrease the ferts and light right off the bat, or wait and see if i have an problems before decreasing them?

Finally, some plants do not "survive" in low tech tanks, but die in them. Do any of my plants fall under that category? I personally don't think so, but its always safer to confirm.

[bbpippen]

hi bro, if you do want to minimise the growth, maybe you can cut down on the lightings as well as the photo period of the plants.

That way you can still maintain a high tech(which is ideal) setup for the plants.

[|squee|]

Cut down the light intensity over time (not length of photoperiod). Say stagger it over 1 month or 2. This gives the plants time to adjust.

I suggest you keep your CO2 on until the last day of the above-mentioned staggered-reduction of lighting. Then just remove it. BBA will definately come, but that's what Seachem Excel can remove. Crypts will definately melt, but they bounce back fairly quickly even in non-CO2 conditions if your substrate is good.

Plant mass must be there, as well as filtration and water circulation and a balance between fish and plants. All plants survive in low-tech tanks. But don't expect lush growth. However if you manage it right, you can get a growth that is really nice and slow, and you begin to appreciate the finer details in your tank's layout more.

[StanChung]

I think in low tech tanks, you would have trouble growing light hungry plants. Those are usually the light green ones and the red ones. Crypts with red/violet undersides can grow in low light but they will need to rid of the old 'solar panels'[leaves will melt]...to be more efficient at collecting light and adjusting to new parameters IME.

[FishSoup]

Hmmm.. thanks guys for the input.. i'll follow the advice, hopefully it all works out.

Much appreciated

[ranmasatome]

If you are going lowtech.. everything must go low tech.. not just CO2...
As you mentioned.. it is a balance. So if you remove something from the balance and dont lower other things..it is not a balance anymore.

Lower lights, ferts, waterchange. You can do it over time or at one shot. Only thing is if you do it the drastic way, some of your plants might melt..but i'm sure they will bounce back under proper care.

[dzylim]

all my tanks are low tech tanks, basically you don have to worry about CO2, and i have quite a number of thriving plants inside, not just suriving.

In a proper low tech plant tank, the exchange of oxygen and CO2 occurs naturally, materials decay and produce CO2 which the plants use to make oxygen. if you ballance it well enuff, you should be able to maintain it without much effort. best part is your plants will look good without the need to trim.

only downside of a low tech tank is you cannot keep too many fauna.