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Thread: how to minimise water chages

  1. #1
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    how to minimise water chages

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    hi guys... was explaining the nitrogen cycle to my gf, and then she asked some question that made me blur too....

    so i shall seek answers here,
    Our biological filter breaks down waste all the way to nitrite, then it is absorb by plants and such.

    so lets say for my 2FT tank, the water passes thru another tank full of plants without any fishes.... will that minimise or even better no need water change?

    THnaks!
    GodLike InsiDe, IdioT OuTsiDe

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    On 6/27/2003 11:18:21 PM

    hi guys... was explaining the nitrogen cycle to my gf, and then she asked some question that made me blur too....

    so i shall seek answers here,
    Our biological filter breaks down waste all the way to nitrite, then it is absorb by plants and such.

    so lets say for my 2FT tank, the water passes thru another tank full of plants without any fishes.... will that minimise or even better no need water change?

    THnaks!
    ----------------
    It breaks down all the way to Nitrate(NO3), not nitrite(NO2).

    The NO3 in the 2ft (assuming only fishes) will be uptaken by the planted tank like a 2 tier Koi pond with the upper tier planted and the lower tier Koi.

  3. #3
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    Plants don't use nitrite for your info (it is toxic to plants)...they use ammonia but that can cause algae...inorganic nitrate is a better choice for plant fert. Only healthy plants remove huge amount of ammonia and nitrate....The amount of water change needed depends on its configuration.

    High light w/CO2 = more nutrient demand = more fertilization = more water changes to prevent buildup of certain chemicals which can be toxic at high concentration

    Low light w/o CO2 = less nutrient demand = little/no fertilization = less water changes.
    Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger

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    ----------------
    On 6/27/2003 11:18:21 PM

    hi guys... was explaining the nitrogen cycle to my gf, and then she asked some question that made me blur too....

    so i shall seek answers here,
    Our biological filter breaks down waste all the way to nitrite, then it is absorb by plants and such.

    so lets say for my 2FT tank, the water passes thru another tank full of plants without any fishes.... will that minimise or even better no need water change?

    THnaks!
    ----------------
    Sounds logical. But do you want to maintain another tank just to do away the little 'hassle'? Discounting the extra lightings, fert, co2 that you need to pump in, when not properly taken care of, the plants rot, decompose and probably make things worse.

    Also, how much plants will be needed to replace the filter's capabilities? And what if its a 6ft?
    人的一生﹐ 全靠奮斗﹐ 唯有奮斗﹐ 才能成功

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    Pete, where is it said that NO2 is deadly to plants? I thought plants source N from NH3, NH4, NO2 and N03.

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    I read up an article written in APD that plants cannot take in NO2 as it is toxic but they can convert NH3/NH4 into usable forms in their tissue. Maybe you can do a search on it. []
    Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger

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    Strange, will do that.

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    Geoffrey, here is the link
    Plants do NOT use NO2
    Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger

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    Thanks Pete.

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    Hi notebook

    the answer to your question would be yes.

    But why go through the trouble of having two tanks one load with fish while the other is empty? Have a heavily planted 4x2x2 and ensure that you have only fishes:

    50 Yamatoes
    8 Ottos
    2 Cigar or 4 3-line Pencil
    2 Dwarf Cichlids (not bigger than rams)
    30 Tetras (or fish of your chose not bigger than cardinals)

    Feeding has to be controlled to no more than 1.5 cubes of frozen bloodworms a day.

    You probably do not have to do any water change for 3 months or so......
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    The title below my name does not make me a guru...listen at your own risk!...

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    On 6/28/2003 12:10:08 AM

    Hi notebook

    the answer to your question would be yes.

    But why go through the trouble of having two tanks one load with fish while the other is empty? Have a heavily planted 4x2x2 and ensure that you have only fishes:

    50 Yamatoes
    8 Ottos
    2 Cigar or 4 3-line Pencil
    2 Dwarf Cichlids (not bigger than rams)
    30 Tetras (or fish of your chose not bigger than cardinals)

    Feeding has to be controlled to no more than 1.5 cubes of frozen bloodworms a day.

    You probably do not have to do any water change for 3 months or so......
    ----------------
    sorry... i mean nitrate..type wrongly...
    the reason is because the other tank (1.5Ft) is mainly riccia and its a shrimp tank...
    where my main tank is a 2 ft partially heavy planted and 20 fishes including oto, cardinal, sae and pencil fish. and 30 over cherry shrimps.

    so in fact i droped the idea liao....
    :P
    Thanks for all the clarification and enlightenment.
    GodLike InsiDe, IdioT OuTsiDe

  12. #12
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    I thiunk the concept is there in her intention but the practical matter of maintaining a good range of nutrient parameters is very very difficult with a CO2 enriched tank without relying on water changes. Some can pull it off but their tanks look better and they have far less algae and problems over time if they do the large frequent water changes.

    Female translation:
    Perhaps what she really meant to say "You spend all that time and energy on those darn fish, why don't you let the plants do the work and take care of MY needs!"
    She's right in some aspects.

    But in order to maintain a tank w/o water changes etc, you can go to a non CO2 tank, there are trade offs here but they can look very nice, or if you use CO2, you will need to measure the levels of many nutrients with good kits and this will be extremely tricky to dose the right amount etc. You end up spending less time and money by doign water changes since it takes most of the testing and guess work out of things.

    A non CO2 tank grows slower and the levels of nutrients are not nearly as critical since the tank is mainly CO2 and iron limited.

    Regards,
    Tom Barr

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