Where you get the idea of "we are not supposed to do any water changes in a non co2 tank" ?
Hi. I am planning to use AS Amazonia for my new non co2 non excel tank. The thing is,...we are not supposed to do any water changes in a non co2 tank. But how am i supposed to do that with AS as substrate as it leaks lots of NH4 into the water column. Really appreciate if anyone could help me with this.
Where you get the idea of "we are not supposed to do any water changes in a non co2 tank" ?
Last edited by Wackytpt; 4th Mar 2010 at 22:27. Reason: remove immediate quote
NH4 issue only at initial stage, it will be gone once filter mature.
I got it from Tom Barr's non co2 method. He advocates no water changes in a non co2 tanks.Just to add top off evaporated water every week. Does this mean I can do water changes in a non co2 tank? Please excuse my ignorance as I am just learning. Tom says that if we do water changes in a non co2 tank the plants will let go of the enzyme Rubisco which it requres to get carbon from the water column. By doing water changes in anon co2 tank we create fluctuating co2 levels which will "confuse" the plants and affect their growth and hence algae being an oppurtunist,...will slowly take over the tank. Its all there in the Non CO2 sticky here.
So do you mean that I can do water changes? If so how much & how often please because your reply seems to suggest that we can do the water changes. Need help.
I am not aware of such theory.. water change usually depends on bioload and filtration.. My opinion
Last edited by Wackytpt; 4th Mar 2010 at 22:03. Reason: remove immediate quote
Regards
William
For non CO2, pay attention on your light. What is your light and what is your tank dimension?
Thank you William for your input, it was kind of you. Sorry James for the late reply. My tank is 48 inches in length, 19 inches breath, 18 inches in height. The tank volume is about 71 us gallons (about 268 litres). A friend at the local LFS suggested to minus 20% from the total tank volume in order to calculate the WPG ratio that's required for my tank and so that puts the water volume at about 56.8 US Gallons. My lights are a pair of T5 tubes with a wattage of 28 Watts each(hence 56 Watts in total). Substrate as you know I am planning to use AS Amazonia. Fiters : An Eheim PRo 2 (Model 2080) and an Eheim Pro 3 (the largest one). Plants are very easy and of hardy variety like Ceratopteris thalictroides, anubias petite nana, Hygrophila difformis, Cabomba caroliniana and the red coloured Myriophyllum. My concern is the high NH4 seepage into the water column with the AS Amazonia variety. Should I opt for a substrate that is less richer for a non co2 tank. I got all the info on how to set up a low tech tank from Tom Barr's www.barrreport.com under NonCO2 Methods. You could also go to www.sudeepmandal.com and check under "Hobbies" under Non CO2 Non Excel Tanks as he basically summarizes Tom Barr's Non CO2 methods nicely in one simple article. Its worth the read at the very least. I have been reading up on how to keep aquatic plants for about a year now but as you can clearly see I lack the experience. Saved up a tonne of money to buy all those things I've just mentioned above there so I am kind of looking forward to doing this the right way,...Any advice is worth a lot. Thank you.
Last edited by micardiz; 3rd Mar 2010 at 01:00.
NH4 will drop once your filter fully cycle. I think it is good idea for you to opt for less richer substrate since all the plant in your list is easy plant which can grow with fert tablet. However, you will be in trouble if you suddenly change mind and start growing those foreground plant
Hi micardiz,
You might want to read this link on
New method(?) to start up an algae free tank without any water changes
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ge...lgae-free.html
P/S: I am also new and planning to have a non CO2 low light low tech tank and is very much inclined to use the method mentioned in the link for cycling my tank with aquasoil.
Another link by someone who actually tried this method, albeit with regular mist spraying of water mixed with excel.
http://one51.blogspot.com/
Last edited by Wackytpt; 4th Mar 2010 at 22:04.
Thank you Shadow for your kind reply. Thanks mgsim ,..the method on the link that you showed me is called the Dry Start Method by Tom Barr. Excellent for growing foreground plants but as the second link clearly states,... it takes a lot of patience to grow out the foreground. Secondly it still causes a lot of ammonia seepage into the water column even after all that time once you flood the tank. You would still need to be doing lots of water changes for about a month until as Shadow says the filter matures. I think for a low light non co2 tank it is better as Shadow suggested to go for a less richer substrate like Flourite by Seachem.
Will Myriophyllum fair well in a non co2 set up? I mean 1 wpg T5, good dosing of fertilizer and good circulation?
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