Cleanest fish?

[Deaths Sting]

actually live plants in a pond eliminate the need for waterchanges so there is a replacement. now in aquariums it becomes harder to eliminate water changes but you can greatly reduce them by adding a planted tank to your sump as I said above. again you all seem to ignore/forget that plants take care of nitrates.

fish require a certain level of elements and minerals in water, water changes reintroduces these elements.

also are u aware with the Estimated Index?

basically u add a lot of fertilizers to ur planted tanks and then u remove them at the end of the week by a 50% water change. then the process repeats. some planted tanks depend on water changes every week!

heres a great explanation of it: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilizing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html

its highly effective at growing and maintaining lush planted tanks.

heres my planted tank, i do a 40% water change every Sunday and dose ferts everyday, similar to that of EI.

 

[nighthawk2207]

If you water is cloudy after just one week you are doing something very, VERY wrong.

What size tank are we talking about here? and what are in it other than oscars? how many oscars?

To me this sounds like massive overcrowding and the filtration cant keap up.

In my 180 I have two oscars, 3 VERY large tinfoils, massive pleco and 2 limas nearly full grown and my water is crystal clear always, and has been for 12 years the tanks been running.

Never has it been cloudy, so something is wrong if its cloudy after a week, there is a problem here other than oscars being messy.

Oh and by the way, regardless of what fish you have you should be doing weekly water changes, I do 25-50% on all my tanks depending which one it is.

Well I have a 125g with 2 oscars around 6''s an a jack about 5''s an a pleco about 6''s, my filtration consists of a
Rena XP3, what could be wrong?

I do feed them pellets(98% of the time) like every other day not anything more that what can be eatin in 20-30 seconds
I have four plants arranged randomly (cuz the fish move them anyways) an don't know how deep my
rocks are maybe an inch on average, an i did a water change within the last 4 days an my water is cloudy already......

 

[swede]

sounds like you need a batch of sea monkeys

maybe some trilobites

 

[sostoudt]

if you set up your tank right you could never have to do water changes ever. all you need is another form of nutrient export. plants would be your best option, set up a big refugium on the tank and grow alot fast growing plants like anacharis, if you have enough it will use up all your nitrates.

 

[sostoudt]

fish require a certain level of elements and minerals in water, water changes reintroduces these elements.

also are u aware with the Estimated Index?

basically u add a lot of fertilizers to ur planted tanks and then u remove them at the end of the week by a 50% water change. then the process repeats. some planted tanks depend on water changes every week!

your fish are never gonna deplete the column of nutrients like your talking about, making its basically mineral free. because the minerals in the food leech into the tank water. i would only worry low nutrients dangers when dealing with ro/di water.the also make trace elements you can add if you are that worried.

the estimated index sounds like just a way to improve plant growth, you dont care what they look like or grow like in a filtration scenario only that they filter water.

 

[swede]

if you set up your tank right you could never have to do water changes ever. all you need is another form of nutrient export. plants would be your best option, set up a big refugium on the tank and grow alot fast growing plants like anacharis, if you have enough it will use up all your nitrates.

why not just plant all the plants in the tank? it adds to beauty while helping absorb excess nitrates

 

[sostoudt]

why not just plant all the plants in the tank? it adds to beauty while helping absorb excess nitrates

ive never had those fish before but i thought they may eat the leaves or knock them loose from the substrate. with a remote one you could choose the fastest growing plants with out the worry of fish compatability or the constant trimming for aesthetics.

 

[Dmaan.]

i dont get why people have such problems with O's

i have 2 8" O's 2 6" red hooks a 12" Royal clown knife and a plec in a 150 gal tank and i do a 25% WC once a month and my water is just fine .. (and thats the months that i remember to do one at all)

never had a problem with dirty water or slow growth or any other problems ..

you test your water?
your pH is always the same even though you change your water like the first of the month?
hard to believe with o's, i had an o a few months back, about 9" in a 120 gallon, my water was cloudy as hell with WC every 2 weeks @ 50 %

after i got rid of him, i kept up with 2 x month WC's and my water cleared up within the first 3 or 4 days, and stayed clear since.

now i have like the clearest water i have ever seen, but i only keep 1 fish
in a 80 with 2 rena's and water changes twice a week.


WATER CHANGES FTW

 

[Hayabusa]

Well I have a 125g with 2 oscars around 6''s an a jack about 5''s an a pleco about 6''s, my filtration consists of a
Rena XP3, what could be wrong?

I do feed them pellets(98% of the time) like every other day not anything more that what can be eatin in 20-30 seconds
I have four plants arranged randomly (cuz the fish move them anyways) an don't know how deep my
rocks are maybe an inch on average, an i did a water change within the last 4 days an my water is cloudy already......

Get more filtration m8, seems underfiltered to me, look into a fluval fx5, great filters.

 

[jschall]

If you have a larger volume of water for a low bioload, you're not going to have to do as many water changes. So just understock, don't overfeed, and voila, you have a low maintenance tank.

Alternatively, set up a constant automatic water changer. RO output straight into the tank or sump and an overflow down a drain or outside. Put it on a timer to reduce flow (lowest RO I've seen is 24 gpd, you want more like 4-10)

You may also set up an algae scrubber. Just a screen that water flows down with high-intensity lighting. Grows algae which removes nutrients and metals. Added benefit of preventing algae growth in the tank.

NOTHING replaces water changes. An algae scrubber or plants can delay them, but macronutrients aren't the only thing you're removing. You're removing hormones and such as well.