Hystrix pups born in Denmark.
- Thread starter andersp90
- Start date
I don't breed hystrix but I do know how to minimize water changes without sacrificing water quality. I have been doing allot of experiments with plants and algae. Most people know that plants lower nitrates but it seems most don't understand the potential and all the other benefits that come along with plant filtration, especially algae.
I have several tanks with algae and plant filtration on them. The latest tank that I have setup with this setup is a 200g plywood tank I built to grow out tilapia. This tank is a great example of the power of an algae filter. The tank has been setup for a few months now and has had tilapia in it since the 2nd week. I put 4x 1.5lb tilapia in the tank on the 2nd week. The filtration is a large bio tower (mechanical filter before it) and an algae waterfall type filter. The bio tower does it's job converting the waist into nitrate and the algae eats up the nitrate and also other things. Plants and algae filter toxins from the water and also help replenish beneficial nutrients.
This tank had two 30% water changes the week following the addition of the fish as the filters were not established yet and the ammonia was starting to register so the water changes were needed. The nitrates were climbing but since the algae filter has established itself, the nitrates have dropped down to about 10ppm and have not changed much since and I have not done any water changes. All I do is add top off water due to evaporation. Some people might say, by not doing water changes you would be missing micro nutrients, but I am adding water almost everyday due to evaporation (open top tank plus the algae filter evaps a good amount of water) so I am adding "new" nutrients all the time. And once again, the algae is eating fish waist and toxins and producing nutrients as well. This is how nature works. I have two other tanks with similar filter sysytems, one is a salt water tank and the other is fresh and both have only had one water change in the last year, and all water parameters are perfect. I rarely see nitrate over 15ppm. These tanks are not over stocked but the filters are no were near there max capacity either.
Algae is by far the most powerful plant friend a fish keeper can have. Algae is very adaptable and vary fast growing which means it filters stuff from the water that much faster than other plants and also adapts to bio load faster. It is also easy to maintenance an algae filter, when built properly. I honestly think more people are not using them because it is not an item you can just go out and buy. As far as I know, it is only a DIY filter. But it is pretty easy to build one and very cheap as well.
I am planning a 2000g ray tank and I do not plan on doing 500g water changes every week, more like a few times a year or much smaller water changes more frequently. All my current algae experiments are giving me plenty of confidence in my filter systems and I do not have any doubt my goals are completely achievable. The two tanks mentioned above, I am experimenting with and I'm not doing anymore water changes on them ever again until they either crash or they thrive. So far, no problems and water quality is great. All I am doing is changing the mechanical filter when needed, adding evaporated water, maintaining the algae filter (scrape algae from filter), cleaning the tank and feed the fish. What I want to find out is if the tanks will develop any problems or if the nitrates or phosphates will ever get out of control.
Another way to think about the replacement (or reduction) of water changes with an algae filter is this... when you do a water change you are diluting the "dirty" tank water by removing a given % and adding "new" clean water. So you are removing waist and toxic chemicals and adding "new" good things to the tank. When you use and algae filter you are letting the algae "collect" the bad stuff in the form of using the "bad" stuff to grow and thus storing the "bad" stuff in its cells (actually converting the bad stuff to other things) and by cleaning (scraping the algae form the filter and tossing it in the trash) the algae filter, you are still removing the collected waist but just in a different form and your not waisting so much water. You would also be getting other benefits like the nutrients the algae will be releasing in the water as it grows and removing toxins and any build up of heavy metals from your water along with added oxygen.
Algae is one thing nature uses to keeps ponds, lakes, rivers and steams balanced. I prefer to let nature do the work for me when ever possible. Mother nature is better at it anyway. I have only been a fish keeper for 20 years, mother nature has been doing it for millions of years.
I have several tanks with algae and plant filtration on them. The latest tank that I have setup with this setup is a 200g plywood tank I built to grow out tilapia. This tank is a great example of the power of an algae filter. The tank has been setup for a few months now and has had tilapia in it since the 2nd week. I put 4x 1.5lb tilapia in the tank on the 2nd week. The filtration is a large bio tower (mechanical filter before it) and an algae waterfall type filter. The bio tower does it's job converting the waist into nitrate and the algae eats up the nitrate and also other things. Plants and algae filter toxins from the water and also help replenish beneficial nutrients.
This tank had two 30% water changes the week following the addition of the fish as the filters were not established yet and the ammonia was starting to register so the water changes were needed. The nitrates were climbing but since the algae filter has established itself, the nitrates have dropped down to about 10ppm and have not changed much since and I have not done any water changes. All I do is add top off water due to evaporation. Some people might say, by not doing water changes you would be missing micro nutrients, but I am adding water almost everyday due to evaporation (open top tank plus the algae filter evaps a good amount of water) so I am adding "new" nutrients all the time. And once again, the algae is eating fish waist and toxins and producing nutrients as well. This is how nature works. I have two other tanks with similar filter sysytems, one is a salt water tank and the other is fresh and both have only had one water change in the last year, and all water parameters are perfect. I rarely see nitrate over 15ppm. These tanks are not over stocked but the filters are no were near there max capacity either.
Algae is by far the most powerful plant friend a fish keeper can have. Algae is very adaptable and vary fast growing which means it filters stuff from the water that much faster than other plants and also adapts to bio load faster. It is also easy to maintenance an algae filter, when built properly. I honestly think more people are not using them because it is not an item you can just go out and buy. As far as I know, it is only a DIY filter. But it is pretty easy to build one and very cheap as well.
I am planning a 2000g ray tank and I do not plan on doing 500g water changes every week, more like a few times a year or much smaller water changes more frequently. All my current algae experiments are giving me plenty of confidence in my filter systems and I do not have any doubt my goals are completely achievable. The two tanks mentioned above, I am experimenting with and I'm not doing anymore water changes on them ever again until they either crash or they thrive. So far, no problems and water quality is great. All I am doing is changing the mechanical filter when needed, adding evaporated water, maintaining the algae filter (scrape algae from filter), cleaning the tank and feed the fish. What I want to find out is if the tanks will develop any problems or if the nitrates or phosphates will ever get out of control.
Another way to think about the replacement (or reduction) of water changes with an algae filter is this... when you do a water change you are diluting the "dirty" tank water by removing a given % and adding "new" clean water. So you are removing waist and toxic chemicals and adding "new" good things to the tank. When you use and algae filter you are letting the algae "collect" the bad stuff in the form of using the "bad" stuff to grow and thus storing the "bad" stuff in its cells (actually converting the bad stuff to other things) and by cleaning (scraping the algae form the filter and tossing it in the trash) the algae filter, you are still removing the collected waist but just in a different form and your not waisting so much water. You would also be getting other benefits like the nutrients the algae will be releasing in the water as it grows and removing toxins and any build up of heavy metals from your water along with added oxygen.
Algae is one thing nature uses to keeps ponds, lakes, rivers and steams balanced. I prefer to let nature do the work for me when ever possible. Mother nature is better at it anyway. I have only been a fish keeper for 20 years, mother nature has been doing it for millions of years.
I would like to point out that reducing or eliminating water changes is not because doing water changes is to much work or inconvenient. It is simply because it is a huge waist of water (especially on large tanks) and it can also cause large changes in water parameters that can be stressful on fish and a bio filter. Nature does not do water changes because it uses natural ways to convert chemicals into other things. You all know what the nitrogen cycle is, the problem is most people do not have a full nitrogen cycle being applied on there system, they stop with BB and do water changes to get rid of the BB waist. Plants are the other part of the nitrogen cycle which completes the cycle. Good water quality and stability is the goal.
