Never do water changes again???
- Thread starter fuzzlebug
- Start date
Can you post a link to that claim?
The makers of Ecoqube state clearly that you need to change the water every week.
The makers of Ecoqube state clearly that you need to change the water every week.
I don't know about that product but I used to have a heavy planted tank with light stock (small fishes) and I DO NOT need to do water change. HOWEVER, I WILL have to top off water due to evaporation, and dose trace elements weekly.
Hello; here is my take on live plants. They use nitrates out of the water. The nitrates become plant parts such as leaves. At some point the leaves will die and begin to decay releasing the compounds back into the water.
So to be effective at keeping nitrates out of the water the old leaves need to be removed and not allowed to decay in the tank.
On top of that it is my take that to be truly useful at nitrate removal there must always be new plant growth. At some point healthy live plants will need to be removed in addition to the dead plant parts.
On top of that it is also my take that it takes a considerable amount of plant mass to make a difference.
So to be effective at keeping nitrates out of the water the old leaves need to be removed and not allowed to decay in the tank.
On top of that it is my take that to be truly useful at nitrate removal there must always be new plant growth. At some point healthy live plants will need to be removed in addition to the dead plant parts.
On top of that it is also my take that it takes a considerable amount of plant mass to make a difference.
Hello; One more thought. Say a person can control nitrates with plants or some other device and only tops off the tank water to replace water lost to evaporation. Most source water has minerals and salts dissolved in it. These minerals and salts stay behind and do not leave with the evaporating water. Over time the concentration of these minerals will constantly increase.
The way I see it we are stuck with WC.
The way I see it we are stuck with WC.
Agree with Skjl47.
Although if you totally fill that tank with plants (like a jungle), and add maybe 1 neon, or one guppy, you might be good for a while.
Back when I was a kid, tanks like that were called "balanced aquariums".
Although if you totally fill that tank with plants (like a jungle), and add maybe 1 neon, or one guppy, you might be good for a while.
Back when I was a kid, tanks like that were called "balanced aquariums".
Exactly. For example, the average copper content in US drinking water is .1 ppm.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400525/Articles/NDBC32_WaterMin.pdf
The LC50 toxicity rate is close to that level for several types of bass and barbs.
http://www.aquariumcalculators.com/copper-toxicity-invertebrates-fish-planted-aquarium/
Water changes dilute the concentration of many minerals that we don't want building up in the water.