Re: Help - brownish plants

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

> On this plant tank I've gotten away by doing only monthly water changes.
> So I'll definitely do as you suggested, and I'll also give the filter
> (Eheim 2026) a cleaning too, that has not been done for about 3-4 months
> maybe longer.
> The more I reread what I've added to the tank in the last little while,
> it sounds like it might just be a huge chemical soup.... Water changes
> first thing in the morning.
> Thanks again, hopefully it will be something this simple.
>
> Steve

How much water have you been changing at your water changes? The 10% I 
often hear quoted I don't think is really enough. Someone a while back 
(years and years) worked out mathematically how concentrations of nutrients 
would be affected in a tank using different water change amounts and 
frequencies. I think the post is archived on the Krib somewhere. It's 
interesting, and it concluded the small water changes could lead to problems.

I'd change at least 25% of the water every other week. I usually change 
about 30-50% of the water in my tanks every other week, and in some of them 
would probably be better off doing weekly water changes. You should also be 
sure to dose whatever fertilizers you are using after a water change to 
bring nutrient levels up to at least your target levels, if not a little more.

For your first big water change the previous response to your post 
suggesting several large water changes over a short time period is probably 
a good idea to bring things back to a "clean" condition. After that, test 
all your water parameters again and see if you notice any big differences. 
After you get in a new water-change cycle, test the water again when things 
start looking healthier. With a little luck a comparison of the results of 
those several tests will show some big differences between happy and 
unhappy tank chemistries that you can watch for in the future.

        -Bill


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Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator