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Fishes would be last thing I added after tank has matured some. Would resist running lighting for much more than eight hours a day. Gobs of fast growing plants for the majority.

I would agree that the fishes in the wild, or in our tanks, evolve or adapt,or they become sickly and die. I single handedly killed untold number's of fishes in early years by assuming that they should adapt . To environmental condition's being stimulus for movement,,,Oxygen is primary IMHO lest...

I believe fishes in the wild can travel freely from shallow warmer water, to deeper cooler water's as they see fit to provide them some comfort. Believe they can also do this to maybe find water with pH more to their liking in a stream where they might be gathered from. This ability would not...

If substrate is inert,and not contributing to hardness which in turn affect's pH ,I would not fret . More important as mentioned, that the water chemistry or pH is stable.You want water that you can most easily reproduce for source water which can be straight from the Tap. Weekly or By- weekly...

I too have hard water source for aquariums,12 to 15 dgh ,and try to keep fishes /inverts that enjoy same. Managed to keep domestic Discus with little issue,but they could not successfully spawn in my tanks, and I really had no interest in that anyway. I need to clean glass just above the surface...

Would not care if it reached coloration in 24 hours or a couple days in the tank with or without boiling. Boiling is a good way to produce your own extract be it with the IAL or peat. Pour it through some cheese cloth and bottle it . I gather some large birch leaves from the yard sometimes and...

Smaller water change. If water for water change has much GH, then effect's of pH lowering from leaves will have minimal affect

Can smell when canister (s) have been neglected too long and waste collecting there is going/gone rotten.(stinks) Properly maintained, the media inside smell's like wet dirt = good. I do not run pre filter's on my community tank,(Turquoise rainbows,celebs rainbows,swordtails) so a few cherry...

Biggest contributor is the waste from fish food's,fish poo,decaying plant matter , which in turn can contribute to dirty filter material. Hard to have the latter without the former. Is of little consequence with weekly water changes and regular filter maint. IMHO

I believe given the number's of people who place fishes in their planted affair's,and number's of people who over feed,that the waste from fish food's, and fish poo ,will be primary source of organic waste in closed system mentioned. Some overfeed more than other's might.have more fauna or...

Easier to remove regularly the solids, dissolved waste's,through water changes,reg maint, than trying to find a perceived balance .

+One ^ My low tech tanks are a couple months running with plant's before I consider placing fishes in the tank even though I may have planned the tank around their need's. Fast grower's like water sprite,anacharis,Vals,ludwigia,hygros ,are found fairly often in Fish stores here. I plant slower...

Yes,I think so. I am no chemist but have read that too much of one nutrient may block proper uptake of another but these mechanism's are unclear to me. Believe it to be more prevalent with soil's but still,,plant's seem to manage/adapt lest they die.

Would need to define heavily dosing for X size plant mass , under what PAR. I can easily dose way more than I need in Pleco retreat tank(250 litre) with nothing but anubia (50/60 pieces) Harder to dose too heavily in 300 litre tank holding four Huge sword plants .

Could almost see the class room's of children I helped with protective eye ware,gloves,respirator's, all looking very much like Minion Character's from the movie, and busily testing /dosing daily with highly toxic ammonia.(not likely) Just needed to find some way's to accomplish the goal's while...

If no possible harm to fishes till bacterial colony is established is the goal/aim,and no plant's present, then can simply place a SMALL, raw ,uncooked, frozen prawn in a mesh bag with rock to hold it down and leave it in the tank for four week's. At end of four week's,remove the mesh bag and...

No,no fishes at all for first few week's is not the only way to go. Does take some experience/instruction which I freely offered the children who were eager to learn. I was the custodian at elementary school, but more importantly, their friend. Oddly enough, small children are easier to...

Ammonia test in newly established tank will clearly show what level's of ammonia remain after a water change. Can easily see the result's of water change and ammonia level's in a bucket of water after said water change .(easy for one to test this) With allowing plant mass to get established...

I killed untold number's as well.:(

Not trying to be abrasive either. Just truthful as best I can. Video's? Picture's ? I haven't even had a phone of any kind for last ten year's:shh: Computer I am on now is at work, for I don't have one of those either. Do have 40 yrs in the hobby however with all but the last ten, sans plant's...

Yes,I have moved whole tanks of fish from smaller mature tanks to larger "uncycled tanks" with media from established filter ,or sponge filter,or bag of ceramic media that has been in donor tank for a few week's. Have also moved whole large population's from existing larger tanks to brand new...

"Silent cycling" with plants in enhanced substrate or inert, combined with possibly borrowed filter media from existing tanks , is how I roll. If one already has an established ,mature tank, it makes next to no sense to start fishless cycling with ammonia.IMHO No need to add fish one by one over...

Only fishes I am aware of that might fair well in straight R/O water is German blue Ram and possibly some of the appisto's.

Could place some peat in bucket of source water used for water changes and measure pH,GH, after 24 hours,.48 hour's, and have your answer. Depending on KH, It may do little,or a lot, so some experimenting outside the aquarium is needed. What do you consider "Pretty hard" for what type of...

Maybe would be concerned if using something like metricide but other than that,,I've swallowed worse .Fried,chocolate covered Grass hopper's anyone?

My source water is the tap with chloramine treated water. I have used PRIME for year's and only increase the dose maybe twice a year when local treatment plant increases the chloramine.

I have a 300 litre low tech that filter get's cleaned monthly(2)eheim 2217's ,and low fish load.(working on increasing the number's) I change 50% of the water each week, and add back a little nutrient's macro's/micro's.1/3 EI level's. It could go longer between filter cleaning and water changes...

Filter's could become less efficient at 5 month's or five week's, depending on what they are filtering (ie) Organic input.

Agree,Can think of no instance where 90 % water change was needed in any of the tank's I have run for year's now. Maybe accidental spill of fish food container or medication might make me consider it.

Believe that large water changes are not stressful if they are the norm throughout the tank's life, and...the source water stay's consistent. It is sudden changes that have negative affect, such as water changes far and few between,sudden increase in chlorine/chloramines . Discus purist's...

I do 50 % water changes out of habit mostly. Have lot's of plant's and fair bioload with ever breeding bristlenose. Another heavily planted tank I have with fewer fish, could go a month or more without a water change for the plant's act as biofilter and quickly use ammonia and nitrates. Hardest...

Nitrates from the tap cold be present(what is high?) ,dodgy test kit also. Lot's of fast growing plant's, and or some borrowed filter media from an already established tank can help.

Can smell the extra chlorine from the tap in spring and fall when they increase the level of chlorine.(they give no notice) the ammonia ,I cannot smell as easily. Yes,the chloramines are present year round, hence the PRIME I use at water changes.

Here in U.S. water treatment plant add extra chlorine/ammonia twice a year to flush out main's, so water from main's at this time is higher than normal for chlorine/ammonia . Crews go throughout the neighborhood's opening main's and hydrant's to flush them AND the extra chlorine /ammonia out...

Have you expierimented with mixture's/% of tap water and R/O to re mineralize and lower/raise TDS ?

I could maybe see three weekly water changes if using substrate that had the ability to leach ammonia for a few week's ,or raising a bunch of juvenile fish that need more food than adult fish to achieve good growth but other than those two scenario's,I should think 50% water change once a week...

Agreed,only maybe a problem with Fish only tanks, and or new tank's with too few plant's, too many fish,too much food,= ammonia. in addition to that which is in most tapwater here in U.S.(Chloramine) Once read that there is always ammonia present in tank's holding fishes at level's perhaps not...

Yes,plant's can take up ammonia but many do not begin with enough plants to not only take up ammonia portion of chloramines,but also from fish food's/fish waste/organic's possibly leaching from substrate. Takes a fair amount of plant's I think.

Might would find a way for the five tank's to produce income for you,or at least enough to afford dechlorinator. I trade baby fishes/plant's to local fish store for store credit and this allow's me to get food's/supplies for the fishes I raise for next to nothing. Could you do like wise or...

One might could also assume that chlorine level's are possibly high enough to warrant the sales /recommendation of dechlorinator use No?

Believe many who use R/O do so because they have fairly hard, to rock hard water and are maybe trying to keep soft water species and possibly breed same.. Many of these folks, use their tap water to provide remineralization 60/40 50/50 R/O tap water, for it likely has enough calcium/magnesium...

I might share something I found helpful while caring for a group of juvenile Discus which do really seem to excel growth wise with several small feeding's a day until they are around six month's old. I was told that my effort's would be less than ideal unless I fed the fish heavily with...

I'm still struggling with the notion(Is all it is to me) ,that softwater species will readily adapt to hard alkaline water,live just as long,just as comfortably. Same applies to fishes that thrive in hard alkaline water's such as the Tanganikian's when kept in soft acidic water's. I can add...

Geez, How did I do? Posted this in wrong thread! Meant to post in low tech question's thread today, but had a brain fart.:confused:

I have for decades changed at least a portion of water from my tank's each week. Tried to follow Tom Barr's Non CO2 method in the beginning with my low tech,low light tank's(no water changes), but old habit's die hard. Once I saw that weekly water changes had no adverse effect's with plant's...

Yes,I agree. It is the process that produces the Nitrate reading's. KNO3 is inorganic mineral salt, which does no harm that I can see after a couple year's now at varying levels in my tank's.. Just thinking, that many folk's don't run planted tank's here ,and water samples with high No3 brought...

My fish keeping began with large South American Cichlid's in number's to minimize Aggression,Territorial issues. Most who have kept them for any length of time, will tell you that lower nitrogen level's = healthier fish. Large frequent water changes,careful feeding,reg maint, help prevent...

Well if their tank's aren't planted ,but Nitrate level's exceed 40 ppm, then this is a sign of poor maint,too much food,poop, too many fish,not enough water changes or water changes not large enough to export the waste. = more manageable nitrAte reading's. Me think's there is big difference...

I raised a group of domestic Discus (not wild's) with tapwater with pH of 7.6 and around 10DGH. If you do not wish to breed them ,and they are tank raised fish,, then R/O and buffer's would not be needed. I did not raise them in planted tank,but placed them in planted tank once they were around...

Yes,, some fishes wear their shoes more comfortably than other's may. Kinda like some larger women,Smaller ones too!!, who cram their feet into ridiculously uncomfortable looking shoes.:rolleyes:

My own expieriences suggest that most soft water species will do better in soft water than hard water and vice versa. You and I can wear shoes that are too small for our feet, but we will be much more comfortable with shoes that fit properly.

Last time I tested for nitrates in 80 gal low tech, with weekly 1/2 tsp of KNO3, reading was near 80 ppm. This was a couple year's ago before I understood completely the difference between nitrates as result of food,waste,and nitrate reading's from dry mineral salt's. Have since binned the test...

Plus one for Prime. Takes one ml to treat ten gallon's(hardly a drop), and nearly three times as much of most other dechlorinator's to treat same volume of water.Prime also detoxifies ammonia ,where most only address chlorine and rely on bacterial colony to address ammonia portion of chloramines...

Been using Purigen in low tech 300 litre tank for around eight month's so far, and have seen no negative effect on plant's ,fishes. If I were Relying solely on organic waste for plant food I might not see the sense of using it,but I add inorganic fertz(,mineral salt's)each week, so plant's still...

Must not forget fish food's as contributer as well as source water. When I began dosing Macro/micro nutrient's,, I used scaled back version of EI due to no CO2 inhancement. Plant's performed well ,until the plant mass grew quite a bit larger. I then saw some plant's struggling ,and being...

Would were it me (and it ain't), not worry bout pH which will naturally lower over time. My water comes out from the tap at ph of 7.6 and water in tank after a few month's test's at ph of 7.2.

With lot's of plant's ?,,I would not be surprised at near zero reading's for ammonia,nitrates,for plant's are very good at assimilating them. Seem's a fair bunch of fish for new system,and considering that no other fishes other than the mollies have died,, I would maybe contemplate that water...

In fish only tank's ,sans plant's, Nitrates are hard to accumulate to level's that may affect the fishes with weekly water changes.Cichlid's I have kept in particular,,do better at lower level's <40ppm. With lot's of plant's,I have recorded nitrates as high as 80 ppm with popular hobbyist's test...

Much of what I've read in this thread thus far could indeed be confusing for some,not for me. I'll stick with my test kit's, and keep the curtain's pulled tight, lest folks walking by report me to those who feel as Clive does and I then become fodder for ridicule. I

While I agree with Clive that hardwater does not kill large number's of fish outright, (improper application of CO2 kills many more).My own expieriences with some softwater species suggest's that they would prefer to live in more acidic water over the long haul.(don't know enough about plant's...

Considering your climate,, I might be tempted to cut the water with filtered (carbon) rain water.

Have used oak leaves about one or two per ten gallons in Discus/Ram tank and replaced them evry couple months. created tannin stained water and softened the water a bit. Sterbai corys very much enjoyed the leaf litter. kept additional leaves inside damp newspaper and inside freezer bag for...

My tanks have very few plants and water from tap contains Chloramines rather than straight chlorine. Always use prime for water conditioner and add enough at weekly water changes to treat the volume of the tank as opposed to what was removed. Water company in my area frequently flush lines with...