If you have a planted tank......

[jaimoe]

My 20 gallon tank is pretty heavily planted and the nitrates are pretty much undetectable. I've heard that the plants use the nitrates for nutrition. Does this mean that I could get away with changing the water in my 20 once every 2 weeks instead of every week, or perhaps once a month?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Yes, just monitor the levels. Plants use amonia, nitrIte and nitrAte and so are very good when cycling a tank and for keeping a tank naturally stable.

As long as you are not overstocked that should not be a problem although I somtimes think it's nice just to freshen things up and plants will not get rid of poo etc on the bottom.

HTH

 

[Bangin]

You could probably get away with less water changes. I have to add nitrates to the tank because of low levels, but I still do weekly water changes. Like CheeseSpecialist said there's still waste on the bottom.

 

[jaimoe]

Thanks cheese. As you can see from my tank list in my signature, I am not exactly overstocked but I am pushing it a bit. I'll probably stick with weekly changes for now just because I enjoy it and the cories love the new slightly cooler water I put in the tank, but it is good to know I have a bit of leeway if I need it.

 

[jaimoe]

So Bangin, a certain amount of nitrates are neccessary? I guess that would be an argument for doing more frequent water changes becauser there are nitrates present in my tap water.

 

[Bangin]

So Bangin, a certain amount of nitrates are neccessary?

Only necessary for the plant's consumption. If no nitrates are present in a planted tank, you may notice a huge algae outbreak along with stunted (plant) growth.