Establishing a planted tank is one thing. Maintaining that tank is something else entirely. More often than not the tanks that stay stable long term have a predictable weekly maintenance routine that keeps issues from occurring.
At least, that’s what I’ve experienced time and time again. My first planted tank thrived for three months. Everything looked perfect. Beautiful, thick carpets. Plants growing like crazy with stunning colours. Then work got busy. I missed water changes, allowed trimming to slip… You guessed it. Within two weeks it all came crashing down. Green water, algae blooms, melttings. It was at this point I realised I thought planted tanks were low maintenance, they just happen to require maintenance regularly in small doses.
It didn’t take me long to realise that a planted tank is not like a “regular” fish tank. In order for planted tanks to thrive, we must keep nutrients, light and plant biomass in balance. When you skip maintenance that balance is thrown off. Slowly at first, sometimes quickly. But by knowing exactly what needs done on a week basis versus what you can let slide for a few weeks will make the difference between a easygoing plant tank and spending all your free time cleaning algae.
##Plant Growth Cycle
Plant growth does not remain consistent throughout the entire lifecycle of a plant. Understand the factors that change over time will allow you to schedule maintenance more effectively.
Trimming requirements can vary from every week or two for fast growing stem plants (Aquascaping Academy) to once a month for slow growing species like Anubias.
**Light Requirements**: Lights should start at six to eight hours a day on a new tank setup (Aquarium Co-Op). You can then slowly work your way up to eight to twelve hours a day as your plants establish stronger root systems you (Aquarium Co-Op). This doesn’t only apply during the cycling process. As you add more plants and increase biomass you will also need to increase your lighting schedule. But by slowly raising your hours you can prevent algae problems that occur when trying to jump to 12+ hours per day before your plants can use all that light.
**Nutrient Demands**: Young plants are poor competitors when it comes to nutrient uptake. As nutrients are introduced into the water column, fast growing algae will consume what the plants can’t use. Once your tank is established and your plants have filled in you will be able to dose higher without algae issues because your plants will simply outcompete the algae for nutrients.
**Root Growth Timeline**: Most aquatic plants will take around six to eight weeks to become fully established. Use this time to pay extra attention to water changes and water parameters. You may also find yourself trimming more during this period as faster growing plants begin to take off. Once plants have filled in they are not as sensitive to minor fluctuations in water parameters.
**Growing Season vs Resting Season**: Believe it or not even indoor tanks have a growing and resting season. Plant growth is usually more aggressive during the spring and summer months. Even if you keep your light schedule constant your plants will still pickup growth during the longer days of the year. This isn’t too big of a deal you can scale back on trimming during the winter. What you don’t want to do is feed as much in the winter as you do in the summer. Fish metabolism slow down during the winter and so should your fertilizer dosing schedule.
##Weekly Maintenance Checklist
Plant tank maintenance will mainly consist of tasks you need to perform on a weekly basis. Your plant’s health, water parameters and nutrients all rely on this stable weekly schedule.
**Weekly Water Changes**: The cornerstone of any successful planted tank method is weekly water changes. Methods like EI utilize weekly water changes of fifty percent to stabilize nutrients (2Hr Aquarist). More conservative methods recommend twenty percent weekly water changes to start(AgentCalc). Weekly water changes do more than just remove waste from the tank. They also prevent the buildup of growth inhibitors plants release into the water column. Plus, nutrients will fluctuate from week to week. Performing a water change is like hitting the reset button.
**Weekly Pruning Sessions**: All dead or dying plant material should be removed during your weekly maintenance. Not only does this help prevent rot from spreading to healthy parts of the plant but decaying plant matter can wreak havoc on your water parameters. Ammonia levels will rise as plant material decomposes. And unlike your plants algae can take advantage of these nutrients quicker.
**Nutrient Dosing**: How often you dose your tank will depend on your growth rate. Tanks that require daily fertilization will benefit from you watering off your nutrients once a week. Slower growing tanks can get away with once or twice a week nutrient dosing schedules (2Hr Aquarist). Having a set day every week to perform your water change will also allow you to evaluate if you need to increase or decrease your current dosing levels.
**Parameter Testing**: For optimal plant growth you want your pH to be between 6.5-7.5 (HealthyAquariums). By testing your water parameters on the same day each week you will begin to notice certain parameters slowly drifting in one direction or another. A slow pH increase can indicate your biological filtration is becoming packed with beneficial bacteria or your CO2 is diminishing.
**Adjusting your lighting schedule**: Grow lights should be on eight to ten hours per day in a mature planted tank (HealthyAquariums). I like to use my weekly maintenance session to determine if I need to make any adjustments to my lighting schedule. Algae growth while the lights are on, plants that aren’t pearling during the day time hours, or leggy stems reaching for more light are all signs you may need to adjust how many hours of light you’re providing.
##Maintenance mistakes to avoid
## Scientific Research Behind Maintanence Frequency
Plant growth, nutrient uptake, and algae growth has been studied quite extensively when it comes to aquatic plants. A lot of people don’t realise there is actual science behind exactly why we perform maintanence on a weekly basis.
Nutrient uptake by plants is highest during the first six hours of the day and slowly decreases as the day progresses (Research Gate). Because of this many aquarist dosing their tanks daily instead of giving a weeks worth of nutrients at once. By adding your nutrients daily your plants will utilize what they can and the excess will be filtered out by your filter media.
Aquatic plants release growth inhibitors that limit the growth of competing plants(Research Gate). The same goes for algae. If your plants don’t have to compete with algae they will grow faster and healthier. Leaving seven to ten days between water changes will allow growth inhibitors to build up and affect your plants growth.
Even pruning your plants too early or too late can effect how fast they will recover(Research Gate). Regularly trimming your aquarium plants will promote faster growth than letting your plants grow long and pruning once a month. Also, letting dead plant matter decay all at once will cause a spike in nutrients your algae will utilize quicker than your plants.
##Applying maintenance to different styles of planted tanks
Whether you have a high tech CO2 fueled tank or a low tech no fertilizer added tank your weekly maintenance schedule simply needs to be adjusted.
**High Tech/ CO2**: More fertilizer = More frequent trimming. You may find yourself trimming certain stem plants twice a week. Fertilizers will need to be dosed daily in these tanks. And because of the higher nutrient levels weekly water changes will be closer to thirty to fifty percent. Also, CO2 reactors should be checked weekly to ensure they are running properly.
**Low Tech**: Trimmed less often than their high tech counterparts. Standard weekly fertilizer dosing should be enough. And because your not adding as much nutrients into the tank you can get away with slightly smaller water changes. Twenty to thirty percent per week should be sufficient. There isn’t much equipment in a low tech tank that requires maintenance but you will need to pay closer attention to your water parameters.
**Nano tanks**: Weekly maintenance is even more crucial in a nano tank. Ten gallons of water turns over considerably faster than a hundred gallon tank. You still won’t need as much plant food or fertilizer but the frequency will remain the same.
**Breeding Tanks/Planted**: You shouldn’t have to change much from your regular plant maintenance. The only thing I would suggest is being extra careful when vacuuming the substrate. You don’t want to vacuum up any fry that may have been hiding in the gravel. Also pay extra close attention to dead plant matter. Because plants hold onto fish food leftover debris can get caught up in the leaves and cause major ammonia spikes.
**Shrimp tanks/Planted**: Shrimp are very sensitive to water changes so your going to want to be extra careful during maintanence. Don’t vacuum up every inch of substrate you see. Remove dead plant matter as dead leaves will breakdown and cause copper spikes that can kill shrimp.
##Benefits of weekly plant tank maintanence
**Consistent Water Parameters**: Weekly maintenance will help your water parameters stay consistent from week to week. Many problems that occur with aquariums are due to major swings in water parameters. By staying on top of water changes and maintanence your fish will be less stressed and your biological filtration will be more stable.
**Algae Control**: Another benefit of performing weekly maintanence is algae prevention. If your parameters stay consistent and you remove all decaying plant matter you won’t have to deal with algae. It’s much easier to prevent algae than it is to clean a tank full of green water or cyanobacteria.
**Improved Plant Growth**: Healthy plants are another benefit of weekly water changes and maintanence. Plants that are regularly cared for will grow faster, have better root systems and be more resistant to diseases.
**Less stressed fish**: Who doesn’t want happier healthier fish? By keeping your water parameters stable and your aquarium clean your fish will show better colours, display natural fish behaviors and have better immunity.
**Save money**: Performing weekly maintanence may seem like a hassle but it can save you money in the long run. Water changes and plant care can prevent fish and plant die offs and you won’t have to replace equipment as often because your tank will stay stable.
**Cleaner tanks longer**: An aquarium that receives maintanence once a week will look like you just set it up that way three months ago. algae outbreaks, parameter crashes and dead fish are all things that can cause you to completely restart your aquarium.
##Implementing your new weekly schedule
Like any hobby there is a learning curve when trying to keep up with a maintanence schedule. The first week of performing maintanence will take you much longer than the 1-2 hours the schedule I provided will take. As you become more familiar with the equipment your maintanence will become easier and quicker.
_Phase 1: Planning & Prep (10-15 minutes)_
The first thing you should do before touching anything in your aquarium is look. Take a few minutes and chek your aquarium over. Are your plants healthy? Is there algae growing on the glass? How are your fish behaving? Next, test your water parameters if you’re the type of person that likes to keep track of trends. Finally, gather all your equipment you’ll need for maintanence.
Pale or translucent colored plants. Unusual fish behavior. Cloudy water. Algae growth.
Pruning scissors – £8-15
Algae scraper – £5-10
Water siphon/vacuum – £10-20
_Phase 2: Plant Care & Trimming (15-20 minutes)_
First things first remove any dead or dying plant material. If you have any stem plants that need trimming go ahead an trim them back now. You don’t want to remove more then 1/3 of the plant at a time. Not leaving enough foliage on your plants will set them back weeks and lead to algae problems. Use you algae scraper to remove algae from your plants leaves. (Some aquarist prefer to use sponge algae pad to remove algae from plants.) Once your done trimming return any floating stem plants that may have come loose during trimming.
Black mushy leaves. Algae growing on the leaves of your plants. Pale stem plants that are leggy and reaching for light. Plants that look like they are melting from the bottom of the leaves up.
CO2 test kit (only if you dose CO2) – £8-12
Plant algae scrubbing tool – £5-15
_Phase 3: Water Changes & Management (20-25 minutes)_
Now it’s time to vacuum your substrate around your plants. Be careful not to suck up any plants while your at it. Remove 20-50% of the water from your tank and replace it with dechlorinated water of the same temperature. When your done replacing the water add your liquid fertilizers. If you use dry fertilizers you can pre-dose them before you remove any water from the tank.
Any floating debris left over from vacuuming that doesn’t sink. Odd smells coming from your substrate. Really hard spots that your vacuum won’t budge while cleaning your substrate.
Substrate vacuum – £12-25
Water testing kit supplies – £5-10/month
_Phase 4: Equipment Cheque & Lights (5-10 minutes)_
If needed wipe down the filter intake and outtake. Cheque your CO2 system to make sure everything is running smoothly. You should also chek your lighting timer to ensure it’s set correctly. If you have any algae buildup on your lights now would be a great time to wipe them down. I like to write down anything I did to my tank while performing maintanence. I keep a notebook next to my tank and jot down any changes I make.
Decreased water flow from your filter. CO2 bubble rate has either increased or decreased. Your lights appear dimmer then normal.
CO2 bulb refill – £15-25 every 2-3 months
Equipment/qt cleanup supplies – £5-10
_Phase Total: 50-80 minutes | Budget: £116-214_
Keep in mind your weekly maintenance will only take you 45-60 minutes if your tank is mature and stocked appropriately. Setup and new tanks may take you closer to 2 hours. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t get everything done in one sitting. The important thing is you’re performing weekly maintanence. Your plants and fish will reward you with a healthier happier aquarium that’s easier to maintan then you could ever imagine.
