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Plnated tank and water changes/cleaning

Cleigh9579

Cleigh9579

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I am thinking of planting my axies tank, I currently have the plants in small pots with gravel and large stones over them with the substrate in the tank is pure sand. I am looking into planting the tank using Eco Complete with a sand layer over the top.

My question is with the plants in the tank and the evaporation rate do you still do water changes? My tank evaporates 1-2 gallons a week. It is a 20 gal long.

Also I know plants use poo as fertilizer. Do you use the turkey baster to suck up the poo and then push it into the soil and deposit it for the plants? Or do you just remove it as normal?
Thanks
 
JessKB

JessKB

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Evaporation does not remove waste from the tank. You have to physically remove water ever week. With a heavily planted tank you can do smaller less frequent water changes. But water changes are still important for the plants and the axolotl. I would skip the ecocomplete. A Walstad tank is a better route. Read this tutorial. It's doing what you're already doing, only in a way that is better for plants than just sand.
 
jdlqh8

jdlqh8

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I have a Walstad tank and it works wonderfully! I leave the waste in there but still do regular water changes, just less frequently. In addition to the "typical Walstad" tank I put an extra layer of pond rocks on top of the soil to keep it down and keep the axolotls away from the soil. All the rocks are far to big to fit in their mouths so it helps with both keeping the plants securly rooted and keeping the axolotls away from the soil.

Also keep a very close eye on water chemistry. Ammonia is the big one, but also if you are doing less freaquent water changes, watch for Nitrates too. If Nitrates are always building up then you don't have enough plants to suck up all the Nitrates.

Good luck with your tank!
 
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