On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 23:51:49 -0400, "Bill Stock"
wrote:

I've read about people spending half an hour a week (or less) maintaining
their planted tanks. I simply don't frickin believe it! Either they live in
a perfect world or they're doing an awful lot of daily maintenance that's
not being included in the weekly total.

I spend about 45 minutes a week on the GF tank alone, which does not include
the monthly filter cleanings. Just the basic algae scrub, gravel vac and
water change. The planted tank is probably about half an hour, but it should
be a lot more and it's starting to show. If I ever tear it down and build a
real aquascape, I could see spending two hours a week on it.

Today for instance, I did the algae scrub, extended gravel vac (BGA
outbreak), filter clean and larger than normal water change. This probably
took an hour or so. Then I spent another hour disinfecting the floating
plants in Permanganate and doing the same for the large Pagoda (Loach
hideout). This time doesn't include any plant maintenance, other than
scrubbing off the BGA before the gravel vac. Then tonight I'm walking past
the basement door and hear one of the pumps cavitating. Damn, go to check it
out and notice how dirty the glass canopy has gotten. I can't believe I
didn't notice it earlier, so I grab the scrubber and attempt to remove the
white crap. It wouldn't touch it this time. OK, time for the vinegar. Half
an hour later I had the glass pretending to be clean again. But the damn
pump is cavitating again...

So what's your REAL maintenance schedule and tips.

P.S. This post is somewhat tongue in cheek for the humour challenged.


I think two things will cause maintenance time to vary:

First, what is acceptable varies from person to person.

I like the wild look and let the plants grow as they will. I remove
dead leaves and move plants around no more than every 2 months if
then.

Second, what steps taken to prevent maintenance.

For instance, the mineral buildup is unsightly. I use to battle it,
but then made a choice. I decided to stop putting air in my tank.
The bubbles at the surface are the source of the mineral deposits and
also the cause of another nuisance, a green growth on the bottom of
the top glass above the bubbler. The breaking bubbles were keeping
the bottom of the glass wet and nurturing the growth. No bubbles, no
growth.

Having a variety of scavengers and controlling the hours of light help
to keep algae growth down.

I have a low light ratio and low light plants, no CO2 or fertilizers.

I do change 20% water twice weekly with a python for the 2 large tanks
and a 2 gallon bucket for the three 10 gallon tanks. It takes an hour
and 30 minutes to change the 5 tanks water, so 3 hours a week minimum
for all 5 tanks.