"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...
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.
[snip]
5 tanks: 1 30-G long, 2 20-G longs, 2 10-Gs

Vac gravel and replace about 20% water once per month.
Do light pruning at that time. Next to Zero daily/weekly
maintenance. Once in awhile I'll remove a floating leaf or
a yellowed leaf if I happen to notice it. I do get some
floating algae that will clog the filter intakes & about once
a week or so I remove that with my fingers. If you
call that "maintenance", fine.

Except for the brackish 10-G, glass is clear (thanks to
snails & otos). Stocking is average or low (only 2 fish
in the brackish tank). All are heavily planted. No CO2
injection. Power filters on the side (most have no
filter media inside, just the biowheel). Bubble wands
on a schedule on three of the tanks, running at night
when lights are off. 30-G bubble wand runs 24/7.

It's been like this for about a year. Minimal fish loss,
water parameters very good to excellent. New fish
are quarantined in an Eclipse 6 for 3-4 weeks.

I credit the low maintenance needs to:
1) average to low stocking of *small* community
tropical fish (my largest is a 3" YoYo loach)
2) lots and lots of mostly low maintenance plants
(crypts, Java Fern, etc.) (substrate is Schultz
Aquatic Plant Soil, aka Profile, with gravel on top
except the 30-G - I haven't converted that yet so
plants are growing in gravel)
3) Snails helping with cleanup.

Gail