# Lots of new growth!!



## steel1212 (Feb 21, 2006)

I just recently started doing 50% water changes on my tanks and switched from seachem's stuff to dry ferts. Man has the growth gone through the roof! I did the water changes on all 3 of my tanks last night and then went to work today and came back and I can visiably see growth in my ludwigia, Alternanthera , rotala, and Hygrophila! I used to never do water changes on a fish only tanks...fish seemed ok so I never did them. Definatly never did 50% ones! I know I know I'm a [smilie=e: 

Side note. Because I never used to do water changes my nitrates are still high should I not be doseing nitrates until they come down?


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## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

Yeah I have the noticed the same with my tank. Just much more happier the tank is with freshwater.

Which ferts are you using btw?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Plants use nitrates pretty fast, so if you have a lot of fast growing plants, and they are doing well, you can deplete the nitrates if you don't dose them, or if the fish don't cooperate and supply enough. The same is true, to a lesser degree for phosphates and traces. It would be interesting to know how much light you have, what CO2 you use, etc.


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## steel1212 (Feb 21, 2006)

4 watts per gallon of PC on the 92, 3 watts per gallon on the 75 PC/floresent, 3.2 of PC on the 30. Right now I have 2 DIY on the 92 with ladders, 1 DIY on the 75 with a ladder and, 1 DIY with a wood stone on the 30. I'll be going compressed on the 92 and eventually on the 75.


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## steel1212 (Feb 21, 2006)

skinns said:


> Yeah I have the noticed the same with my tank. Just much more happier the tank is with freshwater.
> 
> Which ferts are you using btw?


Greg Watson's ferts.


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## steel1212 (Feb 21, 2006)

Ok explain something else to me. My 30 has just brown gravel for substrate where my 92 and 75 have flourite. Other than that they are the same. Well the plants in my 30 are developing big wide leaves where the plants in the 92, same plants mind you, just have small leaves. Is this due to the plants getting most of their nutrients from the substrate? My 30 also has only been setup since the gcas swap meet.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

steel1212 said:


> Ok explain something else to me. My 30 has just brown gravel for substrate where my 92 and 75 have flourite. Other than that they are the same. Well the plants in my 30 are developing big wide leaves where the plants in the 92, same plants mind you, just have small leaves. Is this due to the plants getting most of their nutrients from the substrate? My 30 also has only been setup since the gcas swap meet.


I imagine your 30g is a lot shorter than the 75 and 92g tanks so they may ust be getting more light. Plants will get most if not all of their nutrients from their leaves if you are adding fertilizers to the water column so the substrate doesn't really plany a role except to hold the plants down  Flourite and similar plant substrates do come in handy in those cases when you forget to dose.


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## steel1212 (Feb 21, 2006)

Yeah it shorter...by about a foot lol.


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