Don't Be MISLED By These YouTube Videos
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 เม.ย. 2023
- There's been some videos uploaded recently that have delivered information that doesn't apply to all fish keepers and can lead to a ton of heartache for some that follow it.
In this video John breaks down these strategies and explains why not all fish keepers should follow them.
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Well said
There's no way I'm going to be buying my plants from you.
I dread to think what the shipping would be to the UK! EEEK!
😆
Also from the UK 😂 I have always had heavily planted tanks before they became popular. I still filter them and do water changes roughly fortnightly. I use the same principle in my tanks to all my past pond builds. Which is to fill them with two thirds of plants to water capacity space, lightly stock and wait for the magic to happen. Of course this also leads to nonstop pulling out of excess plant growth in the following years. But it's all part of life's rich tapestry in a pond or indoor gdning glass box... 😁
@@pencilpauli9442😂 fortunately Tropica plants are pretty easy to find in the UK and Europe in general. It isn’t so in the US. I’m always happy to see more shops offer Tropica products 🌱
Any plants that can be kept with Oscars?
Father Fish says "stop doing water changes" but he also explains how to set up your tank so you don't have to in that same video. These channels aren't just saying "stop doing water changes" They usually go into more depth than that and explain why and how it works.
Exactly, it’s like he didn’t even watch the video. Father Fish spends 75% of the video talking about his method to set up a new tank.
And you guys didnt listnen to the rant.
He explains how these videos are understood by lazy people. And how they only hear the part that they dont have to do waterchanges.
And just like how you didnt heard all that is told cause you allready formed an opinion early on in the video.
The same way it works with those lazy people
They dont hear everything.
That's exactly what he said in the video. You're just repeating the entire idea in the video.
ok but people skimming through an md fishtanks vid who see NO WATER CHANGE ECOSYSTEM TANK arent smart enough to know what live plants do in a tank
He literally says "those youtubers are.... RIGHT" in the beginning. Perhaps you are a video skimmer 🤔
I thought he was going to rant about father fish.
But my respect has grown for him
Heard about the Father Fish method last Spring and set up a new 30 gallon tank one day. Grabbed some dirt from my garden and capped it with extra silica sand I had and set up a cheap Walmart light. A week later I established a food web. Haven't touched it since besides feeding once a week or so. No water changes. No cleaning. Almost a year later now and it's the healthiest tank I own. All the plants are thriving, my cherry shrimp keep reproducing, and all the fish are happy and schooling together, and lots of microfauna life.
Did you use supplements
@@TwinCitiesOxygen I was thinking about the same question lol
I'm doing no-water-change tanks, set up Walstad method with functional ecosystems. It's DEFINITELY NOT a method for most aquarium keepers and is highly dependent on the types of fish, substrate, plants, and an array of other factors. It takes knowledge of nature and how the various critters / plants (submerged/floating/emergent) / substrates interact to do it successfully and safely. I'm glad you're warning people not to just dive in to this method of fish-keeping without educating themselves. Seems this hobby always goes back to one thing - EDUCATION. Regardless of what method we're using, what fish we have, what plants we keep, and such - EDUCATION is key. 🙂
Nicely put Dawn, but let’s be honest there was some passive aggressive bullying going on against father fish. Either way good luck with your new set up..
@@josephdonnelly3169 Definitely on the bullying. The dog pile was ridiculous, as well as childish. Not a good look at all.
and its bad to their business
You couldn't have worded this video any better! I absolutely agree with every word you spoke!
After working in the aquarium industry for a 16 years or more you are so spot on.
Hopefully people who watch those videos see this video too.
Matt, love you channel and content also! Would love to hear your opinion to my above question.....Cheers!
Great advice Matt, love your channel and love the work you do with MD. 😊
I watch MD’s videos a bunch, yours and obviously KG tropicals! Love to see the support ❤️
Those no water change systems can be applied to all tanks, regardless of bright gravel or lack of plants. The key is they are not fed fish food. The food web grown through dried leaves do not care about what your tank looks like.
And how does "working in the industry" lends any wheigth too the point ? Somehow you felt the need to mention it so..... It is never a good argument what makes a good argument is presenting your evidence.
You did this much more humbly than I did 🤣👏
Lol the end where you said "I'm just kidding.... no I'm not" totally sounds like something I would say!!
Both of you guys and father fish really helped me through my first aquarium.
I want to know what (or who) ruffled these feathers! What channel? I wanna troll them!
Nope, he just put you and the other guy in their right place! 😂 By the way, I love my African Salts, Trace, Safe, etc. etc.!!!
@@KGTropicals You should have stressed that you cannot do a planted tank if you keep Oscars. I kept Oscars for years and it is my experience they will destroy anything in a tank that they can. I've had them break plastic resin decorations. You must do regular water changes with Oscars.
Live plants have nearly doubled the workload with my aquariums. Trimming, fertilizing, moving, water testing, etc. I love this kind of "maintenance", it is like going into my outside garden 365 days per year. Great video.
Basically, if you want to have a low maintenance tank, you need to create a well balanced self sustaining ecosystem.
about 10 years ago, I learned about the Waldstad method, and converted all my tanks to dirt capped with sand and very heavily planted .
not only do all my tanks have tons of stem plants, swords, crypts and other root feeders , they all also have mosses , java ferns , and other epiphytes plus floating plants...mostly duckweed . they all also have pothos, or peace lilies sticking out of them.
I use leaves from the trees on my land to feed all the micro fauna , scuds, whatever other tiny little squirmy creatures .
I do not fertilize my tanks and I only the feed the fish a little bit of flake food once a day , my tanks seem to be very excellent little slices of nature.
BUT, it rains in nature ! I have a well with really good water . once a week I drag 2 garden hoses into my house, 1 to drain the water outside to a little kitchen garden the other to fill the tanks back up with good fresh well water .
CHANGE YOUR WATER !
your plants will grow better with fresh water and your fish do not have to live in their on toilet water !
great video John !
also all my tanks have some type of filter on them , from sponge filters to canister filters .
What is a scud? I have heard people say it.. but theres no info I can find about it. Is a scud a useful thing? Someone was upset that they had it in their tank on one forum I read.
Being a fish keeper and a gardener is a great combo. You use that drained tank water to fertilize your garden that grows veggies you can feed back to your fish. Circle of life.
Not sure about no ferts, some of my plants (hygrophila, rotala) would show deficiency on their leaves. I agree with the rest wholeheartly.
I started my largest tank (189 gallon, 714 l) in a similar way to Waldstad, but with two canister filters. The tank water has better chemical parameters than tap water, so usually it's about 3 months between water changes. More often with other tanks. Also I clean sponge pre-filters when trimming, which is about 2 weeks.
Hearing about micro fauna, I'd always soak oak or almond leaves in boiling water, but now I do wonder.
@@globalist1990 You may need to change the water if a fish dies in such a way that you don't notice until the N levels are reading high. That's the only reason I've ever had to change water in a Walstad tank.
I still do maintenance on my heavily planted tanks every other week, but mostly to deal with things like detritus, algea, and poop. I have a goldfish tank with lots of anubias and java fern and it always amazes me that even if I clean out the filter and it turns the water black, I'm never over 5ppm in nitrates. Plants are amazing!
you're removing the most important part
True, but if you would have soil based substrate and plant carpet all over the bottom, you would not have to remove poop and detritus, a) you wound not be able to, cause you can't vacuum substrate covered by plants b) you would not see those poops because substrate is covered by plants. So even in high tech planted aquarium you would not be doing that much of cleaning, only water changes sometime. Ah I forgot how much gold fish poop :-) may be they can even pool the plants over :-)
@@4ohm531 Eden has gold fish mate... now I remember what those are, they poop too much and they eat soft plants and dig substrate too. They would not let poop settled anyway, it would be flying over the place.
That would be a bit on the low end though.
I use the Walstad method in all of my tanks, even the 5 gallon. The only water changes I do (and I definitely them in this case) is when a fish dies. My tanks are very heavily planted, so I often don't know a fish has died until I check the ammonia. It seems to me, at least, that a tank with no plants is the more difficult tank to maintain. The biggest difficulty I have is trying to keep the plants trimmed.
In my opinion this was how this video should be done and regardless of your reasons for doing this the people that matter the viewers now have a video that truly helps them with this subject great job John
There are other ways to set up an aquarium instead of putting the substrate directly on the bottom, which is how we are taught to set one up. I wish more youtubers with subscribers would speak more about this. my aquariums run anoxic filtration and it does change how the eco system works. They are easy to set up, and once the system is working very little is needed to maintain it. Updating the knowledge in the hobby is key for everyone to be successful.
I've finally been able to go with 0 water changes on my 10g betta tank. 1 betta, 1 mystery snail, TONS of plants. I only top off once a month. Check parameters every 2 weeks. The tank has been set up for 1.5 years and it took awhile to figure out the correct balance of plants, waste, and ferts. It's possible but you MUST understock fish and overstock plants!
John,
Very well said. It is so true people watch those videos and get confused on does this apply to me. I have a 20 long and my 55 gal that is stocked with plants. They certainly help a lot. I have to do water change about every 2 weeks. I test ammonia and nitrites and nitrates. I change when my nitrates are getting high off the plants didn't take care of it. Appreciate the video jobs
The best thing about you is you are spot on without offending someone. Those video are confusing for beginners.
Great topic. I'm surprised you didn't cover the rest though. Such as: "How do I know when I need to do that occasional water change in my heavily planted, low maintenance tank?" The answer is of course through periodic testing. Even the most densely planted tanks will benefit from periodic water changes.
Yep. As a fish keeper you really can’t get away with eliminating all your weekly tasks. That weekly water testing is even more important if you are not doing a weekly water change.
A couple weeks ago i came across one of these videos with a title like you mentioned. It was from Father Fish channel. I was hooked and watched a bunch of his videos, and learned so much! Ive had aquariums for 2 years, but he opened up a new world to me! He gave me a deeper understanding of how to make an ecosystem in am aquarium, and it was very clear to me that to have lots of plants were essential. I wanted to try it, so when a kindergarden gave away a tank with an algea covered castle, danios, a few plants and sand in it, i decided to go for it. I added a layer of soil under the sand, added a root and lots of plants. So far the fish are looking very happy.
I will use this one and the 60liter as grow out tanks for plants, so that i continually have plants that i can add to my 300liter american cichlids tank. The cichlids eat and mess with the plants so they dont last very long.
I dont know which channels you are talking about specificly, but i can recommended Father Fish, and watching alot of his videos to get well rounded knowledge on this method before trying it out.
Most of those I've watch who discuss the "No filter/No water changes" are very careful in the video to be specific about what is required. For example: I cannot speak to Father Fish, but others I've noticed do mention that having a filter when beginning is a good idea because it gives you wiggle room.
Father fish never claimed to keep a heavily overloaded tank, with only one plant, and just gravel…and not do water changes. He’s upfront in what should be going into aquariums so they basically take care of themselves. Soooo
try anubias or african water fern for your cichlids, they’re durable and like the same perimeters!
Yes Father Fish is awesome. He is very clear in the requirements. I just found his channel yesterday myself and was interested in trying that method on a spare 10 gallon i have.
For anyone who doesn't wanna watch the full video, the TLDR is: THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS (like with almost everything). Setting up a self sustaining tank can take a bit more work but it pays off in the long run. I finally just got my tank and will be trying this. Fingers crossed it all goes well!
1 inch of dirt, yes dirt, any dirt with good supplements..then 2 inches sand, add plants, then carefully add water, let clear and add fish
If it's making more work for you, you're not doing it right.
The main thing I've noticed about the no water change systems is a) it is almost always experienced fish keepers and b) it isn't always truly no change. But nuances like that are lost on the average person.
I have two tanks where my eventual goal is minimal water changes and no filter. But that is the long term goal. Both have filters and I did a water change on one yesterday because the nitrates were getting high.
I love how all the fish keepers I follow on TH-cam have the same advice to this
YES! Plants, plants, and more plants. Goes for ponds too! Healthy growing plants clean water!
I started fish keeping about 4 years ago and you've guided me all the way through it. I definitely would have messed up without yours and some others videos. Love from across the pond ❤
Great video, John! And right on point! I hve a 29 gallon community tank, moderately stocked with a ton of plants and I absolutely love it. I've always loved a well-planted aquarium. I still do water changes every 2 weeks. But, this week I had surgery and didn't feel up to doing a water change tis week. But, I know that because of my plants and filters I have nothing to worry about. I keep checking my water parameters 2 or 3 times per week just to make sure. I even have a 5 gallon tank set up for cherry shrimp only, and it's well planted...very little maintenance needed. Can't imagine not using lots of live plants....they really make the aquarium for me! Thanks!
Also worth mentioning, don’t just throw a bunch of plants in a tank and assume you are good now. You need to still be checking your levels weekly(or more if you fish seem sick) and you may find that it’s impossible to get to plant to fish ratio that is perfect.
Honestly if you keep a tank, just assuming you are committing to a weekly water change is your best bet. They don’t take very long to do for one tank and you are far safer putting in some clean treated water weekly then relying on your plants to do all the work.
I have a ton of plants and still got an ammonia spike when I had filter issues.
I set my tanks up , they are all pretty much jungles many unfiltered. Once they are set I don't check anything.
I breed many so called challenging or expert fish in this environment..But I have been at it for 30 years.
Newbies should stick to basics and learn from that.
To that I would add know your fish. As examples, gourami, most cichlids, and plecos are known to be messy. Although it should be noted that most cichlids and plants don't mix well with plants anyway. You have a closed system, and you have to be sure your system will be able to handle the load you are putting on it.
Very sound advice... But I think as he mentioned in the video that the group that those videos are (supposedly) aimed at, is probably essentially everyone that is writing in the comment section of this video. Not sure which video creators he's referencing specifically now, but those that I watch are enthusiastically talking about creating eco systems in the aquarium. Unless you only read the title in those videos and watch at any length it's the take-away message of those videos; creating a sound and balanced ecosystem in such a small place is good and beneficial to all its inhabitants _to the extent that water changes may disrupt it somewhat, rather than help it_ . I think it's difficult to have any other possible take-away message, if you watch the video. In order to create the conditions necessary to make a tank without water changes, and perhaps even without a filter as I've seen a few do, certain criteria needs to be met that we in the "comment section of this video"-crowd will take a lot of care, caution, attention, patience, and persistence to make sure we'd get it right.
The only real example of the contrary is KeepingFishSimple, and he highlights this in his video _"How to Breed 1000's of Cherry Shrimp!"_ by showing success through stopping with water changes, and not even having a substrate. The TL;DR is basically that leaving it be without doing too much helps the shrimp to survive due to a more stable environment. And that's the point -- making a stable environment. However, that tank is 50% java moss with a bit of coral at the bottom, even though he doesn't touch enough on the importance of the functioning of an ecosystem in the tank.
Anyway, I'm not being contrarian, I felt like expanding upon what you wrote. I do wish, however, that fish as pets would get a much higher status. What you write is true, these are live animals that need care and attention!
Your talking about father fish whom has a tank that been set up for over 20 years. And has been doing aquariums before most of us was pooping in our diapers. The man knows his stuff. He has never said you don’t need to do water changes if the need arises. But if your ammonia or other stuff is not out of whack why would you do a water change if it’s not needed. He even said sometime when stuff gets out of balance you need to do a water change. And all these chemicals people are adding to the water. Does nature add chemicals to get rid of algae or to add bacteria? Nah. But nature does replenish water. So water changes or topping up is useful. But water changes had its cons as well.
You are right, Father Fish is one of the TH-camrs who go out of his way to explain a no water change tank.
There is two problems.
First off, for each Father Fish type, there is ten other TH-camrs who emulate their videos and doesn't include vital information.
And second, and even more important, most people don't watch entire videos, ESPECIALLY if they are information heavy.
They come to the 30 second mark, where Father Fish or whichever video maker say they haven't done a water change in a year... of 10 or 20 years, or whatever, and they stop watching and stop doing water changes!
Even though they might need it very much!
I totally agree. I have live plants but this only makes my water changes less frequent. Your aquascape looks great! Looking forward to seeing you add fish.
I run an entire fishroom with multiple species in a similar way to what father fish does very few water changes some tanks get none at all, just top offs I have a different dirt mix under my sand and it changes depending on species but ive kept fish 35 years and the best thing I ever did was switch over to the natural method the fish and shrimps are doing so much better, its easier to maintain the tanks are all stable the fish are breeding and growing the plants are growing well I only run sponge filters and air stones but people need to do the research and learn and take it slow to start with.
There is nothing misleading about FatherFish (and others) tutorials; he/they goe in-depth about the steps to follow and the philosophy behind their way of taking care of aquariums. So, no, he and others are not misleading us; they are, on the contrary, leading us to a better path.
totally agree
19999% agree
Finally someone talks about this, i always tell people that are new to the hobby to get live plant no matter what size their tank is, could you do a heater video too? Ii have seen so many saying we don't need them but they don't seem to understand that when you live in colder climates like in Norway, Canada or Alaska the are very usefull in the months of winter..
Hello John,
I like Your video very much, and I agree with You 100%.
I have two identical tanks in size with identical substrate (only color are different), partial identical plants (real plants, no plastic) and same kind of filtration. In one, I did gravel vacuum, in the other one none since the aquarium is established (5 years ago). With the aquarium where I did not touch the gravel, all was ok (in the years, the water was crystal clear without any suspension). On the other hand, in the tank where I do vacuum the gravel, I had problems with cloudy water and suspensions particle. The difference: fish and shrimp density. And yes, I did water change every week.
Even my heavy planted tank gets 80% water change every Saturday 😅 I actually look forward to the work.. no special equipment Just me some buckets and a siphoning hose 😅
Hi KG Tropicals! I am a big fan and subscriber of your channel, as well as of the other not mentioned in the video and regarding the topic today. I just want to say how appreciative I am of the integrity and awesomeness of how you have approached it. You're correct that people dont actually watch the videos and listen to the methods being used. I've seen many videos reference that the systems aren't for large or specific fish, but few get that far. So, I appreciate y'all and your channel was my first TH-cam addiction. I hope you ship to Canada at some point, I would love to purchase from KG Tropicals! Much love ❤
I'd love to have the option of being able to purchase from KG, too. Maybe one day? I buy from US often. I know there's alot of bs for businesses when shipping across the border. Sure that's not the only downside, but I've been party to the bs when customs get involved. Albeit either country allows small business to flourish. Absolutely maddening all around.
Excellent comment!
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦✌️
Great video! Love you both! You were the first videos I watched when I got into the hobby a few years ago and your advice never failed me. Always balanced and fair.
I am in the phase where I am doing a ton of research before starting my first tank. Considering the mixed messaging, I really think what it comes down to is that there are multiple styles of aquarium keeping. And each style has different "best practices" where mixing and matching husbandry between them throws things off. So the hard part is figuring out which advice suits the type of aquarium you have/want to keep. I'm still deciding myself which path I will take.
I agree with this. I have a mix of live plants and decor along with mopani wood and only need to do water changes every week and a half. Of course, I only have 1 betta in the tank. As long as people do their required research on taking care of the tank they want and know how to do it properly, they should be fine.
Regardless of path, the science says nitrates are not good for your fish long term. The most important thing you do is test your water to make sure they stay low. How low is still up for debate, but I'd say 40ppm is about as high as you want to go given the choice. Your chosen path may lead you down to the heavily planted, deep substrate route. That path will have its own benefits and challenges. It might, if done correctly, allow you to go long periods of time without doing a water change, but it's something you'll still have to monitor. The plants will eventually use up all the nutrients within the closed system. Fish will help add them back in, but waste is just one ingredient. You can't bake a cake with one ingredient, and you can't have a healthy eco system with just one either. The fish you go with will also factor into the equation. Nano fish are easy on the Scape. Cichlids far less so. If you get big earth movers, your dirt that you spent so much time onbburying beneath the sand cap will all be piled in a corner come morning. Plants will be eaten or buried. It's all relative in what you want to do as a fish keeper.
@@Whips_World thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Why are Kaveman Aquatics and you attacking the lazy? LOL! Both of you are right! As I mentioned under Kaveman's video, everybody has their own unique tank and one size does not fit all. A rock and gravel well stocked African Cichlid tank can have a deep substrate but will never have a successful abundance of plants to help with nitrate reduction. Very different from a "dirted-sand capped" deep substrate tank with neons, snails and shrimp. It's a fluid situation with lot's of moving parts. Gotta think and act based on the circumstances of each tank. Good message. Now, let's talk about my getting a hold of some of those plants ;)
Love your channel you and Lisa do. Straight to the point with things.. this water change in the uk is mega. So many people here say you should never test your tanks, change water etc…. It’s almost like a book and you have to do everything by it.. I have watched your videos over the years and I always say like you … if it suits you then it works. I have loads of fx6’s rather than a sump. I also run 6 of them on my new 1400 litre tank. At present isn’t massively stocked but will be . People are like well that’s over the top blah blah but it works for me
There's drama in the fish community???? what the...🙂
Oh there sure as heck is. 😂
You should see the drama in the dog show community! I think it's human nature, unfortunately.
There's drama anywhere humans are involved 😅
Trolls are jerks! I deal with trolls all the time. I tell people who I hang out with about trolls in the fish community. They're everywhere , they're everywhere!!!! If new people come over here and say bad things about me, it wasn't me.
Hahahahhahahha i literally follow both and saw one video after another
Can't wait for the live tonight. I made a comment on here earlier and was attacked when I was simply agreeing. We are trying to build a bridge in the community of salt water and fresh water and NOW freshwater has split into sides. I'm not thick skinned enough for some of this. I just want to be a good fishkeeper and be part of the community, it would be awesome to share without the attacks and snark responses. I learn so much from you and Lisa and feel as we are friends. I truly learn from all of your videos and appreciate your hard work and thick skin.
This is one of the best videos I've seen this week, I've tried to explain this to some people and they just don't get it, I've even had people on the other end doing to many water changes on a planted tank and they wonder why they can't grow plants, they are probably a percentage that have watched videos saying water changes are essential every week and then wonder why their plants slowly die, Great video Thanks for sharing.
Love this video! Live plants look so much better than plastic. The only other things to consider is lighting and an all in one fertilizer. I use hornwort and sword plants, they are so easy to grow, especially since hornwort floats. I also have pretty plants in my more delicate setups. I have a petal tail marble Betta with dragon scale pattern in the mid section. I have 4 plants and he loves them all. He sleeps in the Brazilian pennywort. I rarely need to add fertz. The fluval flex comes with a great plant light built it.
Been following you and fatherfish throughout my fishkeeping journey.
Both of you have shown me wonderful tips and tricks.
I use my api water test kit weekly, i have a few plants in the tank, and some above the tank (monstera and pothos)
The best advise ive been given "always test your water" and "do your research before you start your aquarium"
You’re absolutely right. I also watched those other videos as a matter of fact today, then I just saw this video too. I’m definitely switching to more natural, adding plants because my nitrates were very high. Having a hard time getting to 5. I’m sitting at 40 and I was changing the water every 3 days. I will be testing tomorrow to see if the plants are taking care. Everything else is 0 ppm. My one tank was at 80, reason for the changes and added plants. I love my fish and I’m no longer digging the plastic anymore. Plants are acclimating, went through a bit of a melt but I’m seeing new growth, so I’m excited. Wish me and my fish luck. ❤
This is TOO True. I always make comments on No water changes & No Filter needed videos. I Rarely see tanks in Real life that is so well balanced that is manages itself. Most fish tanks are dirty and has Algae, but the owner still think they can do less work 🤷♂️
@@globalist1990 Too much of anything ends up being bad 🤷♂️🙂
Absolutely! IMO if he/they would just mention all that at the start of their videos (ie: a disclaimer) then the info they are providing would be far better understood and utilized in the correct and safe way! I personally have 6 planted tanks with mostly nano fish, however I still do small water changes every week or two to help keep my KH and PH balanced (as I tend to have crashes) and to replenish minerals etc. My fish seem to appreciate the fresh water and become more active after the changes. So… though I can appreciate and understand the ecosystem methods, I’ll continue doing “something in between” simply because it works for me! 😊 Well said John! 👍🏻
Totally unrelated, but you're lookin' leaner lately. Good for you! Thanks for the great content.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, John! Your response to “the drama” is refreshingly reasonable, honest, and factual.
BTW… super happy to see you’re now selling Tropica Plants 🌱😊
I love this. I am new to the fish obsession. I am learning as I go. Detailed information like this is very helpful. I have a 55 gallon that I am still landscaping with live plants. I had fake stuff and driftwood in there before and the driftwood got some weird fluffy fungus-looking stuff on it. Shortly after, most of my fish died. I’ve removed the driftwood and I’ve replaced the substrate to accommodate live plants. It’s hard to find details on care and proper cleaning. Information like this is great. Of course, I am no where near not having to clean my tank. I have 2 plants. Haha. Im just glad to know there are still people who want it to be clear and recognizes that some people aren’t there yet when it comes to maintaining ecosystems rather than just fish tanks.
Everybody’s getting on this and I’m glad some people are starting to speak up because it’s just not applicable to most of us like me who owns African cichlids.. great video
Great information, will give people a better understanding of why they need to do water changes, and certain types of aquariums set ups
I was just starting to talk about exactly these problems on 'one of the big cooperative, aquarium social media pages' and guess what? People got offended and completely missed the point. So, what happened, you may ask? My comments were removed and I was reminded of group rules (which i followed)!!! Love your content, and you seem to be on par with my frustrations.
Wow a TH-camr, who explains athe whole story and not just click bait...great episode!
Thanks John and Lisa. Words of wisdom.👍
I'm thinking of doing a matten filter with Elodea behind it for my South American Cichlids tank. Hopefully it will help with nitrates
What I like about Father Fish is that I’m only setting up a 5 gallon
Betta tank again after loosing my 20 gallon due to the hurricane in 2022 with doing a water change after having it 3 years the city just dumped in clorimine by the tons and my prime didn’t do anything. I was so mad I threw out everything vowing never to have another tank. I’ve done fish tanks off and on since 1980’s. I had just starting watching on no filter tanks and soil tanks before my loss. I’ve watched your channel for 2 years. I’m not ever going to do anything over 20 gallons if that ever. I’m 73. But I can’t lift back he buckets anymore for a load of water. Father fish showed I was over feeding my fish and that betta cannot digest any flake food with fillers. Only shrimp or bloodworms. I need confidence once more to get back into small tanks. I will continue to watch your channel now due to becoming interested once again. Thank you and your wife. 🥰🫶💕
I'm glad to hear this. I hope the planted aquarium movement gains traction. I don't do things as purely as the "Walstad Method," but I do heavily plant my aquariums and it really helps and also makes them pop! I prefer using Ecocomplete substrate, a good light, and a HOB filter. I usually add a small bubbler on a timer too. I tried using real soil once and it was too messy. I'll try again some day in the future.
It would be great, if you were into it, if you'd make a video where you ad a bog filter aka refugium full of plants to your cichlid tank system, so people can see how they could do that at home and what a benefit it could be to them. Plants really make such a huge difference in the amount of water changes needed. There's still work involved, but it's a great reduction.
100% you nailed it thank you so much for setting that straight so people might get it, because the other way will make them quite the hobbie when the tank crashes,without alot of plants you have to do water changes period.
Spot on John! Love your honesty !! Love from Denmark
Bravo on this video! A well thought through tank design and fish choices can dramatically reduce how much maintenance you have to do on it.
People don't realize that it takes a lot of time effort money and patience to set up and no water change tank to begin with. Not to mention it's different for each species of fish for the ecosystem that they need in order to thrive. I have well over $2500 invested even using cheap equipment and recycled equipment before I was able to achieve a no water change system for my African cichlid tank. And that's just in the equipment and set up to sustain that ecosystem continually. Not including the cost of the tank, lighting, and DIY aquarium stand that I built to house everything. Not to mention hundreds of hours before everything was worked out, set up, and running leak free and with all the kinks worked out in a way that could support the amount of fish I have in that tank, support the microfauna, submerged and emerged plants, and other things,that make up the ecosystem, custom plumbing, etc. And all this for a tank that is only 125 gallons. Now mind you the system that I built could probably support a small pond but still. But after much hard work and dedication it was achieved. The only water change that happens to that tank is evaporation top off. My Africans are not only thriving but breeding yet have not had a water change in two years outside of top off once it was finished and not only are they breeding but even the fry are thriving and I have multiple generations in that tank minus the ones that I've either sold or culled . It evaporates about 5 gallons per week. And that's all the water that is added; equating to only 2.125 full water changes per year.
Even so I still have to clean out my sump pre-filter. And twice a year I pulled the media from the sump and vacuum any detritus accumulation from the bottom.
Twice a year I also disassembled the uv unit and clean the bulb.
Then there's the basic tank maintenance. You still have to keep it clean and vacuum any build up in your sand, and clean accumulated algae if you have any. I still have to maintain and clean the pre-filter built into the tank to make it Fry safe when I have brooders.
So either way there is still maintenance on the tank. It's just low and I mean very low maintenance but there's no such thing as a NO maintenance aquarium.
And anyone that thinks there is is deceiving themselves.
I agree with John not all people have the aquarium set up like the ones you see on youtube I have 3 tanks and I do weekly water changes on 2/::: my 10 and 20 gallon they are smaller and one has no plants the other tank have a few plants but not many .. till spring ,, my 3rd tank 55 gallon is heavy planted with crypts and and anubias and swords plants and i clean that ever 2 weeks ,,,my fishbbstays healthier and happier after water changes plus i am happy and it is my therapy time when i work on my tanks
Real talk. Each method is like a different tool. They can be used in different applications. One love
My cichlid tanks always have tons of floating plants. Water hysteria is my fav. We are talking 1 to 2in thick. I use the Water current to direct it and keep it were I want. As far as I'm concern they can chew on all they want..lol. The corner of most accumulation has dedicated lighting for strong growth. I use the shadows to add to the aquascaping look. And yes, Water changes are a great replenishing and cleansing source that's eventually necessary at all levels.
Love it. I have a 30 gallon with a bunch of plants, one betta one nerite snail and some kuhli loaches (not sure how many, they’ve apparently breed) that I maybe do water changes on once every 3-4 months. Then I have my axolotl tanks that get weekly to biweekly water changes. And then there are all my other various aquariums that are also planted and lightly stocked, but not quite to the extent of the Beta tank, and are kind of in the middle as far as water changes.
The great thing about live plants is that you can buy a small live plant or plants and watch it grow into that more expensive plant you saw.
This had to be said. You really need to know what you are doing to create a self-sustained ecosystem. This could be especially bad for beginners who believe things like catfish will remove other fishes waste from the bottom of the aquarium... to be fair, it was 1990, and there was no internet to tell me it doesn't work that way.
All good points, though I have no idea which videos you are referring to. All the ones I have seen with those kinds of titles made it very clear that they were building heavily planted ecosystems and took the time to explain the whole process. I am always happy to see more plants being pushed in the hobby for water quality rather than just Aquascaping. Heck, I've got a huge Peace Lilly growing in the filter of my Mbuna Tank (so it can be done even for tanks where the fish destroy plants).
your 30 second car in the garage explanation is better than most videos about the nitrogen cycle. Nice job
Completely agree, I love my planted tank and yes there are ways to do “eco” tanks but I’m sure I even asked Alex from living history from his video about it, and he did say also your water source comes in to play for it to work. But for most I would say even small water changes are good idea, but also you need to know what your source water is like, I.E some can have high nitrates in out the tap .
Such a great video. I don't even watch those videos as i know i don't have the type of tanks or developing eco systems in my tanks. I'm adding more houseplants now that they are being stocked at stores because I know as of now that is what i can handle and care for along with enjoy the look. I've gotten into driftwood and rocks. I'm not educated or confident enough for adding aquarium plants. And i enjoy doing my water changes.
Thanks for the clarity.
I feel like I can trust everything you say - because it has proved true over a great amount of time. Thanks.
If I did no water changes my goldfish would be dead in a couple months. Caveman's similar video inspired me to do a large water change yesterday and today my fish are spawning again. Great video.
because you dont have an ecosytem set up for them that takes care of their waste, thats the point of the video...
@Bobby Sauer it's setup better than I have ever had it before, all my tanks. That's just how I choose to keep them. I understand everything about it brother.
@@NorthLVLowRoller i also keepa few orandas, uv filter will save you if your bare bottom :)
Great video and loved that you didn't disrespect or mock Father Fish like the other clown did. Always respect and appreciate the elderly and more if he's full of wisdom and experience. Cheers 👍🏻
Like he was saying not everyone has that setup but if you do...
I see people already amping up the "beef". I had a FF/walstead setup but hated the way detritus and mulm looks so NOW I do frequent water changes and have sponge filters. It's all about the balance the fishkeeper has and what they want to see happen with the tank.
@@sparrowsfish just saying if you had any mulm buildup you weren't doing it right
@JJR and that's why the challenge of no water changes. The balance is so delicate, and I'm not a pro! 😀
@@sparrowsfish well I recommend watching more Father Fish videos and you can also become a pro, because it's so simple! Just let nature take the wheel. We keep ecosystems, not aquariums or Fish tanks
@@jjr2568 what's the trick to get rid of the mulm in the bottom?
I do think a lot of the people who would look at just the title and ignore everything else are also the same people who are already ignoring appropriate fish care in general anyway. I'm under no illusions about the reality of people and how they could interpret the info, or not do their research. But I'd also like to think that most will take it a step further and understand that there's work involved too. These methods, and the naturalistic fish keepers have been around and available this whole time, maybe longer than the rest of us in some cases, and I have faith in the fish keeping community for the most part to go further than the video title and scope out the science before abruptly stopping their maintenance.
YESSSSSSS........ ❤❤ aquarium without water change is a MYTH.. even though there can b a case where a stable ecology can b established with the help of Riparium plants . But, that set up too will need water change for plants & fish nutrients. The only way one can avoid water change in my opinion is if u automate water change in aquarium which I did for my planted display tank
You are correct in clarifying and providing the required information. Keep up the good work! Greetings from Greece!
Thank you for this video. I'm on my first ever fish tank (fluvial flex 15) and it's going to be a planted tank. It's been running for 2 days but I did not get my plants just yet. I'm binge watching all that I can to make sure I don't make any fatal mistakes.
This did not go how I thought it would 😂 I'm a huge fan of Father Fish, and my tanks are heavily planted, so I was waiting for you to be all critical and stuff. I actually liked this video a lot because you definitely drove the point home.
You said the name!!! 😂😂😂🙄🙄🙄
@@itisworthitifithelps sorry. I'm a big fan of He Who Must Not Be Named. Better?
@@Giftig--Daniel-P Yes!!! It makes two of us!!! 🙂
Our Father Fish just posted a masterful video responding to this trend!!! “A simple rule for water changes…..” Watch it!!!!!
@@itisworthitifithelps did, it's fantastic.
You are SO right.
Shifted to my "new" method, and are now at my second year without water changes, no CO2 and no fertilizers.
I have a shitload of plants, growning nicely, but not overly fast, and have a max. of 1cm fish per liter of water.
Almost NO algies (a little on the glass due to sun hitting the tank a hour a day), just enough for the fishes to eat of, and crystal clear water.
ONLY but/downside, is, that I don't need to put my hands in an manage as much anymore :-)
Im glad this is finally being addressed i mentioned this weeks ago wen it started
I have been using a hybrid walstad method with deep substrate for years. It's not just about not doing water changes. It's about creating a foodweb rather than an aquascape so that you don't have to do water changes unless completely necessary.
It also must include a heavy live plant load.
I would argue this method is actually more work than a typical setup.
I source everything from local ponds. Mud , sand , driftwood , all foraged.
You have to set up the food web and age the tank before even adding fish so you can get rid of any organisms you don't want.
I do maybe a 10% water change once a year. Otherwise it's only top ups.
I would like to say is this.
When you watch the videos looking for answers the videos give you a portion of what you are looking for. You still need to do your reading on the subject. It's hard to get everything in a 5 minute video. I would say even good videos just give you a starting point. You still need to do the work, and research .
Yes it's up to each person to do their own research.
Good video and I believe it's correctness, and Father fish is right about his way for keeping certain fish and natural eco system,but in a tank with no live plants and microscopic creatures helping as much like your oscar tank and african cichlid tanks you must do water changes at least weekly to manage the rise of the Nitrates to keep them at healthy levels
I'm a lazy fishkeeper. I do monthly or so water changes on an axolotle tank, semi yearly on a Platy tank with a slowely increasing population, and bi-monthly or so on a goldfish tank. They all have 3 things besides fish... plants, shrimp, and snails. I don't have it down to a science yet, but these 3 things are essential for me.
Love this video. I’ve been playing with no changes. I’ve added tons of plants. I’ve been able to keep my nitrates to around 20-40 ppm. I do still do changes from time to time as I test and see it too high. So yes. Gotta test. Gotta change some water as time goes on. Until those nitrates stay normally low. So it can be done. But he’s right. Gotta have plants.
Totally agree with you on this. Have seen many video on TH-cam with the same title and 5 mins in the video, i see a fully planted tank which I do not have lolz... Well, I do keep some simple plant in the tank to take care of the nitrate but i still do weekly water change cos i doubt the few plants i put in will get the job done on its own
I've always been into introducing plants into any aquarium I have.
Good video. I have a heavily planted tank (not Walstad) and definitely do not need to change water to lower nitrates, but the fish perk up everytime I do my weekly W/C/ It is not such a big deal to do.
I love my plants! I still do water changes because my tanks are small and one has frogs in it, I'd like to know more about the plants though, for me it's a hit or miss and I'm not sure if they need dirt? The three types of plants I have not only grow well but I have to trim them and give them away frequently, it's the grassy type plants that I would like to have but am unsure what the plant might need, I have one 4 gallon tank with just a male betta and an antique fishbowl that's mabey 6 gallons with a female betta and a couple of dwarf frogs. Will the grass grow in these?
Sorry to say that you are wrong. I have two Walstad set up, the first made in 2020, the second one year later. Dirt and gravel the first, dirt and sand the second. The only issue is to find people intereted in free plants! This year I have made a pair of small pond in the garden following the some guidelines and after a week plants has started to grow in an almost cristal clear water.
For me the Father Fish and Walstad metod are the way to go. If a tank need a filter is a fish lager.
Well done for the honesty - this absolutely needed to be said by a credbile influencer such as yourself.
Credible in what universe?
@@CoralReef69 Mine!
@@silverfox74 oh really? Where’s his bachelors degree in marine sciences? I don’t see one 🤡
You're right. A lady recently gave my wife and I a 55 gallon complete setup because she was tired of having to feed fish. Now it's on its way to being a planted tank
As a fairly new fishkeeper, I've been enjoying my planted tanks. I generally have been topping of my tanks once a week, and just been removing leftover food as needed. I also don't mind a little algae here and there to help convert nutrients. My ottos generally get to the algae at some point anyway.
You are 100% spot on in this video. People who take the hobby seriously are the minority for sure. Thinking about it, most of the fish that are swimming around in tanks have a horrible life. Pretty sad... 😔
Hi John. Thank you for the helpful info. I have a 16 gallon , heavily planted tank with 7 tropical fish and it has gravel. Ive had it running for 2.5 years. Would it be beneficial to add sand on top of the gravel?
Great video it really clarifies things
I have several tanks and took the time to do different setups.Its indeed that when a tank setup, water, plants and a fish, invertebrate population is correct that at some point feeding the fish and cleaning the tank becomes absolete.But as you mentioned, it takes a lot of research AND time to have that done.In general i recommend to anyone who ask me to keep on cleaning their glass and gravel or syphone the surface of their substrate and to buy hugh quality fish food and get life aquarium plants and test their water regularly.
...We have sadly too many ìďìóťs and ignorant people on this planet (if we wouldn't we would not keep on destroying nature and would not keep fish under wrong conditions.)
Thank God for people like you 😊😘
I hope to believe if people love their animals they will change the water. Common sense will hopefully prevail