@AKfish - you write that you wanted a discussion and when you get it with different opinions you're defensive, antagonistic, and somewhat disrespectful. This brings to question your true motivation. A different opinion IS a discussion. When you made your original post did you really think we'd all just jump up and down and cheer for Lucas Bretz?
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I think Lucas is confused about the long term effects of high nitrates. I've seen a lot of his videos and not once have I seen him test for nitrates. I've heard him say that "fish do fine in dirty water - water in nature is pretty dirty". I think he confuses muddy water with polluted tank water.
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To a degree, fish can tolerate and adapt to poor water quality, especially when it degrades slowly. We often hear tales of 'established' aquariums where "the old fish are just fine, but when the hobbyist adds new fish they always die in a day or two" - classic signs of old tank syndrome.
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A 'problem' in the hobby is there are no absolutes....and there are so many variables in tank condition. Water volume, temperature, bio-load, feeding, tank maintenance, plants or not, fast growing plants vs. slow growing plants, and on and on. What works well in one tank may fail miserably in another.
Some think their filters clean water, when filters merely make water look cleaner but detritus decomposes and pollutes the water. Some add more or bigger filters then don't service them often enough. One fellow thought he could skimp on water changes because he had a 'heavily planted tank'. In fact his tank was full of slow growing anubis, java fern/moss etc, that did little to reduce ammonia.
"I don't need to do weekly water changes because my fish are just fine." Most hobbyists never get to see their fish live 15-20 years - they don't even realize that's the AVERAGE life span for well cared for tropical fish!
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An undeniable fact in the hobby is that routine periodic partial water changes of an appropriate volume are of huge benefit to the stock.