What do you add to your tank after a water change?

[Mick85]

Just wondering what supplements/chemicals do people add to their tanks after a water change?

I've been in the habit of adding API Stress zyme and for a while was also adding API Stress coat after each water change. Now i replaced the Stress coat with Seachem Prime which i add to the new water before adding it to the tank because it also removes chlorine.

How often do you add Iron if you have plants?

Is there any benefit in adding Seachem flourish excel after a water change?

Sorry for the random questions just curious to know what other fishkeepers maintenance routines are like.

 

[itiwhetu]

I add nothing to any of my tanks. I rely on the filter, substrate and plants to control the tank.

 

[Mick85]

I add nothing to any of my tanks. I rely on the filter, substrate and plants to control the tank.

do you add any ferts for the plants?

 

[itiwhetu]

do you add any ferts for the plants?

No, I rely on the fish to provide all the nutrients for the plants.

 

[Mick85]

No, I rely on the fish to provide all the nutrients for the plants.

man you would have saved yourself thousands of $$ over the years haha

my plants are in sand which i know there's no nutrients in (i've added root tabs but that's all), would the fish waste be enough to keep the plants going?

 

[FishGuest5123]

I add Prime and occasionally some Flourish at half dose.

 

[itiwhetu]

man you would have saved yourself thousands of $$ over the years haha

my plants are in sand which i know there's no nutrients in (i've added root tabs but that's all), would the fish waste be enough to keep the plants going?

Yep. with aquatic plants the most important thing is light. I always use a natural neutral base which will leech a certain amount of the elements that the plants need, gravel will also allow the fish waste to make its way down into the base to decompose. Most aquatic plants only use their roots for support and take most of there nutrients through their leaves. Yes I have saved $$'s over the years. Look under your fish tank and add up the value of those bottles. Most aquarists will have between $200-$300 of stuff that the LFS has sold them and they have experimented with!!!.

 

[itiwhetu]

Check out my thread " 7 year old tank "

 

[Mick85]

Yep. with aquatic plants the most important thing is light. I always use a natural neutral base which will leech a certain amount of the elements that the plants need, gravel will also allow the fish waste to make its way down into the base to decompose. Most aquatic plants only use their roots for support and take most of there nutrients through their leaves. Yes I have saved $$'s over the years. Look under your fish tank and add up the value of those bottles. Most aquarists will have between $200-$300 of stuff that the LFS has sold them and they have experimented with!!!.

I can attest to that. The owner of the LFS near me loves doing the salesman thing. Oh you need this and that and add some of this and you must get one of these. Next minute you walk out with $200 worth of crap you didn't go there for. ?‍

 

[Stan510]

Local water has both chlorine and chloramine,so If I drain out 30-40% I add four capfuls of any dechlore brand. I just bought back in September two bottles of 500mill at Home Depot for like $7 a bottle..much less than any pet store. Only,HD runs out in winter and go with the budget brand in the blue bottle from LFS's.
I do add iron the day AFTER a change. It helps with Sword and Tiger Lotus the most..but all plants look better for its use. I use in the 240 about 3 capfuls of Seachem Iron.

 

[Colin_T]

How often do you add Iron if you have plants?

Get an Iron (Fe) test kit from the pet shop (they will probably have to order it in), and monitor the iron level in the tank. Keep the level around 1mg/litre (1ppm).

When you first start using plant fertiliser, the plants use it all quickly and you might need to add it every day for a few weeks. This is normal as the plants use it to repair cells and build up energy reserves. After they have recovered, you might need to add fertiliser a couple of times a week. But you need to monitor the levels to make sure you don't overdose.

Check the expiry date on all test kits and medications and avoid buying kits/ medications that are kept in warm, humid or bright areas because heat, moisture/ humidity and bright light causes the chemicals to break down quicker.

 

[Colin_T]

Local water has both chlorine and chloramine

Tap water either has chlorine or chloramine.

Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia and requires a higher dose rate of dechlorinator to separate the chlorine/ ammonia bond and to neutralise the chlorine part of it.

 

[goldfish_is_orange]

No, I rely on the fish to provide all the nutrients for the plants.

Doesn't it depend on where you get water, and what fish and plants you keep? For example, I just started a planted tank, and I want to put tetras in there. It's a 50-gallon tank, and even if I house 50 tetras in it, I don't think their Co2 and waste will be enough for the plants to thrive. So for this tank, I think I need to use fertilizers. Or if there was a stream nearby where I can source my water from, I'd think it would have enough nutrients to sustain the plants, too. But since my water is from the tap, the good stuff will have been filtered out already.

On the other hand, I have a 20-gallon goldfish tank with amazon swords and anubias. It also used to have Java ferns, but I took them out. The plants are looking good. I never had to use fertilizers in there, and I think that's because it's a combo of undemanding plants and livestock that provide nutrients to the plants by pooping a lot.

I would like to go chemical-free, too. But as long as I'm in the city, that's probably not gonna work for my fish and plants.

 

[Essjay]

I don't add anything immediately after a water change. I add API Tap Water Conditioner* to the new water before I add it to the tank. The day after a water change I add Seachem Flourish Comprehensive Supplement plant fertiliser.
I don't add the fertiliser on water change day as members on here have said that the EDTA in water conditioners to bind metals will remove the metal supplements in the fertiliser if it's added within 24 hours of a water change.
(I have soft water so there are few minerals in my tap water)


*This water conditioner contains only something to remove chlorine and something to bind metals. It does not contain a 'slime coat promoter' such as aloe vera, and it's not a chemical cocktail like Prime; and it does not detoxify ammonia for 24 hours; I don't need this as my water company uses chlorine for my region.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I don’t add anything. I add water conditioner to my water before adding it to the tank. The only way you could do this in reverse, without killing your fish, is when you first setup the tank, and it’s empty.

I will sometimes feed or trim, but I don’t dose fertilizers so...