How to Balance a Planted Tank | Step-by-Step Guide
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- I finally balanced my tank! Learn about the detailed steps I took to grow plants & defeat algae.
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🛒 MATERIALS I USED
▶ Fluval 3.0 Plant Spectrum LED: www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
▶ Eco-Complete substrate: amzn.to/2XMP4Kp
▶ Easy Green liquid fertilizer: www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
▶ Easy Root Tabs: www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
▶ Flourish Advance: amzn.to/39YzOQd
▶ Flourish Potassium: amzn.to/3sJMu6a
▶ Flourish Phophorus: amzn.to/2YaviZm
▶ Seachem Equilibrium minerals: amzn.to/3qPfnfl
▶ API Freshwater Master Test Kit: amzn.to/3c5WDEg
▶ API GH/KH test kit: www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
▶ API Phosphate test kit: www.aquariumcoop.com/products...
▶ Salifert Freshwater Potassium test kit: www.fishtanksdirect.com/salif...
▶ Fluval Freshwater Calcium test kit: amzn.to/2NpRNHH
▶ Nutrafin Iron test kit: amzn.to/3c5X69u
(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from the links above. Also, I work for Aquarium Co-Op but do not receive commissions from their links.)
📚 RESOURCES
▶ Bentley Pascoe’s Fluval 3.0 lighting schedules: • The Best Aquarium Ligh...
▶ Decreased lighting to combat green hair algae: www.plantedtank.net/forums/23...
▶ Aquarium Co-Op forum: forum.aquariumcoop.com/
▶ Balanced Plant Nutrition (with barrel diagram): www.fertilizerseurope.com/fer...
▶ Plant nutrient deficiency chart: www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/pl...
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#girltalksfish #nanofish #plantedaquarium
0:00 How to balance a planted aquarium
1:19 Tip: wait 2 weeks between each change
1:44 Balance between light, nutrients, and CO2
2:28 Lever #1: Carbon Dioxide
2:46 Lever #2: Lighting
4:04 Wrong lighting schedule
5:27 Tip: set your light at low levels at first
5:58 Lever #3: Nutrients
7:14 Signs of plant nutrient deficiencies
8:38 Use water test kits for troubleshooting
10:38 Is my tank finally balanced? - Домашні улюбленці та дикі тварини
![Lp. Последняя Реальность #107 РОДНОЙ ДОМ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IK3QKzKUlHM/mqdefault.jpg)
*Curious about the plants and fish in this aquarium? Check out my 2020 tour video: **ua-cam.com/video/gJL441Ezsk0/v-deo.html*
Are you no longer in CO? Water in CO & NM is so **hard** and has soooo much calcium and other minerals, I **have** to keep hornwort so the rest of the plants do well. :/
@@Lazy_Fish_Keeper I'm still in CO, but they treat our water with a process that raises the pH and softens the water. So I have to add back in minerals for my animals and plants.
@@GirlTalksFish Colorado Springs water leaves massive residue in the tub... but now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing calcium deposits on the spigots like we have in NM🤔
The water here is so hard, 4 gallons is wasted for every gallon of RO.
So RO really is not cost effective.
I love how you show the problems with your tanks like algae, etc. So many youtubers hide all the frustrating stuff and make it look so easy
Thank you! I was listening to a podcast where an aquascaper was being interviewed and said that many of his fellow aquascapers will scrap an entire scape if algae starts growing out of control and just restart the aquarium setup. So we never get to see many of the behind-the-scenes disasters. 😛
Totally agreed!
factuals lol
@@GirlTalksFish Thanks for this video. I didn't realize I could / should massively turn down my lighting. Sent me off in a whole new area to investigate.
I agree OP. She Helps remind me take a breath and know that I have to take my time and make one change at a time :)
a moment of silence for the amount of problem solving time we all have to go through for our beloved planted tanks
Amen
Just recently discovered the struggle that is cyanobacteria. It was a long, drawn out struggle rife with colorful language, moments of staring at my aquarium wondering if crying would help, and sleepless moments contemplating finding a less complicated hobby such as freelance biochemical engineering or dinosaur cloning. Glad I stuck with it, though. Not sure anyone would appreciate me walking a Velociraptor around the local dog park.
Hey Johnny, glad to hear you stuck with it! What ended up working for you? I had a bout of cyanobacteria, defeated it and now it's slowly peaking back.
@@courtneykeeps Howdy Courtney. I started by manually scraping and scrubbing as much as I could, did a big water change to siphon out as much as possible , and then started treating my tank with "API Erythromycin". I also cut back on my lighting, cut down on feedings, did extra water changes, and got in the habit of bleach treating my cleaning equipment between uses. It took me months to get it under control and it did try to creep back on me a few times during that time. Not sure if everything I did was necessary, but I haven't had problems with it for around six months now. Hope this helps!
@@johnnygee4206 Amazing! Thanks for the help. I'll try some of these things
@@courtneykeeps 🙂👍🤞
I’ve found good flow helps a lot, as it helps with the tank overall.
Extremely helpful in breaking down a concept that many others just leave at "find a balance". Thank you
100% agree!!!! :)
Do I have to put concentrated macro/micronutrients only once or do i have to have a schedule?
@@red_nullhugo4045 in a low light setup I’d say to do the recommended dosing for your tank size once a week and for medium to high light do something like one full dose a week with a half a dose in the middle or two full doses during the week. If you aren’t using in all in one you could probally dose a full dies of macros then dose half of the micros depending on your plant density.
I really admire that instead of caving in when you weren't perfect and insulted, you just kept learning.
Thank you for actually trying to tackle this instead of just parroting "BALANCE!" like 90% of the rest of the internet!
Wow. This is LITERALLY my exact situation. Have a fluval 3.0, been running Bentley's light schedule, do not run CO2 and hair algae is everywhere. This was VERY helpful. Thank you so much!
This video sums ALL the reasons why you are one of my very favorite channels, Irene! Wow, I needed this video. Been trying to balance my 100g for a year, and would never have thought about the potassium and my Colorado soft water as possible culprits (& how all-in-ones may not be complete for soft water). Already watched twice and saving to watch later again - all the chart links and kit links are so helpful! You’re the best!
Thanks Irene! Good students make good teachers. Thanks for taking time to slowly learn, and teach so well. Appreciate what you do!
I haven’t seen a fish-tuber have as many problems than you (mean that in a good way) thanks for all the advice.
Very thorough for short vid, one of the best I've seen on tank balancing. Irene's frankness is always to the point and very useful, and editing is spot on.
I kinda like green algae when it grows on the back, it makes a realistic green background that makes the tank look nice imo, kinda with saltwater how the light makes the tank look blue, but in fresh the green algae makes the tank look green.
A little bit algae is even good for tanks though
Thank you so much, Irene. I am such a newbie. Set up my first planted tank in December. Its such a steep learning curve, lol. But you help me more than anyone. I really appreciate it. Also, you (and Ryo Watanabe) have inspired me to get a betta. He's gorgeous, and I hope I do well by him.
I know I'm a year late, and everyone already mentioned it, but what an amazing video and instructions. This literally made me feel happy about maintaining my fish tank, and tackling problems that undoubtfully will arise. Thank you for being different :)
This might have been the most relatable and helpful video I've ever watched! Thank you!!
Finally, an in depth video on this. I have set up several algae farms in past, due to not knowing how to balance my nutrients/light/CO2. Thank you for this!
Enjoyed the video explanation. Wish I had YT instructions back in the day. Lots of trial and error over the years until Internet forums and videos started helping me. Glad the hobby is still going strong and influencing others. Thank you from a fellow planted tanker 👍😎
You’re very good at explaining things properly! Especially the processes. I’ve had that same top fin 5 gallon tank for about six years now and it’s still running great. A separate plug for the light is the only gripe, cause it can’t be put on a timer. Still a great tank nonetheless!
Amazingly helpful video as always Irene. You and Cory always seem to be able to break things down so well! Glad you've got that tank under control now, it's looking great!
I have to say that this is one of the best plant videos I have ever watched! Thanks!
Awesome video! As always. I really appreciate how thorough you are. Thanks for all the great content!
I don't comment often on YT videos but wanted to say this video is EXTREMELY well done. Great examples and reasoning and we have good editing I never felt lost leading to one step to the next. You do a great job explaining why everyone tanks will be different on algae issues many need to understand not everyone can yield same results with the same formula we need to sometimes tweak things to what helps us why I love this hobby its trial and error.
This was a very well explained video that I know will help me and my tank, I’ve been trying to get the light balance, fertiliser balance for awhile now, so all of this is food for thought. I will watch this again soon so I can refresh and reference back to it. Thank you! Steve.
Whoa, what a great video for introducing folks to planted tanks! ill definitely be sharing this with my viewers. thank you!
This video helped me out so much when I first started the hobby, a little over a year ago! Had to come back and like and subscribe! Took me some trial and error to get a feel for the balance with my plants (and melt...oh all the melting). It would've taken a lot longer without informative videos like this! Thank you and keep up the great work!
This makes it so much easier to understand. I was very disappointed in my tanks last year where everything went wrong. I definitely want to try again after this vid.
I’ve been struggling with figuring out this balance for years! This is the first video I’ve found that is relatable and practically understandable. Thank you so much!!
I appreciate your video! I lucked out and just threw a bunch of plants and seeds in an aquarium with the fluval light and never had an issuefor over a year. I did a major plant cut back and all of these problems started. Now I'm doing water changes, ordering test kits, and water additives! Thanks.
I totally relate to this video 100% "balance your tank" answer doesn't help!
Agreed. It’s like telling someone how to walk a tightrope by saying, “Don’t fall” 🤣
An excellent video! I went through similar issues as you did for similar reasons. It’s a constant process that takes a bit of dedication until the tank hits that sweet spot.
This video is one of the most helpful I’ve seen on plants. I’m wanting to create a beautifully planted large tank and I’m sick of killing plants and fighting algae.
I've kept a planted tank for a little over a year now. If I had this much trouble I would have quit! I've only encountered a bit of hair algae and it made me want to pull my hair out!
I'm impressed by your perseverance and willingness to spend so much time and money (on test kits) to sort out your imbalance.
Great, informative, beautiful video!
Your videos are hands down the best fish keeping videos out there. I was JUST thinking this week about the question of how to balance a tank. Everyone says “balance the tank” but has never explained it. THANK YOU!
For the algorithm!!! Powerhouse video. I really enjoy this style , keep up the good work!
Wow! I had the same issues with the Fluval 3.0 and low tech non co2 injection. I used Bentley’s method for the light too. I raised the light for better spread of light and dialed it down to 50% during peak times. Thanks for the great video!
This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much for sharing. It's always such a pleasure learning from you 🍃🐟🌿 Have a beautiful day!
This was a great video. I've been doing planted tanks for years and balancing things has mostly been a "trial and error + survival of the fittest" thing for me. While that method works great and I don't have to do hardly anything to maintain those tanks, I have little control over how they end up looking, and aquascaping isn't really an option. I think this info will help me with future builds when I want to try something a little more difficult than "toss plants in water and see what survives."
Your approach non setting the lowest light level then adjusting nutrients . While changing one thing at a time is brilliant and so well thought out. Ty!!!!!!❤
Great job on this vid. I am still in the thinking about doing it phase. Nervous about getting in over my head. I appreciate information that keeps it simple for the rest of us.
Omg! This video is so inspiring. I had the same problems and had no idea where to begin. Thank you🤗
Defiantly the best video about balancing a tank! Thank you! I'd love to see a video on your maintenance for this tank too, like when you do tests and what tests etc.
Thank you! I'll have to do an updated video on how I clean this tank. In the meanwhile, here's a video on how I clean my planted betta tank, which is similar: ua-cam.com/video/W3VV_c69CyQ/v-deo.html
@@GirlTalksFish Amazing! You're definitely most informative fish youtuber going at the moment!
Great video, thanks for sharing what you learned. For years, I've been big on the idea of minimal water changes (cheap and lazy are my hallmarks for fishkeeping) in a planted tank following the Walstad method. In the end, I gave up. Things that worked well for me:
Soil substrate, capped with black sand and gravel (didn't bother with the wash/dry mineralizing process)
No water tests, lazy, but I know what my tap water is like.
Twice a week water changes for first 2-3months, then weekly 50% water changes.
Occasional DIY equilibrium (bought 1lb of eachMgSO4 + CaCl2 + CaSO4, lasts years) for GH coz of my soft water.
Whatever LED light, no dimmer, 12 hours
No EI/PMDD ferts, just occasional Flourish.
Excel daily for algae control (coz my light hours are long, I like to see my tank).
Canister filter (somehow algae likes to grow when I tried sponge filters).
Livestock are fancy guppies, RCS, a few Otos.
Plants that do well in my low tech setup are Crypts, Java Fern, Anubias.
The key for algae control (for me) really isn't "when plants grow well, they outcompete algae" crap (sounds great when you're writing a book) but water changes and maintenance (learned that from Green Aqua YT channel).
Wow. It's way more complicated than I'd thought! I guess that's why I only seem to be able to grow anubia, java moss, and of course - algae of all varieties!! I'm not sure I have your dedication and patience for it but your tank does look AMAZING now - what a difference.
Thank you so much for the video. It's been very helpful for my plants in my tank. Never did live plants before. And I was having all of the same problems. The leaf chart is awesome. I have been able to narrow down what is going on to have a thriving live plant tank. Thank you so much.😊
I watched this before starting my aquarium, but now Ive had mine running for about 3 weeks now with a variety of plants. this week I noticed my Anubis, has got 1 decent dark spot that has now become a hole and my Anubis coin is starting to get some translucent leaves. I'm so glad I came back to your video. At the moment I only have a few snails so It makes sense my nitrogen is low, but I didn't realize how much of an effect it had on the plants.
I also had no idea I needed/ didn't have enough potassium. Hopefully adding some in can help get them happy again but I get fish added in. Thanks a lot from including everything in the description!
"Noob" .... like that fixed anything, ever. As far as I'm concerned that means, "I have no clue but I don't have that problem so I don't care."
Such a helpful video, going to have to watch it a few times since my plants definitely need some help! I spend so much time researching plant, fish and general aquarium care that I wonder what I’ll do with myself once I’ve got it all figured out. Can’t imagine that happening anytime soon though 😁
This has been an amazing video, thank you so much for such a comprehensive breakdown! At least I now know where to start on fixing my aquarium.
Wow what a journey and test of patience, thanks for sharing!
Wonderful video. Yes, I had similar problems and ended up lowering the light and increasing K and Fe for my low tech tank. Well done!
Omg thank you so much for making this video it took me almost one year to learn why my planted tank has tons of algae and melting plants but now slowly plants started to grow now but I still have leaves with brown patches now I know why I have them.
As always brilliant video!
I spent 9 months battling BBA, but now it’s gone from my 200 litre planted tank.
I religiously do 50% water change at least once a week, have shorter but brighter 6 hours of lighting, I found even with dim lighting that’s on for 8-10 hours the tank became an algae farm.
Make you tank maintenance as easy as possible (for example get some hose and a pump for water changes) so it’s more enjoyable rather than just a chore, then you will more likely keep it up and not skip a week.
awesome video, thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
Thank you, Irene, for going the extra mile and a half to cover the triad of plant needs. I discovered the same issues with fast vs. slow growing, who was gobbling up nutrients and why. Maybe the plant keepers can encourage vendors to add nutrients to their tank parameter care guides. Yep, it's extra work for them, but the payoff is more sales from us.
This was a really good video. It answered all my questions but more importantly it has shed some light on the trouble shooting process should i run into trouble in the future with my tank.
Well done.
That chart of targets for parameters is awesome! I've been trying to find something like that for quite some time.
Hugely helpful and well produced video. I am still struggling with black beard algae in my 75 gallon Rio Negro biome planted tank aquarium with CO2 injection while my Amazon swords and red cabomba weren't doing well. You have convinced me to reduce my lighting and increase my fish feeding to get the nitrates up. I was very proud of having 0 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I will now be happy to see 20 nitrate.
you are the best. I am setting up my first ever 40G tank. Thanks to you, I feel more confident 😊
Thank you for your informative videos. Really love plants in tanks and glad you shared the struggles with looking after them! :) it's such an ART/SCIENCE!
Thank you for this video. I too was growing an algae farm. I tried everything from testing the water to full on peroxide dips and nothing worked. I finally just lowered my lights about 90-95% and just left it alone for a couple of weeks. The tank was dimly lit and was afraid my plants might die. To my surprise, all the algae just started shedding and my plants were growing like crazy. My driftwood and rocks also lost all of their algae too. Lately, I've been testing a high light period of about 1 and a half hours to help my reds with the rest of the day being relatively low at around 15-25%. Water changes are 20 percent every week and 40-50% every two weeks. Again, thank you for these videos!
New subscriber with a bunch of tanks who has had mixed results with my planted aquariums. Looking forward to getting acquainted this this info. thanks for posting them.
This is brilliant. Thank you for sharing your experiences and experiments!
super helpful video! I have struggled with all the above (and continue to). Great advice!
Aww, those cute kids' drawings at the end. :) Adorable. Thanks for the informative video.
Nice video, was a newbie at one time to planted tanks. I am a firm believer in every tank is different,some plants won’t grow in any of my tanks. Others flower and grow incredibly well. People need to try different plants and see what works.
Thanks for this video, so useful! Made me realise the futility in my constant changing of light levels to tackle algae!
Great video and thank you for not "hiding" the issues you encountered, I have been farming algae for a qhile ...Regarding not being able to find a magnesium test kit, if you know your GH and Calcium amounts, you can always use the magnesium/Calcium/GH relationship to estimate your magnesium. Keep the videos coming!
Another great video! Love it!! Just wanted to add that to fight algae, let the plants do the work for you. All you need to do is to add lots of fast growing plants.
You are making my day! I so needed this video because my plants are dying and I'm having trouble getting my algae in check.
Thank you for explaining how to balance your tank, as a newbie this was the info I needed.
Again a very interesting and informational video😊Love these kinds of videos
Great video! I currently live in Germany and my plants do pretty good with just dosing the easy green once a week.
Thanks so much! I learned more from this video than I did from weeks of shifting through forums and articles.
This video was amazing. You took a concept that us beginners don't know well enough and broke it down expertly. My one criticism was going to be, "You used test kits but never said what they were!" but then I looked at the description and saw that you linked to them. Fantastic. Thank you so much.
huh....I couldn't follow the information at all. I can't regulate my light levels except lowing the time I have my lights on. Also, I'm just not into doing research into which nutrients to make different plants do well. Maybe some day but I just now want my fish to be healthy for now.
Great video, thanks for sharing. I have a simple set-up like yours and was able to solve some balance problems by putting lights on a 4 hour "rest" period during the day. eg 4 hours on, 4 hours off 4 hours on. The plants will produce carbon dioxide in the off period. I had less algae, and plant nutrient deficiencies issues resolved.
Wow, this is SO HELPFUL!!! Thank you so much!!!
I love this! I’m also a beginner with planted tanks and I never knew how to go about “balancing” my tank. So I have the opposite obstacles as you, basic FluvalSmart aqua sky light, very hard water with very high phosphate! Still I’m constantly growing the same algae you are! 🤔😣
Yep! All my algae problems were solved over time with light adjustments! Those fluval 3.0's are magic 😇💙
oh my goodness this is so incredibly helpful, thank you!
Very helpful…used to have aquariums, became quite and gave everything away. Now ready fir a small bedside tank…thank you fir this!
Way to go! I loved your battles getting a handle on algae.
you have no idea how much i love you for this video 😭
Thank you so much for the informative video. I also struggle with plants and I appreciate the research and information that you share. Don’t pay attention to the haters out there! There is always someone who is not happy unless they criticize others. I really enjoy your videos and thank you for sharing!
Thank YOU!! You are helping me greatly for my first tank!
Super useful video! My challenge has always been moving too fast. Expecting too much too soon and getting impatient with the process. Learning to slow down is critical and this is true even if you are running CO2 with high light and fast growth.
Subscribed! Love your presentation and you’re a great teacher!
I had the same green hair algae problem with the same light! My solution was trim the algae as much as I could, then 40% light, 12 hrs a day, in a 24” deep tank. Heavily planted, lightly stocked.
You made that all make sense... Thank-you. I guess I truly am a fish nerd, because to me you are one of the coolest people on youtube 😊
Thank you so much! I have watched a few of your videos in the past, this is the one that made me click subscribe. I’m so sick of researching this topic and only getting the jerks that call names or act like you shouldn’t be part of the hobby. Obviously people are trying to learn and they should take a lesson from you and be helpful and kind to people seeking answers or they should stay off the internet. Thank you so so much for finally answering my questions
Thanks "Eye"rene. 😁 I can't keep floating plants growing in my tank. But my other plants are finally growing well.
love this video....lots i learn from this video...thanks irene.. 😘😘😘😘
Great info, really appreciate all the details!
new to your channel and I just started a planted tank for my shrimp so this is essential to me!! Thanks!!
really helpful and inspiring to see the comeback from really struggling to finding a balance.
That light is too expensive for me for now so I’m starting a led light with timer in it. Love your vids I’ve learned so much!
I’ve found it’s much easier to balance a larger tank than for a small one. Perhaps because changes are spread out over a larger volume.
I love your videos, relatable and super helpful.
Most of the time I don’t need to watch your videos but they’re still so fun to watch. I feel like you’re talking to us as a friend at Starbucks ranting about your aquarium, instead of being very stern and never seem like you’re having fun or enjoying yourself.
Hi! I loved the work you put into your video to explain a lot of the nuisances to aquarium nutrients as I’m just a new hobbyist myself. I imagine you’ve found a solution already to your little plant friends at the end struggling to grow, but if you haven’t, Blake’s Aquatics has a nice experiment that shows the differences in different root tabs over time for different plants. I hope it helps your little friends!