high tech low tech

[biffster]

i am an old school fish keeper and planted tanks and the like are
all new school to me i have of late only started to keep plants and grow
them which is an achievement for me because i kept cichlids for a long time
but now i no longer keep them i started with just a few plants and o found they
were surviving so the question i was going to ask was what is high tech plants
and low tech plants and what are high and low tech tanks sorry but like i say i am
old school and plants used to come in bunches with lead weights attached to the bottom
i feel such a p**** asking such questions can you please clarify

 

[Steve Smith]

High tech really means lots of light, CO2 and high fertiliser dosage (and high maintenance to go with that with regimented regular weekly/bi-weekly water changes of up to 50%). Low tech is a little more laid back, with lower lighting levels, but also still with CO2 if wanted (but not necessary depending on setup) and lower fert dosing. It gives slower growth but is potentially less maintenance and more controllable when things start to go wrong.

Hope that makes sense

 

[Iain Sutherland]

All the above except any artificial addition of carbon makes it high tech, pressurised co2 or gluteraldhyde.

 

[biffster]

my set ups get water changes twice a week the lighting is pretty standard i do run a small amount
of co2 which i have found helps and stops the plants from yellowing and on most of my tanks i run
aquatic compost capped with sand or cat litter the results not to bad i would like to go high tech but could never
really afford it

 

[George Farmer]

Hi,

The terms "low tech" and "high tech" are a little misleading IMO. But you can perform a simple Google search "low tech vs high tech planted tank" and you'll get some half-decent threads.

Personally I think it is better to think of it as low and high energy systems.

So low energy will typically have low lighting, no CO2 and no liquid carbon enrichment, and low nutrients in the water column. Consequently plant choice is limited to easier species (Anubias, crypts, ferns, mosses etc.) Water changes can be minimal because there is less requirement to dilute the organic waste produced by the plants. Successful low energy systems should be very stable and will often be home to very long-terms aquascapes with slow growing plants. Room for error is relatively large and risk of algae reduced.

High energy - more light, CO2 injection, more nutrients, more powerful filtration/circulation. Much faster plant growth, much higher maintenance, less room for error/high algae risk. But you can grow anything you want.