How to turn my high tech into a low tech?

[Courtneybst]

Thanks everyone for the tips!

I've reduced the lighting by 1/3 and yet the plants are still pearling so it must have been pretty high! Since the CO2 is pH controlled, I'll reduce the pH by 0.3 every week which should bring it to non-injected levels within 5 weeks. I'll also reduce the fertilisers by 1/5 each week so it's all in sync. Not perfect maths but better than nothing.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I do want to put some mature cryptocorynes in the empty spaces where the stems were, if I can find any.

@Courtneybst you need to pop over and have a look at my 4 low tech tanks that run with hardly any maintenance, you can also see what type of plants do well

It's a date! 😁

How the tank is looking currently after deep cleaning, removing as much algae as possible and starting the journey to low techery:

 

[LondonDragon]

I find the secret to low-tech is just to leave it alone, although all my low techs have no fish! Not sure how fish and daily feeding will affect the balance!

 

[MichaelJ]

How the tank is looking currently after deep cleaning, removing as much algae as possible and starting the journey to low techery:

Courtney, the tank looks gorgeous!

Given your master skills in the hobby, this transition will be very educational for us all. Can't wait to see how the progression to the light side will unfold

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Conort2]

Thanks everyone for the tips!

I've reduced the lighting by 1/3 and yet the plants are still pearling so it must have been pretty high! Since the CO2 is pH controlled, I'll reduce the pH by 0.3 every week which should bring it to non-injected levels within 5 weeks. I'll also reduce the fertilisers by 1/5 each week so it's all in sync. Not perfect maths but better than nothing.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I do want to put some mature cryptocorynes in the empty spaces where the stems were, if I can find any.


It's a date! 😁

How the tank is looking currently after deep cleaning, removing as much algae as possible and starting the journey to low techery:
View attachment 209145

Very nice. Doesn’t look like there are any plants in there that would struggle low tech.

 

[_Maq_]

nails are very likely to contain relatively high percentages of Nickel, Chromium and possibly Copper

If you choose the most ordinary nails, I believe the amount of harmful impurities is negligible.

how do you manage the Fe dosing with rusty nails ?

You don't have to worry. Iron is everywhere, and in most circumstances it's harmless. It will participate in nutrient recycling within the substrate, and eventually get available to the plants' roots.

I find the secret to low-tech is just to leave it alone

That was the essence of my recommendation. You people are used to CO2 injected tanks (unlike me), and this commands high level of maintenance. If you switch to low-tech, you return to the tanks of our fathers. Do you still recall that they did not fertilize at all?

 

[LondonDragon]

Do you still recall that they did not fertilize at all?

I haven't done so for 10 years

 

[Wookii]

I haven't done so for 10 years

Are they getting everything they need from your tap water changes then? I have a low tech on RO water, and if I don't add some periodic ferts (like every few weeks) the anubius starts to suffer..

 

[LondonDragon]

Are they getting everything they need from your tap water changes then? I have a low tech on RO water, and if I don't add some periodic ferts (like every few weeks) the anubius starts to suffer..

2 of them i perform a water change once a month, the other one maybe two a year! might be the high number of shrimp and snails in the 60l that keeps the plants going, although I dont have many species in there and mainly anubias!

 

[_Maq_]

Are they getting everything they need from your tap water changes then?

Plus fish food - in most cases.
However, there's one more important aspect to this. If a tank ever experienced a period of intense fertilizing (or fish feeding), a rich microbial community develops in the substrate. The result is a substantial mass of live and dead organic matter. Microbial matter is the richest source of all elements, because - unlike in higher plants and animals - each and every cell must contain a complete set of all elements. After a while, all our substrates get saturated with this stuff.
All my experience suggests that substrates do not get depleted of nutrients. It's rather the contrary. That's why newly established tanks regularly feature various nutrient deficiencies, while the matured ones can take care of themselves, so to speak.
I admit things may look differently in tanks with artificially enhanced growth, i.e. high-tech. But in this thread, we talk about a tank turning low-tech. I have little fear that the plants would starve. The only true joker is iron, so I've suggested adding some "inaccessible" iron - nails.