Some dirt questions........

I recently dirted my 20 gallon long tank with miracle gro organic choice potting mix. It's the next day now and i have already done two fifty percent water changes to get all the nutrients out of the water column. Is two fifty percent water changes a day for about 5 days enough till fish go back in. Also, I'm very worried about algae breaking out in my tank. Should i use any techniques or just buy a UV sterilizer. Also, after the intial water changes for a week or so does any recommend a water change routine. My tank is moderately high stock. Thanks any advice would-be helpful. .

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Permalink Reply by Hmoobthor on October 27, 2011 at 4:36pm

In my video,

I dirted my tank and put in fish right away after an hour.

I just do my weekly wc and its fine.

You should be good to go since u did so many wc.

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Permalink Reply by Kelsey Leman on October 31, 2011 at 9:33am

Colin,

I'd say those water changes for the first week will be fine, but I had my fish back in my tank the same day (I didn't have a choice, I was out of room in my 20 gal and they were attacking each other.) depending on how established the plants get will dictate how many water changes or how often you'll need to do it. My 55 dirted/planted gets a water change of about the top 4 inches every month. That's it. I have a ton of plants with a fair few fish and they seem to balance each other out really well. honestly the only reason I useually to a water change is when I realize the water level is getting a little low. I'd say just test the water to check the nutrient levels and go from there.