Are 100% water changes bad for live plants?

[megaredize]

I have my two newest bettas in 3.5 gallon KK heated but not filtered. the one for my betta has so substrate so im not worried about that one getting really gunky. but my fiance's has gravel and 2 anubias and one marimo ball. i have been doing 50% changes every 2 days and i have been able to use the siphon on his tank to clean the gravel. (i kink the tube so the water doesnt drain too fast) but if i do a 100% water change every week wont that take away any gunk that the plants use as food? i will be getting a filter for it soon but untill then i dont want to hurt the plants they are really nice anubias

[ChoclateBetta]

I do not know but it is stressful for the fish glad you heated I feel heating is more important than a filter because water changes affect water quality not Temp 2 50 percent sound good P.S. I keep Marimo too. I hope your Bettas do well.

[ZergyMonster]

What are your anubias' tied to? If they are in the gravel then I would suggest that you tie them onto a decoration or something similar; because if the rhizome of the plant(where the roots come out of) is buried it will rot and die. As an added plus if you have it tied to a decoration it would be much easier for it to be taken out of your tank for when you do 100% changes.

For a low light plant, like anubias, it won't matter too much if you perform 100% water changes because it doesn't use up a lot of nutrients in the first place.

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by ChoclateBetta

I do not know but it is stressful for the fish glad you heated I feel heating is more important than a filter because water changes affect water quality not Temp 2 50 percent sound good P.S. I keep Marimo too. I hope your Bettas do well.

The plants should be fine, but an unfiltered (and therefore uncycled) tank requires 100% changes frequently to get rid of ammonia; not doing so will allow it to accumulate over time ;)

[Catie79]

I haven't had any trouble with my anubias no matter how often or drastically I change the water. The marimo balls won't mind, either. Since you don't have any plants actually rooted in the substrate, shouldn't be a problem. I do recommend occasionally giving the marimo ball a rinse and squeeze, they pick up gunk like magnets. They fluff right back up, no harm done.

[megaredize]

the anubias are in the gravel but not the rizome, just the roots i do it with all my anubias the roots will eventually stick to some of the gravel and help weigh it down. it just dawned on me that plants use that stuff for food, all my other tanks are cycled. I will be doing a 100% change on them tomorrow then

[Oldfishlady]

I wouldn't do 100% water changes with plants-especially if they are thriving-less they are disturbed the better. The plants will use ammonia the fish produce as food-As long as the tank isn't overstocked and you are not grossly overfeeding-the plants should help to keep the water safe-along with a regular 50% weekly water change with light vacuum-even in an unfiltered tank.

Also, plants produce oxygen that good bacteria can use and while the tank may not have a true nitrogen cycle-it will have good bacteria that can help with water quality-But its still a closed system and water changes are still needed at least weekly....

[Freyja]

Originally Posted by oldfishlady

i wouldn't do 100% water changes with plants-especially if they are thriving-less they are disturbed the better. The plants will use ammonia the fish produce as food-as long as the tank isn't overstocked and you are not grossly overfeeding-the plants should help to keep the water safe-along with a regular 50% weekly water change with light vacuum-even in an unfiltered tank.

Also, plants produce oxygen that good bacteria can use and while the tank may not have a true nitrogen cycle-it will have good bacteria that can help with water quality-but its still a closed system and water changes are still needed at least weekly....

sensei ofl has spoken.

[megaredize]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

I wouldn't do 100% water changes with plants-especially if they are thriving-less they are disturbed the better. The plants will use ammonia the fish produce as food-As long as the tank isn't overstocked and you are not grossly overfeeding-the plants should help to keep the water safe-along with a regular 50% weekly water change with light vacuum-even in an unfiltered tank.

Also, plants produce oxygen that good bacteria can use and while the tank may not have a true nitrogen cycle-it will have good bacteria that can help with water quality-But its still a closed system and water changes are still needed at least weekly....

ok TY for answering i do 50 % changes on the tanks every second day so i think they get enough water changes. and its more like 60 - 70 % lol basically as much water i can take out without completely disturbing the fish.