Near Maintenance-Free Aquarium Upkeep | My Final Aquarium Video

I have kept aquariums for around 15 years. I started out not knowing much about how things worked or what causes this and that. I hit several hurdles along the way too. Once I started a true planted tank over 5 years ago (this one) I learned a lot more than I ever did about many aspects of the whole hobby. One thing I learned through to the end is that less is more. And once you find a balance, stick to it. Changing one thing such as water change quantity and schedule, lighting hours and brightness, amount of food given or adding fish all throws off balance. Adding chemicals to correct a "problem" is not the answer. And you don't need carbon or chemical filtration. You simply need water flow and circulation and enough "things" for surface area for bacteria to grow. Constantly changing the amount food given or aquatic life in the tank throws off the nitrogen cycle causing spikes. The best thing I have ever used to stop algae is keeping things consistent and using Pothos Ivy as part of the filtering system. It can be as simple as placing the ivy in a hang-on-back filter or just placing directly in the tank. And filters themselves really only do one thing...flow water. In fact there really is not much need for a filter at all other than harboring more space and surface area for good bacteria to live. If a tank has enough things inside and enough flow and circulation, a filter doesn't do anything different or special and is not really needed at all. It just becomes something else to clean and spend money on. And cleaning a filter also causes spikes in ammonia and nitrites which throws off balance. DIY Pothos filter system - https://youtu.be/hy7q4aW8p5I My Merch Shop- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSP4DjMfxhO7K2KZ2wvgvUg/store or https://shop.spreadshirt.com/growinganswers/ To save 3% on you next Mars-Hydro purchase, use coupon code GrAn22 Mars-Hydro Website - http://bit.ly/2QA55AA Full disclosure, I do make a small commission if you use my coupon code. The only product you cannot use the code for is the Mars ECO light. Affiliate Links: PH Pen - https://amzn.to/324pEcv General Hydroponics Maxigro - https://amzn.to/3xqAetR General Hydroponics Maxigro and Maxibloom- https://amzn.to/3xosdpi General Hydroponics Liquid Nutes - https://amzn.to/2HuzIlD VEG+BLOOM Nutes - https://amzn.to/39EUhaP PH up PH Down - https://amzn.to/2SLmdDo 2" Net Cups - https://amzn.to/2uRuhdJ 3" Net Cups - https://amzn.to/37qGnYI Rock wool cubes - https://amzn.to/2SVwa1k Air pump - https://amzn.to/3cttYXr XL Clay Pebbles - https://amzn.to/3cfA3q4 Small Clay Pebbles - https://amzn.to/2zqkqxK Grow Tent - https://amzn.to/3fxK6c7 FoodSaver lids for mason jars - https://amzn.to/34M8P9L