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Dhruv wrote:

Kaushik wrote:Dear Experts... I'm going to set up a 4 feet long Low Tech Tank very soon ......While discussing with Cor. Anand I got some useful keys regarding the maintenance of Low Tech Tanks..... Is it a fact that in Low Tech Tank higher light levels along with low CO2 levels make conditions much easier for algae to adapt to. Plants find it harder to adapt to high-light low CO2 conditions while algae can do much better in such situations? At the same time regular water changes effectively causing fluctuations in the CO2 levels in the Low Tech tank which provides a perfect environment for algae to start thriving in. So in short I should use low intensity light for my tank and do no water changes at all.. only top off for evaporated water ? I request the fellow members who are maintaining Low Tech Tank to share their experiences here ... Thanks

Im no expert, but here are my 2 cents on your post.

I have been doing low tech setups for a while now (no fancy filters or pressurized CO2) and IMHO, they are as easy or tough to maintain as hi tech setups... The primary difference in my opinion between the 2 is the growth rate besides the cash spent. Hi tech setups have phenomenal growth rate, while in a low tech setup, the plants just kind of sit there and throw out a new leaf every now and then.

As far as plants go (including algae), you need three things to have life sustained in any manner:
1) Light
2) Nutrient
3) CO2

Think of these in a tripod kind of way: If all three are the same length, then you get a balanced tank with no issues with algae, fish health or plant health. If the legs are not in proportion to each other, the whole system will collapse.
So going back to your query: Low intensity light means lower nutrients to be added which means there is less of a demand for CO2. Basically you dont need to add ferts to your tank, the fish and the fish food should give it enough nutrient value.

As far as water changes go.... please dont skip this. Basic school science tells us that water evaporates leaving salts behind. If you just keep topping up evaporation loss, in due course of time your tank water will have an ionic composition that is shot to hell. And this goes beyond Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates...

So my humble suggestion to you is to just do a weekly water change, and nothing else... control the photoperiod to limit algae growth and if you do see algae, reduce the fish load of the tank... the key is Sybiosis.

I might be wrong on this but see if it works for you.... this has worked for me...

All the best...