# Tom Barr no water change method



## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

I am currently using this on my 75 gal tank.

I was slightly overfeeding and also noticed a buildup of food. My firemouths do a somewhat decent job of picking out leftovers but I ended up feeding less.

I am dosing ferts per the article. Lights are 2x54w Tek fixture which I think may be pushing it a little. Adding Excel as well. So far I think its going ok. My plants look ok and I have a bit of thread algae here and there but only noticeable when you are staring at the tank looking for it. I do have to wipe the inside of the glass w/ a mag float about every other day before the glass starts looking scummy but the GDA seems to be the only real nuisance alage and that's easily taken care of.

-Charlie


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

sillypony said:


> H
> 
> However, I have noticed a nasty looking buildup of excess food along the front of the tank from when I feed. Does anyone else who is using this method have this issue? What, if anything, do you do about it?
> 
> ...




Feed less:thumbsup: 
Pretty simple.
You can fluff it up, you may also add an SAE, or Amano shrimpo, any critter that will eat algae and any left overs.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## sillypony (Apr 9, 2008)

true enough. silly question, silly answer.

I just worry they won't all get enough. But i'll lower feedings a bit n see how it goes.

A quick clarification: the tank holds 3 b, dario loaches, 2 lil fancy plecos and a betta. Thus all the food is sinking pellets, etc. It seems that there will always be a few missed pieces?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Try feeding very little twice a day if you are getting excess. Like Mr. Barr said though, some bottom feeders will do the job. Loaches are another option. But if you have that low of a bioload and have excess food, you need to cut back on the volume you are adding at a time. Thus my reccomendation for double feedings with less food in each to assure the food is fully consumed.


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## ron521 (May 12, 2008)

I have 10 or 15 cory catfish in my 75 gallon tank. They make sure there is NEVER any leftover food, whether it be flakes or sinking pellets. However, I'm not sure how well a pleco would tolerate them "muscling in" on his territory.


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## starsunmoon (Apr 5, 2008)

I have 7 pygmy corys (little ones) in a 29 gallon with a pretty but starting to get huge pleco~~ he never bothers them, they are all over him, even in his cave, no problems...


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

For the record, this is not really my method no more than it's Diana's.
It's just using the slower rates of growth in a non CO2 tank, something folks have done long before Diana or myself even had tanks or where alive.
The "trick" is just balancing the fish load, which includes the feeding rates/food type, with the plant demand.

You can add soil as this will add a source of nutrients for the plants also(for awhile). Mineralized soil helps to reduce algae issues in the start. 
Then you can get away with not dosing anything for months, maybe years.
I just took the sediment out of the equation(however, it can still remain and be left in) and focused on the reduced growth dosing of the water column.

Sediment vs the water column, plants do not care.
Same for the higher light CO2 enriched systems also.

However, adding both sediment and water column sources will allow both of the fert methods to work synergistically. You will get more out of both methods vs the "either/or" philosophy. 

Also, you can grow more species in non CO2 method tanks this way also.
But you do not get to lard on the fish load, or feeding load.
The algae eaters are also more effective in such tanks(algae growth is slower due to lower CO2/light)

And they eat the left over food pretty good also.
Cories are good I think, they disturb the sediment top layer pretty good.
A group of panda cories, or maybe 5-7 Amano shrimp, 1-2 SAE's etc, all these guys are good additions to most non CO2 planted tanks and will knock out perhaps 50-90% of the algae issues folks might find if they have domne everything else right.

You may also do the water changes etc and dose excel if you wish.
Some have done Excel and no WC's also with good success over 8-9 months with no water changes. Adding the Excel will allow you to do more water changes, dose more etc as needed.

CO2 addition is really industrial style agriculture focused on high yields, not "natural" processes. The "Nature aquarium" style that ADA supports and developed is hardly natural ironically.

The non CO2 philosophy is far more in line with this idea.

But takes longer to achieve, hard to make $ at it if you sell things, folks are impatient, etc...........

regards, 
Tom Barr


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## sillypony (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the feed back.

I'll cut back food, I'm just a worrier, and over indulgent fish mommy, so I feed a bit more to make sure everyone is happy. If i keep going this low tech way, i'll just have to adapt.


Tom- I only cited it as yours, because I read half that thread and thats the procedure I'm aiming to follow. It's a great article.


Thanks all for the input.


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