[stiglitz]

This was my tank at 4 months old:

Here it is 7 months later, at 11 months of age:

I have not changed a single thing except for removing the salvinia & AR mini. Maybe less water changes from laziness, but that's about it. Last time I added root tabs was about 3-4 months ago.

As you can see, plant growth across the board has decreased. Everything is less healthy, and there's a fair amount of algae. It's quite surprising that it can get this bad when I haven't changed anything. Would less water changes really be the sole culprit? I find that hard to believe.

I can get into more specifics of my dosing, lighting, substrate, etc. but for now I'll keep the discussion on a more conceptual & generalized basis. Is it necessary to make changes to an aquarium once plant growth has peaked? If so, what are some good reading materials and/or rules of thumb to follow in terms of specific adjustments to make?

 

[Goodwood]

As plant mass increases, the ammount of nutrients they need increases as well. There is no set guidelines for adjustments necessary for plant growth as each tank is a completely different system. In a planted tank, I wouldnt say that plant growth peaks. Ideally you want them to grow at a consistent rate continuously to keep the system in balance. If growth peaked, it would mean that there is a something limiting growth (light, co2, nutrients.)
Without the specifics of your maintenance and dosing regime, My guess with what has happened to your tank is that plants were getting nutrients needed mostly from the substrate and root tabs and not from the water column. Not Adding root tabs for a few months and not dosing the right ammount of ferts in the water column could have caused your issue. This is all assumption upon first glance though

 

[somewhatshocked]

I can get into more specifics of my dosing, lighting, substrate, etc. but for now I'll keep the discussion on a more conceptual & generalized basis.

You'll need to get into specifics if you want answers or want to figure out what's occurred in your tank.

Is it necessary to make changes to an aquarium once plant growth has peaked?

Yes, obviously. Things change. Planted tanks aren't a set it and forget it thing.

If so, what are some good reading materials and/or rules of thumb to follow in terms of specific adjustments to make?

You're on the largest planted tank repository on earth. Search is your friend. Read the stickied posts and guides in each section. Check out the Tank Journals section. Dig in.

 

[puopg]

Don’t underestimate water changes. Think about it like this, anything you put in the tank stays in the tank. Even when algae dies, what does it turn into? Nutrients. Water changes are one way you can actually remove things from the system and break the cycle.

Also as you provide everyone with more tank info, my personal opinion about the honeymoon period of a tank, first 3 months or so ur tank is gonna be amazing, plants growing, etc.

welcome to the actual relationship. And like any healthy relationship, it takes work.

 

[xxAMIRxx]

The short answer is that, look to your tank in first picture, what you see? a glassy perfect clean water. now look to your second one, this water isnot clean as i see, you have many algae in your tank, why? because you have to clean everything in your tank like your home and your room. you need to change 2 or 3 gallon of your water from bottom near of substrate (not from top of the water) plus cleaning glass every week , and trust me if you do this, your new clean water make a new life for your plants. another tips: check your filtration (The filter pads). check your temperature (the best for plants + fishes is 26c) more than this make the plants melting. get a few algae-eating fish and a few red ramshorn snails (if you find) for your tank

 

[Aaronious]

I agree with the first post. More info is needed.

I agree with the other two posts as well, you have to clean the glass and do water changes.

Algae will compete for nutrients with plants. If there are too many, which is very likely if you are slacking on water changes because aquasoil should keep your tank growing pretty well all on it's own for some time. Meaning it is putting off nutrients. If there is an excess of one, algae will capitolize and begin to have a foot hold against your plants in their little nutrient war. Check lighting, first thing I do with algae is water changes. stay on them... If that doesn't help, after a few weeks, reduce lighting. Personally, I go a little drastic on this, and drop it by like 30-50% depending where it was at to start(if the light was att 100% I got to 50%, 75% to 50%, maybe just take it to 50%) and then bring it up slowly each week or two until things look up. If you see algae begin stop and make sure you're on water changes and fert regiment the whole time that you want to be on.

The biggest and best thing you can do for any aquarium is stability. Keep up on dosing and water changes, at least regularly. Doesn't have to be crazy anal about it all, like to the day or the hour, but keep up on it. Temperature plays an important role as well, it may not seem like it would for plants, but it can. It changes metabolic rates of everything.

Lastly, this is an ongoing learning experience. Even once you are 5-20 years in you will find you have to reset something in the tank or the whole thing for some reason. Or something comes out, a product or just general info that was not known before will come out and help you with you tank.

One of the best things about aquariums to me is that they require time, effort, patience. All are qualities that this modern world has been down playing in the last couple decades. I think if you can get a hold on this it will help your mindset in the long run for many things.