My #1 Secret to Successful Planted Fish Tanks - Master Aquatic Horticulturist's Pro Tip

[@dusk1947]

This is likley the best advice you could give. "Don't keep fish, keep water." We don't keep fish, nor plants, nor shrimp, nor even bacteria. These organisms live in that water we keep.

[@BentleyPascoe]

Great way to put it!

[@Auditing.northern.N.Y.]

I know this is old, and wish I'd of watched this while I was running hydroponics. Good advice! I always knew my waters ppm and pH, never actually checked for anything else to see what the ppms were. I know it's mostly calcium, but beyond that never imagined other nutrients.

[@JG-vn5fe]

Great video, Bentley! Thank you!!

[@missyshell_mishell]

Thank you for explaining it so well- makes so much more sense to me now. I never understood why it changes from tap to aged to tank. Great video!

[@Handygrrl]

Since i live in your nrighborhood, this information and advice really hit home! Strange spikes in nitrates recently (April/May), past spikes in phosphates...thank you!

[@Tom_H694]

You're so incredibly humble and helpful. Thanks Bentley!

[@seandaly6378]

Thank you for the work you put into helping everyone be successful

[@WorldAquariumSingapore]

cheers thanks Bentley and Hello to all aquarium friends

[@Sneezy1956]

I've learned so much listening to you! And I thought I knew a lot about aquariums thank you so much

[@comment.highlighted]

I had to watch the intro twice because I was too busy looking at that luscious green tank 🙂

[@ashenwalls3558]

Now that you say it, it sure makes sense.

[@kosys5338]

You hear a lot of nonsense on KZbin. But you my friend were right on point in this video. Great video, Great advice. Cheers!

[@marc_e_mcfly1585]

This video fantastic! It truly is day one, 101, foundation knowledge for any level aquarist. As always, great job, Bentley!!

[@budatkins5917]

Ding Ding Ding, thats what I was hearing in my head while watching this video. Great tip Bentley!!! Thanks for all you do!!

[@Noahinthe802]

I am on well water, and always test my tanks after the water has been in there for over 24 hours and rarely take a test out of the tap first. This vid served as a great reminder Bentley! Sometimes we get caught up in other aspects of the hobby but forget back to basics. Great content, keep up the hard work!

[@joesmith9103]

Knowing my water saved my anglefish tonight who I found at deaths door from extremely low KH which crashed my pH. If I had not known my water, my first instinct would have been Water Change! But instead knowing that my water has about 0ppm KH and a ph of 6.46.8 my first instinct was to slowly sprinkle baking soda, and observe as he recovered! Thanks again Bentley!

[@BentleyPascoe]

Great work Joe! Glad you saved the angel!

[@joesmith9103]

Thanks! Thumbs up twice! 🤣

[@butkusfan23]

I’ve watched a few of your videos now. You seem to very knowledgeable and very passionate. That, and you are just plain likable lol. I subbed to your channel today. I hope you keep up the great work!

[@racerofrc]

Thank you for the information.

[@nagasvoice8895]

Another reason to test your tapwater is that, in some areas, the county is big enough that major metro areas do not all have the same well-water and river sources. That means different neighborhoods have different results that may or may not be reflected in the county water's "averages". Turned out that part of our supply was bought from private wells that weren't maintaining adequate water pressure, and when EPA inspected, some of those wells had contaminates that forced them to shut a few down. Eventually ended up that the city had to tap into other wells and add more river water to bring our part of the system up to acceptable parameters. River water is subject to radical changes as we get snowmelt diluting things in the spring, vs. low levels and higher minerals during drought in later summer and early fall.

[@BentleyPascoe]

Very good point!

[@Bryancstephan]

As usual, you insights are very valuable.

[@mingbritson]

I need to watch many, many more of your videos. Such good info. You're probably the smartest guy in the hobby who's active on YT. Alexander + Dr. Kelly Foreman as well, but you're awesome!

[@trevorgregori9667]

Great information. I have tested my water out of the tap several times I need to try the 24 hour test to see the difference. Great video 👍

[@marksterlson]

Thanks Benley.

[@ryanmaynes3830]

This is the first video of yours i have seen. Very very well explained. Keep contributing to the hobby thank you!

[@muskulls]

Sir. You are awesome! Your videos revitalized my interest in the hobby. Keep in keeping on!

[@limpbits4023]

Know your water …… simple and yet very fundamental for the success of our fish keeping experience

[@jimdavis9034]

Great reminders and advice!!

[@kylegold820]

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 that how you explain why we do water changes 👏👏👏👏

[@maryminenko3740]

I’ve found that if you leave the algae alone it tends to work itself out plus it’s great for my bristlenose

[@madhatterjones4781]

Awesome video Bentley. Great information and advice very helpful for a beginner. Appreciate your videos. Keep up the great work 👍👍

[@victoralba6796]

My water is perfect for African Cichlids but for my plants I have to mix about 1.5 tap water with 3.5 gallons of RO , brings KH at 5 and ph about 7.2

[@frankviera9977]

Grrrrrrreat information!!! Thank you!

[@dustinloy5405]

Thank you as always Bentley!

[@davidspangler-dk8ug]

Bentley, It's funny how an old mind plays tricks on you. As I stated back into the hobby (after 50 years) I did remember how valuable records help later on, so I kept them. Starting with a 10 gal. I figured it would be more of a challenge; NA! With gravel and no active substrate, things went slow. Plants were easy ones. Also, fish load was about right. Initially (OMG) I got a small amount of diatoms. But the diatom growth was very small. Things went very well. I won't bore you with a lot of record details over 4 years. They do show more fluxartion in PH, KH, etc. But stability was always there. Maturity settled PH to 6.8, and KH to 2. You and I had a small talk about Java fern as the stuff just would not grow. Bumping potassium and iron solved the issue. Life was good with the little 10 gal box. I finally decided to step up to a 29 gallon, and use the 10 gal grow out/ quarantine tank. OK so after set up with a lot of Plants things went well. I did notice aged tap water changed from 4 years ago PH and KH were 6.7 and 2, the same as my stable tank water. Not dosing nitrogen or pretty much anything except iron and potassium I had nitrates between 0 and 25. If the nitrates got over 30 water was changed. So here's the issue DIATOMS ARE NUTS! The only difference between the 29 and 10 are: 1. Deeper kitty litter, and a small amount of active substrate for Crypts. 2. Aged tap water has 20ppm nitrates and phosphates of 2. 3. Stronger light for water depth. Hornwort is floating to consume nitrates, phosphates, and for shade. Water parameters are: PH = 6.7 KH = 2.0 Nitrates = 20 (aged tap and tank water). GH = 100+/_ Phosphates = 0.25 You can guess I am not doing well with this BS. The diatoms have been going a month and I know it might be a couple more weeks, but the only plant doing well is the hornwort. ANY input will be appreciated. Thanks, Dave Spangler

[@BentleyPascoe]

Potentially the diatoms are munching on the phosphate, but that's a low enough number I would think it not to be the case. If you are creating lots of diatoms, it's a great food source for otocinclus! Trying to find the positive?

[@davidspangler-dk8ug]

@BentleyPascoe Thanks, will I be able to care for them after there gorging on the dammmmm stuff? Thanks for some direction.

[@davidspangler-dk8ug]

P S Cory's are munching on it .

[@Eric-uh7nl]

I find maintaining a decent KH level provides stable water conditions that don't tend to fluctuate too much. This applies to all my heavily planted tanks, my shrimp tanks, and my African cichlid tanks, to different degrees depending on the type of fish.

[@dougdame6706]

Outstanding. And if you have a good understanding of YOUR specific water, you have a better chance of recognizing when the "standard internet advice" isn't a good fit for your situation/problem d'jour. Bentley: how often do you re-test your Tap and 24-hr water? My biggest worry is that my local water ... it's city water, but the water system is now operated by a private contractor ... would switch WITHOUT ADVANCE PUBLIC NOTICE from chlorine to chloramine as part of periodic "shock the system" maintenance. I just moved, so I have to remake a fishroom and a water treatment process. I plan on gassing off the chlorine, but if chloramine is coming in unexpectedly, that could be disastrous.

[@BentleyPascoe]

It's pretty uncommon for water companies to make a major shift like that - however, I suppose it could happen. I test my water about 3 times a year now and am on a list from my water company to get their routine water quality reports. When I first was keeping fish in my current home I had one bad out break like I mentioned, from there on I tested monthly for almost 2 years to get a better understanding of a month-to-month water change from the tap. Typically once per season is really all you should need.

[@SlickNick3]

Is that giant mass behind your head Java ferns or crypts Bentley? My crypt wendtii green gecko is a massive green bush like that I love it!

[@BentleyPascoe]

Java fern

[@SlickNick3]

@@BentleyPascoe I’m jealous Java fern is a plant that hasn’t done well for me in non co2 setups so I’m afraid I’ll kill it even faster in a pressurized co2 setup

[@newmexicoaquatics282]

Thank you for sharing! Great videos always! - Little Bobby

[@serpico727]

Great video. I test straight out of the tap and the tanks but will now be testing the tap aerated 24hrs as a reference.

[@victorb145]

Good tip! I know I get a decent amount of ammonia in my tap water. I don't know what the reading is it's a pretty green color so too much. I also know if I keep the bio load light by keeping fewer fish and do lots of little water changes. It all works out. Right now between the lucky bamboo growing both in and out of the tanks and the rest of my houseplants have enough water demands that if I water them from the tanks it keeps me on schedule.

[@AquaNoxLTD]

True

[@emberframe6994]

thanks for the vid man very useful

[@rachelmurray8970]

I am still catching up on all my "fishtuber" videos this week... had family come for 4 days.... oy. Great video as always 👍

[@richbowlturner5251]

Hi Bentley I have a question about Dolomite lime rocks i am using them to put my RO water up to 7.0 then doing my water change, i was watching one of your videos on all in one fertilizer and bought the one you use FlorinMulti by Brightwell, and Dolomite lime rocks have Calcium,Magnesium in them and Dolomite lime rocks reduce Iron in the water so can this overdose the Calcium,Magnesium and will it take out to much Iron ?

[@BentleyPascoe]

I don't think you'll run into issues, the rock does this slowly over time, likely not as fast as plants can take advantage

[@richbowlturner5251]

@@BentleyPascoe Thank you your the Man

[@Lumpydog]

Good points. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

[@TonyEsguerra-s7s]

How can I avail easy green ?

[@BentleyPascoe]

It's sold online by Aquarium Co-Op, but there are many similar fertilizers out there.

[@wolfring7081]

I can’t ever seem to keep nitrates in my water ever since I sat my tank up it’s always 0. I dose easy green once a week I’ve even waited a few weeks between water changes still 0. I’m also trying to deal with a bba problem.

[@BentleyPascoe]

You could very well not be dosing enough, I would try dosing more often with less - so if your tank is 40g you can do 1 pump every other day as an example.

[@kissthewitchesc.8520]

Great info, thanks.

[@trenamarie9820]

How often do you test your tap water?

[@BentleyPascoe]

I test my tap about 3 times a year now, when I first started doing water work at my home, monthly for first two years. This let me understand my general expectations for my tap through the year and based on season.

[@ELflowing]

Great topic.

[@MFTAQ]

Great info as always.

[@jimdavis9034]

I named my tap water. "The Rock". :) Perfect for African Cichlids but I keep Angels, etc. Nothing against AC, I have kept them before but my passion is the plants.

[@dirtyoldfarmhand3]

Wonderful.

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

I'm just getting started an growing plants in my aquariums . Is aquascaping and fish planted tanks the same ? I didn't do the research on my lighting for plants in my other tanks . Since checking water out of your faucet is important to growing flourishing plants , howabout lighting . watts , lumens , liters , volume of water in tank etc. I attempted to figure what watts I needed for my tank ? Dimensions on my tank are 6' x 18" x 24 deep . I thought I did it correctly , but I don't know . Maybe you can help me setting up this new tank with plants and fish . I watch your shows often , too smart for me , but if I stay with you long enough You'll rub off on me . Keep it up I'm watching .

[@BentleyPascoe]

Watts only really matter with old florescent lighting. With led it's not as important. Planted tanks can be aquascaped. Think of it like having a garden versus having a well manicured, landscaped garden. Aquascaping is like landscaping your aquatic garden

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

​@@BentleyPascoe How do I choose the right light for the size tank I have . I am trying to have planted tanks to help with water conditioning . I appreciate your help although your way ahead of me.

[@kirkadams7033]

Great video. My nitrates run 20 right out of the well. Tank is usually a steady 40. I do have soft water. What do you suggest for fertilizer that won’t help raise the nitrates?

[@BentleyPascoe]

Brightwell Florin Multi

[@kirkadams7033]

@@BentleyPascoe thanks buddy. Is this also snail safe. From reading it appears to be.

[@BentleyPascoe]

Yep! Snail and Shrimp safe

[@engdog2]

Great video as always.do you have any idea how i can get the poster of the rainbow fish species ive seen that gary lange has? I think he brings them to shows and sells them but I've scoured the internet and can't find anywhere to buy one.thanks

[@BentleyPascoe]

Last I knew he occasionally sells them through the rainbowfish live group on FB

[@asier2001]

Indeed, the first step goes to get county's water analysis

[@qwertyuiopasdfghjkl4403]

My water comes from a deep well here in the Philippines, after trimming and water change all plants would grow and i have a cheap light and no fertilizer whatsoever my substrate is top soil from a rice field and capped with river sand. What i observe is that my plants tend to grow up and they're thin. So maybe I'll try to upgrade the lights and dose fertilizer to hopefully have bushy growth.

[@cichlidkingaquatics5988]

I trust you more than Cory any day. And I've felt that way for a year or more!

[@Tom_H694]

They're pretty close in their ideas. Both are incredibly reliable and knowledgeable. I am just happy to have both of their perspectives!

[@khcaver]

Cory, LRB, and Bentley are my go to guys for plants. Each come from a different angle but drop considerable knowledge for the hobbyist. We are all fortunate that these guys are willing to pass on so much experience for free. Thanks Bentley, you are a true treasure.

[@kenethkuhn8558]

What is a safe KH and GH for fish and a planted tank?

[@BentleyPascoe]

There's a pretty wide range, usually you want at least 2 kH to hold pH stable, then from there 4-10gH is pretty easy to manage, but that's not "the only" range. Plants can be very flexibile, they just tend to do better in softer water.

[@andystokes8702]

I am on a small Greek island. Nobody drinks the tap water - because it has a TDS reading of 4,700. Yes, that's not a misprint it really is 4,700. I have a well but because the rock here is volcanic the water coming from my well is 1,500. Any suggestions?

[@BentleyPascoe]

Wow, that's some serious minerals. Likely you'd be forced to look into some heavy sediment filtration and potentially RO to help bring that down

[@andystokes8702]

@@BentleyPascoe I do use RO, can you guess at how long a set of filters last when you try to pump water with a TDS reading of 4,700 through them?

[@Orchids.and.Endlers]

@@andystokes8702 how much?

[@BentleyPascoe]

@@andystokes8702 I would test you water, once you see that tds climbing, swap it. Depends on how much gallonage you're doing per week/day

[@andystokes8702]

@@Orchids.and.Endlers I'm spending about £50 a month just on filters.

[@majorbruster5916]

Bentley, the buffering in tap water cannot 'de-gas' out as stated. By definition, it is there to stabilise the pH of the supply water. PH changes that occur on aeration are due to loss of CO2 mainly. Carbonates and bicarbonates are not volatile. The CO2 can be either from microbial activity in the system or from a leak where the high pressure flow entrains air into the system and CO2 dissolves in under pressure. Nitrogen also does the same. The latter scenario is more common than you think; there are loads of small leaks in pipe networks that water companies don't care to admit and won't bother to repair for a number of reasons, money being the main one. As aquarists, we should always dechlorinate and aerate our make-up water before adding it to the aquarium. Adjustment of water parameters can then be carried out safely.

[@MattyP650]

Bentley did say that kH will gas off, which is definitely incorrect. Your explanation is also incorrect though, a pH drop is the result of co2 injection. If the co2 was gassing off, the pH would rise. The “degassing” associated with tap water is likely due to strange chemicals that protect the pipes, these chemicals gas off quickly.

[@majorbruster5916]

@@MattyP650 Thank you for pointing out the shortcomings in my explanation. There seems to be a fixation around CO2 which is not the only source of pH drop; carbonic acid is also present in tw and readily reacts to form carbonates and bicarbonates, liberating H+ in the process, thus acidifying the water. However, the HCO3 and CO3 form a buffering state and the pH rises. Aeration triggers the breakdown of HCO3 to CO2 which is lost to the atmosphere. There can also be imperceptible precipitation (depending on the concentration of other ions present) which also affects pH. Moving into the aquarium, HCO3 and CO3 are readily assimilated by plants and bacteria, which release H+ ions and thus contribute to acidification. The anti-corrosion chemicals you alluded to, ortho- and polyphosphates, silicates and fluorosilicates, are not volatile, and under ANSI/NSF Standard 60 no other chemicals are allowed. Therefore they play little role in the matter of pH changes on aeration.

[@XxSwagGamersxX]

Hey Bentley quick question if you see this, so I’m barely going to setup my first co2 tank after having my planted tank for more than a year I decided to give it a try and learn more about it, my question is what happens if I take clippings of co2 grown plants and move them over to my other tanks, will they survive and adjust to new parameters ? I know they will get smaller and lose maybe their reds but just start thriving in their new environment with new different leafs

[@BentleyPascoe]

They'll adjust usually, it's a slow process

[@shadeaquaticbreeder2914]

Hey I'm having trouble with getting dark algae on all of my crypts. Is it likely bc of the light level? I'm using Finnex Stingrays so I thought the light level would be low, especially when it's ~1' above the water lol. 😔 I don't understand lol.

[@BentleyPascoe]

This is typically a dust algae that forms from too much direct light or not enough flow

[@oleksiysyrota9374]

thank you from Ukraine!

[@Mrtom40]

I have 40ppm Nitrates so am always fighting it i just dont know what to do

[@BentleyPascoe]

Shoot me an email, I'll try to help you out: [e-mail]

[@darkstars-torpedoes-of-truth]

I'm so glad the tip wasn't 12 inches of compost and pond water.

[@Sev_Angel24]

My algae is crazy high & unable to get rid of it, but can’t keep plants alive 😂😂

[@adamworley196]

Hey! I know that feeling! 😂 Eventually had to buy water instead of tap for one of my tanks in particular. Might be a decent workaround for you, if your tank isn't too big to make the price not worth it to you. Buy 5 gallon bottles, and you can predose the measurements much easier for any ferts or chems before putting the new in. Really came in handy when I was trying to get a bunch of plants going in a 40 breeder. 4 bottles for a 50% water change, and once everything is good and established, you won't need to do as big of changes. Another idea, and it's a slow go to get established, is to let a tank get completely coated and trim it like hair. It's painstakingly annoying, but can be absolutely breathtaking. I think it's actually called algae carpeting. Never tried it, but it looks neat to try once. Hopefully any of this can help you! Keep being awesome!

[@Sev_Angel24]

@@adamworley196 I have two 125 gallons, two 75 gallons, two 10 gallons, and one 300 gallon stock pond lol. Buying water may be a little out of my ability. I've been trying to do an algae carpet in my one 75 gallon with two fancy goldfish, but I ended up having to put fake grass mats down for actual green algae to finally take root instead of brown algae in that tank. No idea how that worked lol

[@adamworley196]

@@Sev_Angel24 Oof, yeah. Maybe for the 10s, or one of them. Cool idea with the fake grass. Maybe you tricked it? 😂

[@DAdam-fo1md]

Without understanding the basics, which you explained very well, you will never be happy with your aquarium. I myself am a lucky guy and have water without nitrate, without nitrite, without phosphate, ph 6.5 and GH 4. It does not get better than that!

[@alirahi8053]

Very insightful video. Thank you. Any suggestion about the chemical testing kit that you like and use?

[@BentleyPascoe]

I currently use the API master test kit for freshwater and Aquarium Co-op test strips. Let's me compare relatively fast

[@comment.highlighted]

Understanding my water is a great tip. I will definitely use this advice 🙂

[@Jstroman221]

For the algorithm 🤙

[@steve852011]

until i got my amazon puffer i never felt like a fishkeeper i just managed their water...

[@ladyt1866]

Ahh yes nitrates from the tap the root of my frustration at times

[@canelami1285]

I'm so going to email you for an indepth solutions. I need help, well my poor plants need help. I know from the tap i have nitrates and ammonia, super high pH, yet very soft water, like 2 kh and 4 GH. But i need to do that 24 hr gassing and test that. Then I'll send you an email with all my info. My poor plants have been on the brink of death for far to long.

[@laurasutton4057]

I also have very soft water with a ph of 8.4. I tested for phosphate and it was off the charts unreadable. May want to check that too. Good luck with plants. My kh is way high and every time I try plants they immediately melt and rot. Still trying to figure this out since they changed us over to well water.

[@ba9958]

i found out that i don't need fertilizer in my water and my plants started taking off