Dennis Wong
Active Member
The thing is, while dark starts help stabilize the system it does not fully transform the tank into a matured state. For lower light systems, and easier plants, a dark start is often enough to skip past most of the transitioning algae/diatom issues.
However, in higher light systems, and if the substrate is still changing water parameters significantly, or if plants that are added in still need to go through adaptation stages, large water changes after planting seem helpful.
The very large (90%+) very frequent water changes seem to guarantee smooth grow in period with ammonia rich aquasoils. Guaranteed outcomes are a rare thing in chaotic ecological systems. So I find that if one has time - the action is tremendously beneficial. Barr has a post on how the deep water changes exposes plants to uptake surface air - helping both their adaptation, and the acceleration of the maturity of the microbial system as the plants channel O2 down to the rootzone. I'm no biologist and am primarily outcome-focused where plants are concerned, and I wouldn't skip the deep water changes in a new tank unless I didn't have access to good water or time.
