The great Planted Tank Myths thread!

Art

Art

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Over my time in the planted aquarium hobby, I've heard many myths, especially on the Internet. Even today, you can see many people repeating these myths in Facebook Groups. However, as with many myths, some do have some basis in truth. Let's showcase them here!

The Oxford dictionary defines a myth as "a widely held but false belief or idea."

This is our definition: "a widely held but, in your opinion, false belief or idea in the planted aquarium hobby."

Let's see them! Post them here. Friendly debates are welcomed but, we like each other, so let's keep it respectful!
 
WOW! You guys are on a roll! ROFL with these.

Let's get more controversial. Some concepts are in a transitory state where some feel it's a myth and other don't.

Blackout periods should be your first step for most algae fixes.​

Myth or not necessarily?
 
Quagulator said:
It's a tool in the tool box for algae control, however there are likely other causes that need addressing before you go ahead and black the tank out.
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I tend to agree. Over all my years I have never blacked out my tank. Always seemed counter-intuitive to my goal......growing plants.

And not to say it doesn't work in some way, I just have no experience with it. My concern would be that if you don't correct whatever the issue is, then as soon as the lights are back on I would expect you would be facing the same problems.

When I have had issues with algae I have found that patience is a real virtue. My strategy is always to "grow" my way out of a problem, which takes time. I pay close attention to new growth, and when I see lots of good signs in the tank I let it ride for a while.

When the new growth becomes established and tall enough I remove all of the old growth. Goes back to the old adage to focus on growing plants not defeating algae. If new growth is clean and vibrant then it's just a matter of time before the tank is on the right track again. If you don't get new growth healthy........well then you are just going to be fighting algae whatever method you choose.
 
JPog said:
You need a dual stage regulator otherwise - EOTD is going to happen, especially if you don't refill in time.

Controversial, fear mongerining?
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This one is funny. I remember being extremely concerned about this. As I had a single stage, I would check the tank daily when it was running low...
 
JPog said:
You need a dual stage regulator otherwise - EOTD is going to happen, especially if you don't refill in time.

Controversial, fear mongerining?
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This may have been very true 5-10 years ago when I 1st started out in this hobby. Now days with the advancement of Metering Valves we do not hear about ETOD too often.

Side note: A dual stage regulator means one guage reads the tank pressure the other guage reads the pressure coming out of the tank :rolleyes:
 
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