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#1
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questions regarding filters, plants, and substrate + a personal note for Phyl & company
Everything should be here in a week (web/mail order) for my semi low
tech goldfish aquarium (no CO2, use of natural light, lots of plants) finally! This should be quite an adventure. I have done lots of research and had some experience with smaller plant/fish low tech aquariums. I would like to thank all you guys and gals out there who have answered questions and provided suggestions! This and other fish newsgroups have been extremely helpful! thank you someone (cant remember who she was) that recommended Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad, I had actually ordered this book before the recommendation taking a leap thinking this book might be helpful. Also, thank you to another guy (?) who does the growing of trees (like bonsai) in an aquarium. I would like to get a hold of you and just learn more about your aquariums. I will have to find the past message and try to email you. Diana Walstad's book is amazing, to say the least. If you are embarking on a low tech aquarium or just interested in plants and using them religiously as sewage treatment centers in the aquarium, take a look at your library for this book or buy it. I found it at Wal-Mart's book website (I know what you are thinking. damn that Wal-Mart and all of scandalous and unethical practices! if only they didn't have such a great selling strat). Just in case you are interested and want to know more about it is broken up into main sections discussing plants as purifiers, bacteria, plant nutrients, carbon, nutrition and ecology, substrate, aerial growth, algae control, and she finishes the book with a set up and maitance guide. She has tons of research, drawings, charts, and faqs which make all the information a lot easier to understand. The only complaints I would have (very few) are that it does take some time to read (almost 190 pgs). You do have to have some basic knowledge of aquariums, general chemistry, and data interpretation skills. The only part I question in the book is her major advocating of soil in the aquarium. I haven't tried soil/rock substrate, yet, and I am too scared to do so for various reasons. It does make perfect common sense that you should use plants, natural sunlight, and a soil/pebble rock substrate to produce a balanced ecosystem in your aquarium. I am still open to being talked into it though, so e-mail or post if you have had good experiences! BORING zzzzzz anyways. I have read many different places that charcoal is not recommended or very effective in chemical filtration for filters, so now what? Has anyone had any experience with SeaChem Matrix Bio Media? I was thinking of maybe sticking this in my filter (2-3 marineland emperor 400s in a 125) stuck in a pantyhose sac or filter bag then putting some sort of filter padding before and after. The only question I have about this is how big are the compartments of the marineland emperor 400 filter (same as 280 but what size)? Will the Matrix Bio Media leave nutrients for the plants? Is my idea feasible? word picture to maybe help U---H--- I X I---H U = the tank H = filter walls I = filter pads to stop large particle from going back into water X = Matix Bio Media wrapped in panty hose maybe? --- = water flow About cycling an aquarium with plants and filter. I planed on fishless cycling and have read information on this. I have heard that cycling with plants can be confusing and varies by tank. I have also experienced with this. I wish I would have kept journals. I plan on doing this from now on. Should I leave plants out till later before fish? Also I heard the Emperors can be difficult to cycle. Is this true, and how can I combat this? I don't want to take water from other aquariums because I am starting a fancy goldfish tank and goldfish can be very delicate. I also am not going to by "cycling bacteria" again, because this is a rip off, in my experience and expensive. I thought maybe getting some water from a LFS goldfish tank, but this is still worrisome. As I stated I am worried about going the whole nine yards for low tech tanks. I thought that for substrate I would use 1-2 inches of 3/4 Fluorite Laterite from Seachem mixed with 1/4 walnut gravel then top that off with larger river pebbles to stop the goldfish from swallowing/stiring up the substrate. How does this sound and what are your experiences with this product? I know that I can never be prepared for or learn everything I need to know beforehand. I just have to do a lot of it, keep records, and hope for the best. I would be interested in sharing information if anyone would be interested in my endeavor. The main problems I will encounter and will have to fix on my own are getting enough nutrients in the plants while not growing harmful algae, plant destruction by goldfish, and no CO2. Thank you for listening to the ravings of a mad man, for any suggestions you might have, and reading this long post! Samuel P.S. Phyl (sp?) I am very sorry about your misfortune. I have heard a great many things about you, your aquarium plant knowledge, your service, and your merchandise. I have heard these things not only from this newsgroup but from TONS of plant/fish groups and websites. I was really looking forward to doing business with you. It's a personal loss to not only you but to everyone. :***-( I hope maybe someday you will have the strength to start again or even just come and join the electronic community that seems to miss you so much! Sincerely Samuel |
#2
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questions regarding filters, plants, and substrate + a personal note for Phyl & company
Everything should be here in a week (web/mail order) for my semi low
tech goldfish aquarium (no CO2, use of natural light, lots of plants) finally! I'm not sure this is a good idea. I'm all for low-tech tanks, but a planted tank with goldfish will be difficult. Goldfish are incorrigible plant-eaters. I fear they will kill all your plants, since in a low-tech tank, the plants can't grow fast enough to outpace the damage. In addition, I hope your tank is large. Goldfish are tiny when you get them, but grow very large, very fast. You need 20-30 gallons for each fish, and since they are happiest in groups, the minimum size tank for goldfish would be a 55 gallon (for two fish). And bigger is better. They produce a lot of waste, being bulky fish for their size, and are constantly stirring up the substrate, so lots of filtration is also recommended. It does make perfect common sense that you should use plants, natural sunlight, and a soil/pebble rock substrate to produce a balanced ecosystem in your aquarium. I am still open to being talked into it though, so e-mail or post if you have had good experiences! Probably not a good idea with goldfish. At any rate, make sure you use fine gravel or sand in a goldfish tank. Goldfish suck in mouthfuls of substrate and spit it back out as part of their natural feeding behavior. If you use pebbles that are too big, they can become stuck in the fish's mouth. I have read many different places that charcoal is not recommended or very effective in chemical filtration for filters, so now what? Has anyone had any experience with SeaChem Matrix Bio Media? I was thinking of maybe sticking this in my filter (2-3 marineland emperor 400s in a 125) stuck in a pantyhose sac or filter bag then putting some sort of filter padding before and after. The only question I have about this is how big are the compartments of the marineland emperor 400 filter (same as 280 but what size)? Will the Matrix Bio Media leave nutrients for the plants? Is my idea feasible? Use any of the vast array of bio media on the market. You might consider the Cell-Pore brand. They make filter inserts out of a special biomedia to fit a variety of popular filters. There are also other companies that do this, so look around. Since you're not injecting CO2, a bio-wheel or three would be a very good thing. Should I leave plants out till later before fish? I would do a fishless cycle on the aquarium, then add the plants and fish at the same time. If you add the plants before you cycle the tank, they may become algae-covered, because of all the ammonia you'll be adding to the tank. I thought that for substrate I would use 1-2 inches of 3/4 Fluorite Laterite from Seachem mixed with 1/4 walnut gravel then top that off with larger river pebbles to stop the goldfish from swallowing/stiring up the substrate. Don't do that. Leave out the large river pebbles. Let the goldfish swallow the substrate; it's their natural behavior. Unless you plan to use very large rocks indeed (which won't be good for the plants), the goldfish will eventually grow large enough to get the pebbles in their mouths, and get them stuck in there. With goldfish, you should use a fine substrate, so nothing can get stuck in their mouths, and not a coarse one, hoping it's too big for them to swallow. You'd be surprised what a goldfish can get in its mouth. And Flourite isn't laterite. It's a substrate in its own right. Though it can be mixed with gravel, it's meant to be used on its own. As I said above, I don't think a planted goldfish tank is a very good idea. But if you must try this, have you considered Seachem Onyx Sand? No laterite required. It's actually a very fine gravel, not a sand. And it's a dark grey color that, IME, would show off the colors of goldfish better than Flourite would. If it's too expensive to use straight, it can be cut with up to 50% dark sand, such as Tahitian Moon. Phyl (sp?) I am very sorry about your misfortune. What happened to Phyl? I thought she just decided to retire. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#3
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questions regarding filters, plants, and substrate + a personal note for Phyl & company
LeighMo wrote:
Everything should be here in a week (web/mail order) for my semi low tech goldfish aquarium (no CO2, use of natural light, lots of plants) finally! I'm not sure this is a good idea. I'm all for low-tech tanks, but a planted tank with goldfish will be difficult. Goldfish are incorrigible plant-eaters. I fear they will kill all your plants, since in a low-tech tank, the plants can't grow fast enough to outpace the damage. Um, low-tech planted goldfish tank using Walstad principles can be found here... http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/plant/lotech.html HTH, -Donald -- "There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and there is nothing so gentle as real strength." St. Francis de Sales |
#4
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questions regarding filters, plants, and substrate + a personal note for Phyl & company
Um, low-tech planted goldfish tank using Walstad principles can be found
here... http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/plant/lotech.html I've seen that page. It's a cool tank. However, you will note that he says the only plants he can keep in the tank are hornwort and one species of Val, because the goldfish "destroy" any other plants he puts in. If you must keep goldfish in your planted tank, it's possible. They don't generally eat anubias, and java fern is sometimes safe, too. But it's not easy, I don't recommend it for beginners. It's awfully frustrating to have goldfish eat all your expensive new plants. And worse, if no plants grow, algae will take advantage of the "natural" light and all that goldfish poop. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#5
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questions regarding filters, plants, and substrate + a personal note for Phyl & company
"LeighMo" wrote in message ... However, you will note that he says the only plants he can keep in the tank are hornwort and one species of Val, because the goldfish "destroy" any other plants he puts in. If you must keep goldfish in your planted tank, it's possible. They don't generally eat anubias, and java fern is sometimes safe, too. But it's not easy, I don't recommend it for beginners. It's awfully frustrating to have goldfish eat all your expensive new plants. And worse, if no plants grow, algae will take advantage of the "natural" light and all that goldfish poop. After more than a year experimenting with goldfish and plants, I have made the following observations: 1) Gold fish prefers fish food; fed reasonably well, they leave the plants mostly alone; 2) Do not start with a few plants; start with many plants, and that gives them all a chance to grow well; 3) Forget delicate plants (such as Ambulia); 4) Be prepared to replant often; goldfish will dig plants out; 5) Fertilisation definitely required. I currently have Spiral and Corkscrew Vals, Microsorum (normal and Windolov), Anubias, Ceratopteris, Elodea, some sort of Sword (supposedly Amazon, but I'm not so sure) and some Crypts (although most melted when I moved them). This is a relatively low light tank(1.5W/US gal), and the Corkscrew Vals, Elodea and Ceraptoteris are taking off (weekly 20% removal), the Anubias and Microsorums are doing very well (several divisions done for both), although the Windolov isn't doing as well. Swords are hanging in there, although did flower once. But if I fail to fertilise, the Microsorum and Anubias show deficiencies very quickly (probably out competed by the faster growers). I had more problems when I was trialing things, as plants kept getting eaten and dug out, but now with heavier planting, the problem is not as great (except one of the swords got dug up today). Ambulias lasted two weeks (goldfish evidently liked them), Hornworts grew well, but are messy plants, and tended to get "top heavy", Lileopsis were regularly dug up; I should have used finer gravel. My currently problem seems to be yellowing new growth in the Anubias, and some Microsorum, whilst the nitrate is at 20ppm; not quite sure what gives. And algae on the glass (working on that with Bristlenose Pleco; will try Ottos again after several deaths). -- Cheers, Poe to send email, add "email" to the end of oz |
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