Re: [Killietalk] planted tanks - off-topic, but need some input

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at inkmkr_com>]

Dave Clark wrote:

Snip.. [Allan's bragging about his big new tank. ;-)]

> I used flourite in my 40 gallon tank, but have since heard that many people 
> use aquatic plant soil which is very similar in texture and appearance.  I 
> bought mine at a home improvement store and it was a lot cheaper.  The 2 
> tanks I use it in have good plant growth and the fish are doing fine after 2 
> years.

Interesting. I have used both a number of times and do not find them 
similar, at all. Flourite was darker, rounded hard gravel, while APS is 
a light fluffy tan and rather dusty porous stuff. I found the former was 
much prettier, but too expensive. One of my best substrates is now in a 
20G tank. It has an inch and a half or more of APS, but has been covered 
by an attractive beach gravel from near Pebble Beach/ Big Sur. You can 
buy a similar (but finer) gravel as RMS Lonestar "Lapis Lustre" in many 
western fish shops. It is a lot cheaper if you can find it at a 
landscape supplier. Look for their "Coarse Aquarium" grade. I last paid 
$8 for 100 lbs, but that was several years ago.

The APS is a baked ("calcined") Fuller's Earth product that is light, 
hence porous, that has a lot of surface area for high CEC. It probably 
provides no nutrients of its own, but makes for a substrate that retains 
and chemically hosts all the essentials when supplied to the tank. I 
have been dosing with Kent's "Essential..." for trace minerals, but 
prefer Tropica Master Grow (TMG). [I won a huge jug of the Kent at a 
raffle, so won't throw it out as it does work.]

Beach gravels, like "Lapis Lustre" have a certain amount of seashell 
fragments that tend to slowly harden soft water. This is a lifesaver in 
places like San Francisco and Alameda, where the water is so low in 
minerals that it is downright unhealthy for most fish. The gravel plus 
fishfoods tends to raise the essential electrolytes to healthier levels. 
[The shells can be a bit of a nuisance when you don't want your water 
any harder.]

Allan, your tank is too big for most killies. The notable exception is 
pupfish. The late Al Castro discovered that failure to breed *Cypr. 
diabolis* was due to folks trying to use too-small tanks. When he put 
them in one of Steinhart's big tanks, they readily reproduced for him. 
[It was, after all, still a lot smaller than Devil's Hole.]

The males of desert pupfish like some privacy, and an interrupted sight 
path so other nesting males are somewhat or completely hidden. Low, wide 
tanks such as heavily-planted 20G Lows are ideal, but bigger tanks work 
even better IME. The shape is wrong (too tall), but I produced lots of 
various pupfish in 55G tanks. I never did well with them in 10G or 
smaller tanks.

I wouldn't bother with the RUGF, myself. The cannister should be enough, 
if it is the right size to get good turnover. The substrates mentioned 
above won't compact, so you don't have to introduce egg-predators like 
Malaysian Trumpet snails to keep it stirred. Nutrients readily diffuse 
into them and anaerobic areas are no problem as long as you keep organic 
stuff, like peat, at or below about 5% by volume of the total substrate. 
[A little is good, but I have produced some impressive hydrogen sulfide 
bubbles by adding too much. :-)]

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net 
- 760 872-3995

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