Re: [Killietalk] Killietalk Digest, Vol 26, Issue 15

[Ronjonb at aol_com]

Allan,
 
I have a tank not dissimilar to what you are talking about.  However,  I 
would strongly urge against any reverse flow undergravel filter or  conventional 
undergravel filter.  If you use about 2.5 inches or so of  whatever gravel 
catches your fancy - I use a dark brown, for example, and use  CO2 injection with 
your setup you will have plants growing so fast and dense you  will not know 
what to do with them.  I throw away about 5 pounds (!) every  3 weeks.  I have 
a 150 gallon tank, UV sterilizer, 4 36" compact  fluorescents and an Eheim 
cannister filter.  Carbonate hardness kept about  2 dH with CO2 to maintain pH at 
6.8.  I have some "jungle vallisneria" in  the back that grows more than 3 
feet per week.  The java ferns, which in  the past I have found to be 
slow-growing, choke the place completely if I dont  prune every 3 weeks (the val gets 
done every week).  Even fairly delicate  things like hair grass grows into dense 
thickets.  You will have to  fertilize - I use 1 tablespoon of DynaGro GroW 
and 1 teapsoon of DynaGro ProTect  every other day.  You will have no algae at 
all if the tank is planted  well.  I change about 15 gallons of water each 
week - I use RO water along  with "electrorite."  I add additional sodium 
carbonate to keep the  carbonate hardness at a "constant" level - I check on 
Saturdays.  Many  plants run lots of water through their roots so there will be a 
reasonable flow  through the gravel.  I used to use undergravel heating cables to 
"improve  circulation and keep the roots warm."  In side by side comparisons 
over the  years I have seen absolutely no difference and the cables are 
extremely  expensive.
 
I keep a colony of blue gularis in the tank - usually one male in a  
generation will begin to bully the others so after they are six months of age or  so I 
take him out, then the others reestablish a pecking order.  If you  start 
with a couple of dozen youngsters, by the time you are down to one male,  it is 
time to start with a new batch of youngsters.  When I have kept  colonies of 
other killies they usually get along better.  With them I also  kept angels.  
However, blue gularis will strip the fins from angels very  rapidly.  They do 
get along with Ctenopomas - which I also keep in the  tank.  The two ignore each 
other completely except when fighting over  food.
 
Ron Burch
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