Re: Substrate longevity

[Raj <ggrk at blr_vsnl.net.in>]

George wrote in:

> Aquatic Plants Digest     Sunday, October 25 1998     Volume 03 : Number 602
>
> Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 12:16:50 -0700
> From: George Booth <booth at frii_com>
> Subject: Re: Substrate longevity
>
>  We typically uproot all stem plants, trim the best part
> off the top and replant the top. We toss the root end and do a little
> surface vacumming in that area. This avoids the problem of unsightly "water
> roots" and, I conjecture, stirs the top part of the substrate enough to
> remove any waste material or alleochemicals generated by the plant,
> preventing it from "poisoning" itself. Also, it will get replanted in a
> slightly different spot where there has not been a concentrated "nutrient
> uptake" by its roots. Sort of like crop rotation <g>.

I use a sterile 4" 2-3mm sand substrate my 55g setups. 
Once in a year or so I "air" the substrate using 18" 
glass tube 1/4" dia hooked up with an my best air
pump. I poke around the substrate with this tube 
and the air pushes out all the muck/mulm/detritus,
which gets filtered out.

It would make a mess of layered "active" substrates.

Regards
--
Raj
Bangalore, South India

---

• Prev by Date: A few questions (cyanobacteria, bubbles, lead, sandy)
• Next by Date: "Hardness" uptake in an aquarium and a related question
• Prev by thread: Substrate longevity
• Next by thread: Re: Substrate longevity
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread