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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #1195
Wouldn't this be a good argument for using sand over a substrate as
opposed to gravel?
>Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 06:12:21 -0400
>From: "Cathy Hartland" <hartland at nfis_com>
>Subject: Re: cloudy water
>
>Jeff Malmquist has a problem with cloudy water-
>
>Jeff, Your situation sounds enough like mine for me to add my own
>take on things. My tank had been running for about 3 years, heavily
>planted, CO2 injected, goodly fish load, rich substrate. After years
>of crystal clear water, it suddenly became hazy, slowly reaching
>pea-soup status over several weeks, in spite of water changes
>galore and covering the tank for 5 days to darken it. It was
>suggested to me (by Robert T Ricketts, on this list--thanks again!)
>that my substrate was deteriorating and I needed to do some deep
>vacuuming.
>Sure enough, some very nasty-smelling gunk was lurking down
>there, especially under the crypts which had been in the same
>location for the whole 3 years. I did much cleaning and much water
>changing, and -- voila!, the water began to clear. Each time I go in
>and do more deep vacuuming, the water clouds temporarily as the
>substrate material is exposed to the water, and then clears after
>several days.
>
>I had no idea that this could happen. I thought all that black stuff
>under the gravel was great fertilizer for the plants. But it seems that
>there must be a periodic renewal, especially around the plants
>which create a large root mat, such as crypts and swords. I
>suspect that this is your problem as well, and I hope this works for
>you as it has for me.
>
>Thank goodness I did not lose any fish or plants throughout this
>whole ordeal.
>
>Cathy Hartland (whose aquaria have more water in them than the
>local lakes here in Maryland)
Gerry Skau
ANS BigDial Engineering
IDEOLOGUE: Typically, an obscure humourless zealot who finds
fulfilment by spouting the ideas of famous humourless zealots.