Aug 25 2008
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Archive for August, 2008
Aug 20 2008
Substrate – Gravel – Dirt – Sand
Gravel
Substrate is the stuff at the bottom of the tank. Call it gravel which it should not be as normally gravel has a grain size in excess of 4.5mm and for a planted tank you really want to stick with a grain size in the 1-3mm size which is normally what one would call coarse sand. The epoxy coated stuff they sell in bags at the Local Fish/Pet Store is not what one would want for a substrate. Uncoated gravel/sand works much better and if you look around you will find it’s much cheaper. I can get 100 lb bags of coarse sand from an industrial supply house for around $13. Not a bad price, it works great and looks great. If you want Clown Puke (coated colored gravel) in the bottom of your tank that’s your choice, just don’t come crying to me when people laugh at you. Continue Reading »
Aug 20 2008
What Is Cycling A Planted Tank?
Ok, if you don’t know what I mean by Cycling a tank then stop right now and either get a basic aquarium book or do a Google search to find out what we are talking about. If you don’t understand what a Cycle is in a tank then you really should not be in the hobby.
The best way to cycle a planted tank is to do what is called a “silent cycle”. Here is the skinny on the “silent cycle”. Or if you wish and can find it there is a new product on the market called Bio-Spira by MarineLand that actually works. In the past any product that claimed to instantly cycle a tank was just so much snake oil. I have used Bio-Spira and it works as claimed. You may have used or read about the “fishless” cycling method. This method is a waste of time for a planted tank. It’s for fish tanks! Continue Reading »
Aug 20 2008
Test Kits
For a planted tank there are a few test kits that you really should have on hand. These are pH, kH, gH, nitrate, and phosphate. Don’t waste your money on iron test kits as they are very unreliable and not worth the money. Same goes for potassium test kits.
As far as what test kits work best. Well Lamotte are the best, but they run around $70 each. What I use is the Wardley’s mid-range pH test kit, the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals gH and kH, and the Red Sea nitrate and phosphate test kits. One of my Bit’s Of Wisdom is “Never test your test kit in your tank”. Now I’m going to tell you how to test your Nitrate test kit.
- Take 1000ml of water. Dissolve 6.5 grams of KNO3 in it.
- Take 1 gallon of water. Each ml of the above solution will add 1 ppm of NO3.
- Add 5 ml, test. Your test kit should show 5 ppm.
- Add 5 more ml, test. Your test kit should show 10 ppm
- Repeat through the range of your test kit.
Aug 10 2008
Planted Tank Lighting
Light energy is an essential ingredient to making a planted aquarium lush and green. It drives photosynthesis and the plant’s ability to consume nutrients from the water column. Without adequate light, plants won’t be able to grow properly.Planted aquariums require eight to ten hours of light, on average, to allow plants to metabolize the energy and complete their photosynthesis cycle.
The general rule of thumb for aquatic plants is that each tank needs at least 2.0 watts per gallon (wpg) in tanks that are greater than 20 gallons. Smaller tanks will need a little more wattage. For the beginning planted aquarist, I recommend you start with a lower wattage, i.e. around 2.0 wpg for eight to ten hours. Once you begin to understand the nutrient balance and plant growth that’s the time where you can experiment with increasing lighting. However, most times staying within this photoperiod range is more then adequate for plant growth. Continue Reading »
Aug 10 2008
Bristlenose Plecostomus
The Albino Bristlenose Pleco is a fish that is arguably an intriguing fish for the planted aquarium. I currently have an Albino Bristlenose Pleco in my 40 gallon planted tank and must say that it has become my favorite fish. Despite its size and appearance, it exhibits a peaceful nature and is quite animated in behaviour.
On a daily basis, I often see the rest of my fish in my 40 gallon constantly chase one another. The Kribensis female cichlid constantly chases the male Kribensis away and the male often goes into hiding to avoid being battered. My Siamese Algae Eater will often give the black skirt tetras chase. Fortunately, there are three black skirt tetras, so the Siamese Algae Eater finds that s/he is only able to chase one black skirt tetra at a time. It gives the other two a rest period until it is their turn to play “chase”. Among all this chaos and turmoil, the only fish that seems to keep to itself and not bother any other fish is my Albino Bristlenose Pleco. What is even more interesting is that I have yet to see the Albino Bristlenose Pleco become the target of attack by any other fish. Continue Reading »
Aug 04 2008
Understanding the pH/KH Relationship
A few years ago, it was common practice among hobbyist to measure their CO2 injection levels based on a pH/KH CO2 Relationship chart. Hobbyists would measure the two variables, pH and KH, look at a chart and tah-dah they figured out they are injecting x amount of CO2 ppms in their aquarium. Sounds too easy to be true? Well it is.