Got a 10g to play with.
- Thread starter Philosophos
- Start date
Will do.
And having come back from the fish store, I've decided to get rid of the crappy little filter insert for the old "secondnature" whisper power filter that I've got. I'm going to be trying bioballs zip tied together and stuck in its place. Since this dumps off a level of mechanical filtration, I'll be using an adapter for a nice big sponge on the intake to both protect fry and keep sand out of the filter. Nothing else to speak of on the tank right now; holidays have got the researching bogged down.
And having come back from the fish store, I've decided to get rid of the crappy little filter insert for the old "secondnature" whisper power filter that I've got. I'm going to be trying bioballs zip tied together and stuck in its place. Since this dumps off a level of mechanical filtration, I'll be using an adapter for a nice big sponge on the intake to both protect fry and keep sand out of the filter. Nothing else to speak of on the tank right now; holidays have got the researching bogged down.
So I've pounded out more research. From what I can gather, all of the rock and sand is calcium carbonate, with some k-feldspar sprinkled in. That and silicates are mixed in with the sand. I'm kind of stumped as to any other forms of rock. Got a few pictures, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to reproduce this part of LTK without going to an importer or geologist for a bit of help. Maybe I'll be able to find a near by rock shop that can explain a bit of it to me. Andrew S. Cohen's research has been invaluable, I'm sure I could get something better together if I could understand most of what he writes. Here's some more links for anyone who wants more info on LTK:
http://www.ltbp.org/FTP/BIOSS2.PDF
http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/awramik/pubs/COHE9740.pdf
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/web/Cohen/pdf/17%20Cohen%201990%20AAPG%20Memoir%2050.pdf
http://jgs.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/158/5/801
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/web/Cohen/pdf/10 Cohen and Thouin 1987.pdf
And that's all from me for now. This research is giving me a headache :duh:
http://www.ltbp.org/FTP/BIOSS2.PDF
http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/awramik/pubs/COHE9740.pdf
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/web/Cohen/pdf/17%20Cohen%201990%20AAPG%20Memoir%2050.pdf
http://jgs.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/158/5/801
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/web/Cohen/pdf/10 Cohen and Thouin 1987.pdf
And that's all from me for now. This research is giving me a headache :duh:
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Can't wait to see this tank when it's complete, and a list of what went into it as well as were to get the stuff in case someone else should want to duplicate this level of precision in their own biotope. 
I'll be down visiting some friends this weekend, one of them has my book, Cichlids of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. This book contains tons of pictures of the biotopes.
I'd have to agree with much of what has been said in this thread ( it's been a fascinating read ), the rocky areas where the Transcriptus hang out basically resemble large underwater rock slides. It was mainly large boulders, looking like limestone. When I get the book back I'll see if it contains any info any the specific types of rocks, and I'll scan some pics of the shorelines.
I'd have to agree with much of what has been said in this thread ( it's been a fascinating read ), the rocky areas where the Transcriptus hang out basically resemble large underwater rock slides. It was mainly large boulders, looking like limestone. When I get the book back I'll see if it contains any info any the specific types of rocks, and I'll scan some pics of the shorelines.
Great I'll appreciate anything I can get. The pictures are the main thing now. I've got some papers with black and white low detail stuff, even with scale due to certain species of fish being in them, but it it's the color that I need now. The water here is hard... very hard. LTK fish love it un-adjusted; tap has a ph of about 8, and a level of hardness that varies, but generaly blows RO membranes in 1/2 the time. I'm thinking of trying to find rocks that represent the tope in appearance, but won't add the strain of CaCO3 tinkering. If these pictures you're getting has something from that area in about 8-80 feet deep, then I'm set. I might even go out and buy the book if it's detailed enough.
I'll appreciate anything I can get. The pictures are the main thing now. I've got some papers with black and white low detail stuff, even with scale due to certain species of fish being in them, but it it's the color that I need now. The water here is hard... very hard. LTK fish love it un-adjusted; tap has a ph of about 8, and a level of hardness that varies, but generaly blows RO membranes in 1/2 the time. I'm thinking of trying to find rocks that represent the tope in appearance, but won't add the strain of CaCO3 tinkering. If these pictures you're getting has something from that area in about 8-80 feet deep, then I'm set. I might even go out and buy the book if it's detailed enough.
