I’m using Caribsea white sand. It said to wash the sand and then put it in in small amounts in a cup. The fry stay to the top of the tank and sides when I’m there so I shouldn’t have to worry about them. I was only going to put a bit more around some plants since the crypts have long bottom roots.10 more pound shouldn’t hurt?
Question?
- Thread starter Nyk0nn
- Start date
A couple of thoughts here.
First, there is a decent amount of the bacteria we want which lives in the substrate. In an unplanted tank the oxygen level in the substrate tends to be too low to support tje bacteria somewhere much below 1/2 inch and by an inch it is too low. So how much additional substrate one puts into an established tank can matter over the short term. So it makes sense not to completely cover the exusting substrate with over about 2/3 of an inch of new.
One way to avoid this kind of an issue it to add the new substrate over time so that you are not completely losing the substrate bacteria for any amount of time.
Next, a planted substrate is one of the best filters there is. This can be even better if one has snails or fish which burrow as this helps oxygenate the substrate. Moreover, some plants whose roots are in anaerobic zones will transport oxygen down to their roots where they release it. The result is that the nitrifiers can now live there and ammonia gets more easily created. The plants want tha ammonia (as NH4 ammonium). Additionally, because the bacteria down there are creating nitrate, within the anaerobic zones around the oxygenated ones denitrifying bacteria colonize. The result is the nitrifying and denitrifying zones are basically coupled and work together and the plants benefit.
So as to how to add new sand to a tank filled with water. I have tried the cup method and it works with small amounts but is hard if one want to raise the level over a decent area through a decent depth of water. Further, the new sand is dry and once the cup is wet the sand behaves a bit differently. I came up with what I consider is a better method for adding dry sand to a filled tank.
I have a variety of gravel vacs. The ones for use in bigger tanks have a fairly lone tube that is also 1.5 - 2 inch diameter. I pour dry sane into the top of the tube which is above the surface and it slides out the bottom of the tube pretty close to where it is supposed to land. Not only can I control where the sand lands by where the bottom of the tube is, but I can also easily control the volume of sand being placed there. I simply pour the sand faster or slower.
The fun part of this is how some of the fish react. They can see the sand but not the clear tube. They also tend to react to the sand as if it might be food. The result is some bump into the tube trying to grab a gain of sand.
First, there is a decent amount of the bacteria we want which lives in the substrate. In an unplanted tank the oxygen level in the substrate tends to be too low to support tje bacteria somewhere much below 1/2 inch and by an inch it is too low. So how much additional substrate one puts into an established tank can matter over the short term. So it makes sense not to completely cover the exusting substrate with over about 2/3 of an inch of new.
One way to avoid this kind of an issue it to add the new substrate over time so that you are not completely losing the substrate bacteria for any amount of time.
Next, a planted substrate is one of the best filters there is. This can be even better if one has snails or fish which burrow as this helps oxygenate the substrate. Moreover, some plants whose roots are in anaerobic zones will transport oxygen down to their roots where they release it. The result is that the nitrifiers can now live there and ammonia gets more easily created. The plants want tha ammonia (as NH4 ammonium). Additionally, because the bacteria down there are creating nitrate, within the anaerobic zones around the oxygenated ones denitrifying bacteria colonize. The result is the nitrifying and denitrifying zones are basically coupled and work together and the plants benefit.
So as to how to add new sand to a tank filled with water. I have tried the cup method and it works with small amounts but is hard if one want to raise the level over a decent area through a decent depth of water. Further, the new sand is dry and once the cup is wet the sand behaves a bit differently. I came up with what I consider is a better method for adding dry sand to a filled tank.
I have a variety of gravel vacs. The ones for use in bigger tanks have a fairly lone tube that is also 1.5 - 2 inch diameter. I pour dry sane into the top of the tube which is above the surface and it slides out the bottom of the tube pretty close to where it is supposed to land. Not only can I control where the sand lands by where the bottom of the tube is, but I can also easily control the volume of sand being placed there. I simply pour the sand faster or slower.
The fun part of this is how some of the fish react. They can see the sand but not the clear tube. They also tend to react to the sand as if it might be food. The result is some bump into the tube trying to grab a gain of sand.
That’s actually a good idea! I’ll take the bulb off my python and do it that way. This weekend I’m heading back to the LFS for snails and shrimp and to look at decor for the gap between swords.
Just one warning. It is very easy to get sucked into the world of live plants. There are so many varieties and I wanted to keep them all. I even had to do a pressurized CO2 added tank to be able to do some things. There is nothing as lovely as a planted tanks when it fills in exactly as we planned. For one or maybe two weeks it will look absolutely perfect. And then your learn the lesson that plants grow. By this I mean they do not stop.
So after that wonder few weeks of perfection you begin to look more like an English garden and then just a mass of greenery. Some plants you can prune but other you can only replace with a new one of smaller size.
One thing it may help you to know is about the stem plants. Those are the single stalks which will grow upwards towards the surface. As they do, if you have insufficient light on the tank, they will get "leggy." This term basically means the lower portion that no longer gets enough light has their leaves become more space apart and may even have none at all near the very bottom.
Also when a stem gets so tall you need to prune it, if you merely cut it down to make it shorter, it will then send up multiple stems from just below the cut. It will look bush-like from that point rather than being a single stem. If you want a bush-like stem, then plant a single stem and let it establish, then cut it down to near the substrate (leave some leaved stem there). Be sure to leave open space around it for the plant to grow into as it bushes out.
If you want to preserve the single stem look, then what you must do it to uproot the entire plant and cut it about in half. Then throw away the lower part and replant the top.
So after that wonder few weeks of perfection you begin to look more like an English garden and then just a mass of greenery. Some plants you can prune but other you can only replace with a new one of smaller size.
One thing it may help you to know is about the stem plants. Those are the single stalks which will grow upwards towards the surface. As they do, if you have insufficient light on the tank, they will get "leggy." This term basically means the lower portion that no longer gets enough light has their leaves become more space apart and may even have none at all near the very bottom.
Also when a stem gets so tall you need to prune it, if you merely cut it down to make it shorter, it will then send up multiple stems from just below the cut. It will look bush-like from that point rather than being a single stem. If you want a bush-like stem, then plant a single stem and let it establish, then cut it down to near the substrate (leave some leaved stem there). Be sure to leave open space around it for the plant to grow into as it bushes out.
If you want to preserve the single stem look, then what you must do it to uproot the entire plant and cut it about in half. Then throw away the lower part and replant the top.
What can I do about BBA taking over my 29 gal? I’m dosing liquid carbon daily but it’s only holding it at bay? I dont want to get into CO2 but reading online I don’t have many options?
I think it would be better to see a video from youtube, like the rob93 aquatic channel easy way to move fry type video.What is the easiest way to move fry from a breeder box to a new tank?
That vid is useless in this case. It does not involve fry in a breeder box. it has them in a glass tank and they are being removed using a siphon. So the vid is a waste of time in this case.
Now I use breeder boxes regularly. I do not use the net ones. I prefer the solid ones which hang on the outside of the tank and usie and air pump to circulate tank water though the box. When I am ready to transfer the fry to a real tank I simple undo the air line and take the box and our the fish out of it into the tank. You can also do this with a net breeder trap as well.
I mostly spawn plecos. If you try to siphon pleco fry many of them will not come out the other end. Once inside they suck onto the hose and then you have a hose with fry that do not let go. I learned not to use this method very early on.
Now I use breeder boxes regularly. I do not use the net ones. I prefer the solid ones which hang on the outside of the tank and usie and air pump to circulate tank water though the box. When I am ready to transfer the fry to a real tank I simple undo the air line and take the box and our the fish out of it into the tank. You can also do this with a net breeder trap as well.
I mostly spawn plecos. If you try to siphon pleco fry many of them will not come out the other end. Once inside they suck onto the hose and then you have a hose with fry that do not let go. I learned not to use this method very early on.
