Simple Beginner substrate method- 🌿Think DIFFERENTLY about your Aquarium SUBSTRATE!🐟
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- Learn my simple approach to building planted aquarium substrates and the vital role they play in our tanks.
See products I use and recommend www.amazon.com/shop/plantlife...
PlantLife Project Merch plantlife-project.myspreadsho...
Planters for growing houseplants in your fish tank (affiliate link) tidd.ly/3K0nEJp
#plantedtank #aquariumhobby #naturalaquarium #riparium - Jak na to + styl
Deep substrates seem to work pretty well since they create a wonderful well of nutrients, and I'd add a few feet of substrate with pure humus on the bottom if it weren't for the fact that space is at a premium. Ultimately, that's the real issue in aquariums: space, space, space. Space to place things like heaters, filters, aeration, co2 injection for more difficult plants; Space for fish, space for the plants you'd like, space for driftwood/rocks/ornamentation, space for large hilly areas, and especially for ripariums/paludariums, space for above water elements. The aquarium hobby is a challenge of filtration mostly because it's really a challenge of space management and organization.
Excellent!! Very impressive presentation. I appreciate your efforts.
Great channel, I'm learning a great deal about the right way to build an echo system. Thank you!
Glad you like it man!
Beautiful natural-looking tanks! ❤️
Your tanks look great! I've recently done a 20 gallon planted tank, and I used pond potting soil with a deep sand cap. Little pond snails hatched from something I planted, they are busy little critters. I love snails.
Thanks! Yeah, snails are great to have.
This channel is underrated. At first i thought its a boring video but its not. This channel is different than other aquascaper.
I appreciate your feedback, I don't want to be loud, flashy, and fast paced, there is enough of that on youtube. My goal is to be calm relaxing yet engaging, concise and informative and maybe even inspiring.
I agree 💯! I watch aquarium videos daily, and this channel and FISHTORY deserve top honors.
Great video - very well narrated and informative.
It’s great to hear your goals and how you achieved them. I used to do water changes every week on 9 tanks and wore it like a badge of honour. Honestly after 4 years took the joy out of it. I added tons of plants and now wonder how I can improve it. Thanks for letting me know I can add eco complete and cap again!
The system you have seems so much better for the fish - more time to enjoy them, less disruptions for them in water changes. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Yeah that’s a lot of time doing water changes! I hope you can transition to a more natural system and enjoy your tanks again! It does take time and patience and being intentional, but you can do it!
Very natural!!!
Great video 👍
Awesome 👌
amazing video!
I have two tanks with pathos growing out of them. You have inspired me to set up another tank as a riparian great video.
Very informative video. Beautiful school of Black Skirt Tetras!
really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing it
No problem!
Great video and information for us newbies into developing a planted tank, Thank you .
Glad it was helpful!
very nice 👍
I'm a new subscriber, ive only seen a few of your videos as im quite busy most the time but im inspired by what ive seen you acheive in your tanks, your riparium planter ideas are great, im going to get eggrate so i can plant more variety of plants, thanks for your knowledgeable videos
Awesome, thank you!
Love your channel, would love to share pictures of my riparium
I would love to see some pics! Please email them plantlifeproject73@gmail.com
Ocean Aquarium store in SF has planted aquariums with mostly small river pebbles, 3” front-5” back. Healthy tanks, healthy fish!
Yes, I’ve seen videos! There are so many substrate styles and variations that harness bacteria and other microorganisms to achieve a healthy system!
Your videos are so inspiring! I was wondering if you'd had any experience using Aglaonema 'Silver Queen' as a water filtering plant? I have a large, older mother plant that I'm thinking of taking cuttings from for my first riparium build.
Thanks! I have not tried growing that silver aglaonema, only the red ones. I suspect it would also grow in water.
For my most recent tank setup (7g rimless cube for ember tetras, a gold honey gourami, and a troop of cherry shrimp), I used the substrate combo you recommended in one of your other videos (included the clay cat litter). It has a small internal filter for water movement and to keep small floating particles out of the water column. I built up a platform of sorts in one corner and into the foreground using black lava rock and small driftwood branches. The Crypt 'tropica' I put in did NOT melt! Color me surprised, since crypts like to melt if you look at them wrong. LOL I put a very small Buce in there, along with a couple of Anubias nana petite. I added Amazon frogbit as the floating plant (vigilantly removed any duckweed that showed up, since the frogbit came from a tank heavy on duckweed). There's a peace lily growing out of one corner in the back. It had been in the tank this one replaced and is blooming for the first time since I bought it. Putting new leaves out like crazy. Since I was able to squeeze sponges from established tanks into this one, I was able to start it off from day 1 with the fish and shrimp in it. The tank's been going now for a couple of months and has been 100% trouble free. No water changes have been needed (I test all my tanks weekly). I'm SO thrilled with the results - healthy fish, healthy plants, and only maintenance it's needed is cleaning out of the little filter every couple of weeks.
I'm planning to set up a pond in our new greenhouse this spring, which means fish from a 29g in our bedroom will be moving out (to the pond). I'm already playing with ideas - what I want to do with that tank. And I'll definitely be using the substrate setup you recommend for that since it's worked so well for my little 7g.
How long do you have to wait after setting up ie before adding fish/shrimps etc
It’s great to hear about your success! Thank you so much for sharing!
@@steverobson7290 Depends on you AND whether you can seed the tank or not. I squeezed sponges from existing tanks directly into this one when I set it up. That puts a load of beneficial bacteria in there (all that mulm makes a nasty mess but it usually clears in a few hours). As an alternative, you can use use a filter or filter media that's been on/in another tank - just transfer it straight into the new setup. As long as it's been in an established tank for at least 2 weeks, it should be covered in beneficial bacteria and give you a good healthy start.
If you can't seed the aquarium from an established tank and don't have a spare filter already running and seasoned, you CAN do a fish-in cycle, but you have to test the water DAILY to watch for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate spikes and do water changes immediately if any of those spike. (Probably the worst cause of fish deaths for beginners - been there myself and the stores were NO help at that time.) That's the "depends on you" part. If you're like me and don't want to have to monitor a tank that closely, fish-in cycling definitely isn't the way to go. Also, it can take a lot longer for the bacterial colonies to really settle, since you have to do water changes to keep ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at levels that are safe for fish. I do NOT recommend using shrimp in such tanks, since they're more sensitive than many fish to those spikes. Adding shrimp should wait until the tank is stable.
An unseeded tank without fish can take several weeks for the good bacteria to get established. I've done that in the past. All you need to do is feed the tank like it has fish in it - yep, literally put fish food in there just as you would if there were actually fish in it. The food breaking down will feed good bacteria and help the colonies develop. I tested about once a week or so and monitored the tank until ammonia and nitrite levels dropped to zero and nitrates stabilized (preferably very low or at zero). Be aware that the tank will go through a "milky" phase. That's normal. Just let it pass naturally. Do NOT do water changes, since that'll only slow down the establishment of the colonies. When I've done that, it's taken about 6-8 weeks for the tank to stabilize and the colonies to be well-established and safe for fish. I allowed a couple more months before introducing shrimp, but I wanted to be sure there was plenty of biofilm for them. If you're going to directly feed shrimp, that's not really necessary.
Anyway, I hope that helps.
I really appreciate this video, the build up method makes me feel a little better about the whole process and less overwhelming. I always wanted to have a tank with an echo system, but last week I found myself with 7 goldfish that my son won at a fair and was severely unprepared. Found a free tank, I added a log and a few large rocks, I am propagating pothos at the top but really wanted to start planting live plants ... although the whole substrate element is really overwhelming, especially having to add to an existing tank. Im glad I stumbled on to your don't over think build it over time approach... makes me feel better about tackling this 😅
What do you recommend for the first layer of inert material? I was hoping to do maybe a sand or gravel, add some floating & potted plants that don't require substrate, then add over time. Or does the first layer not matter as much? Am I overthinking it? Lol
What kind of goldfish are they? I’m guessing fantail? Keep in mind that these goldfish will need 10 or more gallons of water per fish when they are grown (about 6 inches long) because they eat a lot and poop a lot, so that requires a 70 gallon tank or larger, or separating them into multiple tanks . As far as substrate goes, you can always start with gravel I would recommend 3 inches. Floating plants are a good idea at this point because they will help take nutrients from the water (goldfish poop) If you want to grow plants in the substrate at some point I would recommend Valisneria and or Amazon sword because they are tough and grow fast and easy. Before you add these plants, you could add another layer of substrate like a mix of gravel,aqua soil ,and clay (kitty litter) and another layer of gravel on top (or sand on top) and then plants. This is just one way to do it, but it builds the substrate over time and if you keep learning about it as you go, you will gain more confidence in it. Hope this helps you!
My potted Croton I filled with bio media as my substrate. It's doing fantastic. It's roots have grown out the bottom all the way to the substrate. You think it'll potentially go through a second transition if I remove the pot completely and reattach with roots loosely free to do what they want?
Def not cutting them off. Those roots need that dirt.
"This is more of a rhetorical comment out of fear" lol
Change rarely goes perfect with plants.
Awesome! Do you have to take it out of the planter? If it’s doing great why change it?
What do you test for and how often? thanks
I use tetra brand water test strips that measure ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, PH, water hardness and test weekly or every other week in established tanks
It there any benefit to turning off your pump at night? Besides not hearing it if its in your bedroom
I turn it off because it’s in my bedroom. The point I was trying to make was that the filter doesn’t need to be going 24/7 to keep this tank alive and healthy
Nice tank, btw i thought red tail sharks r aggressive.
They certainly can be. Especially to each other, and more and more as they mature.
Mine is pretty chill except at feeding time. Then he’s a total jerk. He’s about 3 years old and 6”.
Mine can be at times but it has plenty of space because the tank is not crowded and there are no other large fish his size to compete with, this helps prevent some aggression, I think.
Oh and I’m pretty sure he has a rainbow shark not a red tail. They don’t always have the same temperament.
Check out father fish
Yes I have been subscribed to FF for a few years