The Trouble With Substrate.
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- čas přidán 18. 01. 2024
- What is the best substrate for an aquarium? Is is a bare botttom? Or is it gravel? Father Fish bellieves that dirt, capped with sand is the very best substrate for any aquarium.
Explore the dynamic world of aquariums with a focus on substrate in this engaging CZcams video. Dive into the concept of a deep substrate system. Father Fish explores the pros and cons of bare bottom aquariums as well as gravel substrates.
Discover how a deep sand substrate contributes to a natural aquarium environment, providing a foundation for a balanced ecosystem.
With a natural substrate plants can absorb the nutrients produced by fish.You will learn the intricacies of nutrient distribution in the water versus the substrate, showcasing the symbiotic relationship between plants and substrate in maintaining a healthy aquatic environment.
The video will not only educate you on the technical aspects of substrate but also inspire you to create personalized, thriving aquariums. Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or a newcomer, this exploration of substrate dynamics promises valuable insights into enhancing the beauty and sustainability of your aquarium.
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On this channel you will find scientific research as well as personal testimonials by countless hobbyists who have applied the Father Fish System and are enjoying its amazing benefits.
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My order of your soil and plants will arrive on Monday according to the tracking numbers. My 13 year old granddaughter and I are so excited to start our first aquarium using substrate. We will keep you posted on our progress! Thank you Father Fish for all your informative videos, we can't stop watching them!
Strongly suggest make a youtube video of the whole process. Fail or success, it will make an educational material.
@@Zenmatrixxthere's so many people doing it. It's nature and it works👍
I ordered from Father Fish too. Plants arrived SUPER healthy. And are absolutely thriving. So much so, I made an artificial pond for the excess and put it outside. Just totally amazing quality. Enjoy!
Nature and common sense is all you need. Basically you have a garden with fish in it, absolutely incredible and amazing to watch. So happy I found father fish 👍
My tanks are filled my tank with loads of plants, wood, rocks and sands. My floating plants and rooted plants thrive and continue to thrive and reproduce offspring. Only vacuumed when I used to over feed, so once I corrected my bad habits it has been a game changer.
we're at 16 days with our little 10gal. We sourced most of our plants from our local creek, and caught our fish the same way. it's a beautiful little piece of a creek in our living room :) our plants are starting to show new growth, and I've only fed twice in the 16 days! Thank you, Poppa!
Just don't add crayfish. We set up a 40 gallon over the summer with substrate rocks branches plants and fish from our local creek. It was fantastic! Then we caught a few small crayfish. Chaos ensued. They grew fast and DESTROYED everything lol
Grab some more of that creek water and grow fish food
@@chrisrusso4512 took your advice, added a handful of decaying leaves, and the fish are going nuts! Good call!
You summed it up well Father Fish. I know folks that grow beautiful plants hydroponically. I know folks that grow beautiful plants outside in their front yards. I know folks that grow plants in greenhouses. It’s really up to you. What are your goals? What plants are you growing? How much time and money do you want to spend? Know thy self. There are many roads that will lead you to a given destination. Some a smooth some are bumpy. Some are direct and some take you to a left turn at Albuquerque. Thank you!!! --I will say, better to stand on the backs of giants like yourself than try to reinvent the wheel. Your experience and loving example are preferable to shooting in the dark or following fads. Deep substrates, lots of rooted stems and minimal water changes have worked for me for 30 years. I like the idea of high tech tanks. I’m not that guy. No sense putting a square peg in a round slot.
I have a 5 ft community tank with tetras, danios, catfish, kuhli loach and a lot of Anubias, driftwood, white sand and sea rocks.
Thank you, father fish
Love and regards from Mumbai, India 🇮🇳
I brought up the walstad method to my LFS and the keeper there was like "I dont like it my tank smelled very bad when I tried it"
All 3 of my tanks are self cleaning walstads and dont smell one bit.. not sure ehat he was doing wrong
Great message Father Fish. A fair and balanced appraisal I can always put more faith in. You're spot on about the cleaning of the gravel, I've tried it many occasions and was always disheartened at the work load of this kind of substrate. When I saw what you were doing I knew right away that this was a positive way forward for me and I was so excited to begin again with the FF soil and sand substrate method. Hooray for Elaine Ingham at 6.38 and thank you so much for all that you and your team are doing. You're spreading the joy 😃❤
I prefer your method father fish. My nitrite levels are near 0 no ammonia and of course plenty of nitrates for my plants! My fish and I are very thankful to you father Fish may God Ha-Shem watch over you , your family and fish!
Just got into this hobby and you're the first person I followed and subscribed too. I trust your judgement, thank you father fish
It's hard for beginners to set up sand substrate initially, if the sand is not washed thoroughly the water will be too cloudy. Initially the tank will be loaded with too much ammonia from the half inches of the detritus layer and the plants will start to molt. But after 2-3 months of patience and 2/4 water changes it will start to stabilise.In pebbled tanks with 2 inches substrate water will be clear from start and plants grow much faster by adding little amounts of nutrients. The key for anaerobic bacteria to grow is to minimise the movement of the water column especially above the detritus layer.
Thanks
im from phillipines amazing to watch your video and get and idea thank you.
I too am happy to have found Father Fish.
Fantastic video, plus breeding demsi fish. I do love your videos, they are very inspiring, educational, lovely and you sir are a gem....love you heaps Father Fish 🐟💖
FF is indeed right. Whenever I put something from a pond in my tanks, my fishes and plecos seem excited the next day! Put nature in your tank, it'll do the trick!
I have never, ever used a gravel vacuum and intend to keep it that way. Thick substrate layer and maximum plants so much easier and beautiful.
Your videos are an inspiration for how I got about my new hobby.
She's a hero to me. 🎉👍and so are you Father fish.
Baba yine her zamanki gibi mükemmel bilgiler . Her akvaryum severin senin bu bilgilerinden faydalanmasını isterim .İyiki varsın .
Another great video to watch and learn something new thanks Father FIsh
I'm putting my order in for your soil today. I'm so excited about getting started. Watching your videos has really helped me out with where to start. Thank you
Hey! I set up a tank january 2nd and so far all of my plants and fish are alive. In the past I had a betta and all of my plants died! Right now all of my plants are doing pretty well. You'll enjoy your tank.
You can do it!
@krypticviper1613 thank you
@@FatherFish thank you 😃
Very informative video thank you 😊 👍👍❗️
You are right! I really did enjoy seeing that! Too cool….❤
Cool they laid eggs. The tanks are beautiful.
Merci pour le partage 🙏
I love having fish and growing plants!
I picked up some FF soil recently, as I’m a deep dirted tank believer, but extended longevity has always been something I’d like to improve. My only problem now is finding space for another tank lol!
Im exited to be one of your student sir.
My 75 gallon tank w8ting for that setup.
Thanks alot.❤👍
My thinking is, if you don't like the "dirtiness" on the sand surface, could cap it with a few cm of aqua soil. It's good for glowing carpet plant too.
I will try it with my tank soon. Father fish recommend cap with sand. Me recommend cap the sand with aqua soil...brilliant huh? ;D
I was think of that too. After those sand capped anaerobic thing, add on half Ince aquasoil for carpeting..... Wht u do u think mate?
been thinking about this as well. thought I was the only one. my thinking is if you have the sand bed (FF tank) then what you do above that sand layer is up to you. opens up a world of possibilities. I have reasons for wanting to go this way as an experiment with plants (carpeting plants as you say). best of luck.
@@thesolaraquariumso i can even use very small size gravel, a gravel bed on top of sand, to give it a look of a river bed?? More natural
@@yahya_176 gravel on top of the sand bed is not a problem I think. I have never tried it but I cannot see why it would be. The purpose of the sand bed is to be very fine. Gravel is coarse. If there was a sediment on top of the sand bed it would hide it. I agree that a mixture of sand and gravel is what you see in alot of rivers. It looks very natural. A river I visit sometimes is gravel with course river sand beaches. It looks awesome.
@@thesolaraquarium Yeah, I just want to depict the natural style, but i was also thinking of the texture as you mention it will be coarse. Dweller fish might get hurt, can you tell me what sand will be perfect for natural look? And the one which can be perfect for bacterial growth too?? If you know.
Love the Video
Fair play for always mentioning lucas pappa 💚
This is absolutely brilliant! Its also hugely re-assuring that I have been doing exactly this for years and years against alot of well meaning advice..Of course pick your fish wisely & where I live, you cannot sell babies legally, so it is a dilemma when a tank is successful as such. I will say that I am dismayed at the commercial outlets who sell tanks that are too small, with fish that will grow to 1ft.. The common Pleco and Clown loach is like a factory farmed chicken here.. it is tremedously sad, and thats not even touching the surface of the issues these places have.
Where are you located?
@@FatherFish U.K England
My 3 gallon planted shrimp tank is thriving thanks to my substrate and my 3 horned nerite snails that clean the tank constantly with enthusiasm..., it is crystal clear and thriving. I love my soil capped with 2" sand and believe in the power of nature. I have very happy detritus worms standing up in the sand in a corner of my substrate which is fine with me as they don't hurt my shrimp or snails and are fun to see as well as the many jittery copepods and tiny baby shrimp.
Father fish! I started my natural aquarium with guppies. I had a "resurrection jar" (more like a glass cylinder kind of aquarium with alot of microfauna and cycled water for a year) and i just added some water from that and started my aquarium, added plants and it is going so well! My guppies are swimming alot and eating well, my tetras are schooling and they are using the plants for coverage, the snails that came with the plants along with cherry shrimp are eating algae and have been berrying! i only top it off with the resurrection jar i have and add water to the resurrection jar so the water can cycle for the next main aquarium top off.
Your videos helped so much. Thank you so much! My fish are thriving ❤
Thank you! Good job!
Thank you! Good job!
Soil question: So I came across one of your dirted aquarium videos a few weeks back and decided to give it a try. I wanted to keep it "dirt" cheap so I bought a used 10 gallon tank and used what I already had lying around or went to the local creek for stuff. The tank is doing ok but I've become worried that the soil I had lying around may not have been a good choice of dirt for the tank. I used potting soil mix from an open bag of Vigoro brand that I already had lying around. It doesn't say organic anywhere on the bag. I added some ground-up leaves and eggshells to the soil. From the creek, I used sand, a nice piece of driftwood, and the creek water. The plants I sourced from people locally on FB and the local fish store. 1" mud and 2" sand cap. There are pretty sizable gas bubbles that form between the soil and sand that bubbles up periodically; Sometimes pretty big blurps of bubbles! After a couple weeks my water tests seem good so I moved a few fish in. So far everyone seems happy but I'm worried I might be in for a big crash because of my choice of soil. Do you think I'll be ok? Thanks for your time and thanks for your content and sharing so much great information.
Although the Vigoro is non-organic, it seems that if your fish and plants are fine, everything seems the in order
@@FatherFish Father Fish, what is the hardness of the tap water in your home?
I've got gravel substrate in my tank currently, but I've got my galaxy sand substrate coming soon. I'll be adding that when I do my water change and after it arrives on Friday. Happy fish keeping Father Fish! 🐠☺️✨️💚
Thank you!
Hi Father Fish, I have a tank that is built exactly as you instruct, and it is absolutely gorgeous and thriving. I recently got into the Cardina Shrimp keeping hobby, I hear that they are sensitive and may die due to thick substrates (ammonia spikes caused by digging) and their tanks must be “cycled” for months. Do you recommend the same treatment for tanks for shrimps as well?
yes
lets say after i set up the tank/mini pond with a layer of dirt then 3-4 inches of sand, what will happen to all the fish waste that falls on the sand, the waste will just sit there and start to decompose so in the end we have to siphon it out and in the process since sand is light it too will get sucked up and get mixed up in the water. I cant just leave the waste to rot there can I? my main question is that we need to siphon or we cant just leave the waste as it is?
The detritus will precipitate down through the sand to the dirted substrate
I had a 25 Gallon with normal River Sand. I had floating plants and plants that attach to decor like Anubis and Java moss/ Java fern. I got myself a 75 Gallon tank and did 2/3 EcoComplete and 1/3 Flourite Black Sand at the right side of the tank. Much better plant growth than the basic sand especially with the root tabs and me not gravel vaccing the EcoComplete. Only Issue I got going on is the diatoms algae on the plant leaves and glass but nothing a long blade and paint brush can’t fix. I was planning on setting up a 10 Gallon with the Fluval Stratum in media bags at the base and sand as cap so I don’t have to worry about the stratum making their way to the surface.
It’s better to have dirted substrate with sand cap
@@FatherFish gotcha, I’ll probably do a substrate swap on the 75
On your 75, you can make the current substrate 2” and add a 4” sand cap. This way you don’t have to redo the entire tank
Hi Father Fish. Need some advice from you. I have a new 20 gallon high tank setup with some caves and some plants and still adding plants. I want to add schooling fish top,middle and bottom dwellers along with either a single or a pair(male/female) Apistogramma to my tank as the centerpiece fish. I watched your video on when you should add fish to a new tank. My question to you is should I add the schooling fish first then the Apistogramma or vice versa? I know schooling fish usually do better with 6 or more but how should I add the schooling fish to my new tank? Three or four at a time or a different way? Thanks!!!🐠🐠🐠
There are no ruoles. Do as you feel is best. Trust yourself.
Hi father fish! I have a bag of unused aquasoil and i also have a bag of mud from the river, which one should i use for a planted tank?
both, combined, with a 2" sand cap.
I love your videos I’ve learned so much! I have a 29 gallon with an Amazon sword and hornwort. I sadly put gravel in the tank and wondering if I could add sand over the gravel or if I should just completely remove it, what should I do?
add 2" of sand
@@FatherFish what happens when adding the sand over gravel?
It works out
You’ve inspired me to start a nano tank
GRATITUDE 💥🐟💥
This 4 years old video was already quite complete concerning the basics on substrate.
Unfortunately, I couldn't apply the method from the start, so I just added the sand cap on a gravel substrate, now the roots of the cryptocorines are growing out of the sand, is it because the substrate is not thick enough...I wonder if I can put some leaves of the food web to give them access to more nutrients or add more sand.
add more sand
@@FatherFish I will, thank you!
I am making my first planted tank in my entire life. It’s a 40 gallon breeder. I’m definitely doing the dirted tank and was curious if it would be better to cap it with very small gravel or sand
Sand
A couple of months ago I ordered enough of your special fortified soil to give me an inch of substrate(to be covered by a 2"sand cap) for my five gallon FF set-up. It was delivered dry in a closed plastic bag. It will be a few more weeks before I set up the tank. Should I be concerned that I haven't used it yet? Will it go stale and lose potency or will it be fine when i add water to make it mud?
It will be fine
Thank you so much@@FatherFish
Hi, I'm about to get my first tank. I was wondering if I would need a water conditioner if I use city water. I also was wondering if quartz pool filter sand would be a good choice? Do you ship products to Pennsylvania?
You need to find out if your city water has chlorine or chloromine. This will affect how you treat your water.
Yes you can use quartz pool filter sand.
My website is fatherfish.fish for my store here in the USA
@@FatherFish Father Fish, what is the hardness of the tap water in your home?
Hello father fish hope you doing well. I am keeping single oscar in my 60gallon tank but i am confused on what to feed it i have two options either hikari cichlid pellets or freezed dried insects. So i wanna know your opinion on what should i feed it
both
both
Since I seem to have your attention, can you please recommend seven or eight, or however many you think I need, rooted plants for my 5 gallon Father Fish tank. I'm almost a father fish. I had a ten gallon tank when I was a kid. Now at age 77 I've been keeping a 65 gallon freshwater community tank for about five years. So looking forward to an all natural, low tech aquarium. Thanks again...
i think for your 5 gallon you need to start with stem plants. I suggest these as they are fast growing. I sell these and othere plants at fatherfish.fish
Hi, i have a question that may sound dumb, for a Betta fish Is possibile to do a natural acquarium with elements such as plants wood and stone and also water taken directly from a creek near my home? Maybe even the mud etc. from the same creek, thanks in advice for your tips, i admire your view on this hobby.
Lots of people do it in the father fish discord server
@@Mr.-Tanks and the results on a long period?
@@mamamamamamamaaamammAweeessoommmeeee
I have had fantastic results with CaribSea EcoComplete. 4 inches if that have sustained a tank for 6 years now. No water changes at all. just tops off. 90% plant coverage with plants growing up the walls above the aquarium. Full of fish too.
Makes me wonder though if i should rip everything out and put dirt and sand in there. the entire floor of the aquarium is covered in a layer of Subwassertang
why change if it is successful?
@@FatherFish true.
Upon further research, EcoComlete is marketed to aim to do the same thing as dirt and sand in the sense that it allows detritus to fall in between the individual pebbles and from that mud layer that you described in your video about layering sand on top of detritus instead of vacuuming. The "pebbles" have the consistency of lava rock, so they lock in to form cavities throughout the substrate for the detritus layer to form and protect it from being washed out of the substrate. Due to the rough nature, I assume aerobic and anaerobic bacteria can form on the surface of the pebbles themselves quite well, much like lava rock. Even Java ferns grow in this substrate.
I presume i could just add sand on top of it later on if i so choose to add to the benefits of the system. as it seems that the EcoComplete is doing its job as a base layer substrate. Thank you for your time and for the reply!
Father Fish what are your thoughts on me using Ozarka spring water for my fish? Or do you think I should use tap faucet water with water conditioner when I replenish my tank after water evaporation?…
Spring water lacks minerals and cannot maintain a stable Ph.
@@FatherFish that just bottled water or referring to any spring (both well and gravity fed spring water here)
Hey, what is the size of the gravel that makes it sand, actually? E.g. if it's 1 - 2 mm diameter is that sand or gravel?
sand
Danke aus Deutschland, ich habe mal eine Frage kann ich mir Sand von der Ostsee benutzen er ist ganz Feiner Sand den ich mir direkt aus dem Wasser holen will von der Ostsee und dann ein bis zwei cm für den Boden Grund Blumen Erde mit etwas Laub von der Eiche aus Ahorn würde das Funktionieren Danke in voraus und viele Grüße aus Deutschland Deutschland
Natürliches Material ist immer wünschenswert. Sammeln Sie so viel wie möglich. Sand, besonders tief mit Nährstoffen, Wasser, veralgten Steinen, winzigen Lebewesen, Pflanzen, ja, und sogar das Wasser wird perfekt sein.
@@FatherFish, vielen Dank und viele Grüße aus Greifswald in Mecklenburg Vorpommern Deutschland.
I just converted my turtle (and small fish) tank to be a living tank. I’m just curious if my turtle will produce too much waste, i’m afraid it might not break down fast enough.
Father Fish, what’s your view on those capfuls of “beneficial bacteria” when one is starting a tank? Are they helpful to the tank? Thanks.
very limited species
The bacteria derived from a deep dirted substrate topped with sand substrate and augmented with leaves and live organisms from a resurrection jar is the most sure way.
For more information on a resurrection jar, watch some of my videos or join my discord at discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
@@FatherFish I see. Thanks a lot as always.
That betta
Deep bed sand w mud / clay base on top of a plenum switched over 20 years ago never looked back maintenance dropped by over 90%
Hey father fish i have a question can i use a solar for my aquarium?
absolutely
Thank you, i meant a solar light btw 😅
@@FatherFish Hey Father Fish, i need your help i just did a water change a few days ago and my mother dumped a lot of fish food like a lot! and now the water has changed and is not clean anymore what should i do?
Father, What kind of sand is used?
any kind of sand
My aquarium no water change 2 months now still very clear plant growing fast and guppies multiply faster. Wew.
Hello do I need to cycle my tank if I use soil and if yes how long?
Not at all
It's done immediately, you can add some fish day two. Watch more father fish videos!
@@DashDrones so I don't need to worry about the nitrate people talk about?
@@saadiqadams4903not really once you've got lots of plants which will consume it. Remember, add fish slowly, a few at a time. The larger the tank, the more changes you can make.
@@DashDrones ok thank you so much
I have always loved a deep sand substrate I need to get a few bags of play sand for a 300 gallon stock tank pond I am putting together for my turtle the hard part will be finding plants that will survive my turtle
1st comment ❤😊
Now you should do part 2 of wanted natural saltwater tank
YES!
Father Fish you a bad ass. Keep shooting us knowledge!!! Stay blessed sir
2nd comment ❤️😊
Hello. Greetings from Türkiye. I love your videos. I have a 2 year old 250 lt Walstad aquarium. But my fish get sick and die. Ph and hardness are suitable for my fish. There are also live plants in my aquarium. There is also a sponge pipe filter. I don't use any chemicals. My water is very clear. Unlike you, I do a 20% water change weekly. Is this why there is no biological life in my aquarium? Glasses and sand never grow mossy. Where am I doing wrong? Thanks.
I suggest you cap your substrate with sand
are these old videos? i notice ff has a beard..nevertheless good information
Remastered and updated, yes.
I could be wrong but I think you have a male Salvini breeding with a female Parachromis, I’m not sure which exact species. Would be hybrids. Low chance of any babies surviving anyway.
Looks like friedrichstali
I was thinking rainbows.
I think he said that he already has a couple hundred babies... in my experience, hybrids have done pretty well. The salvini looks like he could be half Dempsey, but yes, low chance of a fry surviving in that tank for sure. Really cool pit they dug out
I had another look and I would bet the house that those babies are half frederickstali and a quarter Dempsey and salvini, I am 99.45% sure of it
@@FatherFish I get the similarity in color and shape to a rainbow, but I bet those little guys will get pretty mean. Like OP said, Parachromis is what I think. The genus includes dovii, managuensis, the red tiger motoguensis, the freddies (get real yellow) - which I think is the female, and I think one or two more.
I would imagine people just have the bare tank as its easier to maintain
I wonder what his fish in the tank behind him think of Father Fish. They stare at him all day. I suppose they think he is GOD… lol
Hello Father fish 🙌 please write your new address, where are you located?!🙏❤️
He no longer has a store, just an online store
Today’s the day my 20G tank arrives.
Let's make 🍽️ Dinner
sounds delightful
They look like Salvini...
They are, I believe, rainbow cichlids.
Lol this guy why you do lucas like that
What? He said Lucas has very healthy and happy fish..