Gravel Depth, Is There A To Deep Barrier?

[Andy-lee]

I was thinking about adding more gravel to my tank to give it a little more character, rather than just a plain flat bed it has atm I am wanting to at another bag or so (2 in atm) and raise the two rocks up on the left hand side on a small mound of gravel, and also build it up higher along the back side of the tank, to give a little bit more of a scape with plants along the back raised up with the redmoor still sitting lowish. I was just wondering if gravel being to deep is a problem or will it not have any effect what so ever?
Also do people think this would look good or not? (Pic of tank in signature or in the link on my signature)
Cheers for looking
Andy

 

[mbsqw1d]

gorgeous lookin tank u have there!

id be tempted to post/repost this in the 'planted tank' section.

do you have any sort of plant fert substrate beneah your gravel? theres certainly nothin wrong with larger mounds of gravel when youre planted as the detrius is sed by the roots.. thin pieces of slate can be used as divides to help build up the 'mounds'.. oh, make sure you have enough flow for your tank!

 

[Jamepsss]

Also do people think this would look good or not?

If done well it would look really good and add a lot of depth. The hard part will be stopping it from flattening out over time I reckon.

 

[I Keep Fish]

The only potential problem is "dead spots" in the gravel where your catfish and bottom based fish don't sift through, causes a build up of ammonia and detrius which gets released into the tank if you need to take some out, and will basically mean you'll need another couple of water changed to remove it etc...

 

[Andy-lee]

What causes these 'dead spots'? My gravel is currently around a inch or so deep so there is no way the corys can sift right down through that? Tank has quite a string current and would it help it a ran a airline up from underneath?
Andy

 

[mbsqw1d]

dead spots is stagnant water. not enough flow. i wouldnt put an airline in a planted tank as it depletes the co2 made available from the fish. do you have any other type of substrate other than gravel?

 

[Andy-lee]

Ohhh I alredy have a airline in, two in fact lol should these be removed? How do they deplete the Co2?? And gravel is my only substrate yeah, would increasing gravel depth to a few inches cause these?
Cheers
Andy

 

[mbsqw1d]

again, i'd maybe ask a mod to see if this post can be moved to the planted tank section.. you'll get a good response over there..

The amount of o2, co2 and other gasses found in your tank water is determined by gas exchange. Normally without any other input this is achieved simply by the water surface. Water absorbs and gives off gas until it has an equilibrium. Increased amounts of co2 are made naturally by your fish which your plants will use.

If you had an air line running then you are really just increasing/speeding the gas exchange process.. and therefore depleting the co2 your fish have created.

After saying all this. If your plants are doing fine, then ignore me!! I wondered if you considered using any fertilised substrate beneath your gravel. This would be more beneficial for your plants and be less of a problem depth wise. (i thnk).