Inspiring photo

[BobTheDog]

First, those tanks ROCK! I agree with jams.alaskan that they rival reef tanks for beauty! (at least IMHO ) Where did those pics come from? Some internet site? It have any more info on the tanks???

One question..... I've seen the poop that my syphon vac gets out the substrate.... just what do you do with that many plants with regards to the poop and whatnot that sinks through the foliage onto the substrate?

Ok, first, let me saw that I have NO direct experience with planted tanks. I'm interested in planting mine, but at this point I'm still growing plastic. I will saw though, that I was recently in my LFS admiring a HEAVILY planted, HEAVILY populated tank they have. The shop has been in business for 20 years and the owner is very, very experienced and knowledgable (his wife is another story though ). A guy was in talking to the owner about setting up aa new aquarium and was asking about plants and whether they helped keep tanks clean. The owner showed the guy the planted tank I was admiring and said that they had turned off the filtration for 4+ months on the tank with no ill effects. Even with filtration on, they owner said they never vaccum do only periodic, small water changes. I had to run, so didn't get to talk anymore to the guy about it.

I would think that ultimately, the waste should go through the nitrogen cycle and end up as nitrates, which, with enough plants, should be aall absorbed. However, does the waste ultimately breakdown completely into nitrates Is anything else produced that plants wouldn't absorb? I'm going to talk to the owner about it some more the next time I am in.

 

[BobTheDog]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... did a search for one of the names in the later pictures and found the site.

HERE is a link to the site.

 

[ryan]

http/www.aquahobby.org/tanks/e_tank0402.php - this is the site, scroll back through the months to see more.

Red Plant in last pic - Alternanthera reineckii "Lilacina", needs plenty of light to grow and form dark-red leaves. In open aquariums it grows willingly up through the surface, and like other difficult plants growth improves considerably if CO2 is added. Shortage of micronutrients results in pale leaves. Like other stem plants A. reineckii "Lilacina" is best in groups.

 

[George Farmer]

I never vacuum my gravel. I have fairly powerful filtration (although the flow is minimised to prevent co2 loss) and undergravel heating. The heating provides convection currents and the waste eventually breaks down into macronutrients for the plants, this effectively turns the substrate into a giant biological filter, similar to undergravel filtration but slower.