Sand Substrate and Live Plants

[Diab2005]

My step dad has fish and said all his plants got eaten so who knows. I've read some fish are herbivores too?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Some fish eat some plants, its a case of trial and error. if your fish do happen to eat the plant, then whilst thats a bummer, you've provided a good meal! Try a different plant next time

 

[Ch4rlie]

Some fish eat some plants, its a case of trial and error. if your fish do happen to eat the plant, then whilst thats a bummer, you've provided a good meal! Try a different plant next time

I’ve heard some fish don’t like certain plants such as onion plants like Crinum Calamistratum and even java fern for example.

But sometime adding vegetables into the tank will help the fish eat those rather than the plants themselves, a diversionary tactic if you like.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Great subject, and thank you for all the useful information. Here is my new project:

12.7 Gallons, 23.6 x 8 x 15.75 inches
Shiruba 305 external filter
Heater (35W Archaea)
Light is coming, Fluval Aquasky 2.0
Substrate: ADA La Plata sand
I plan on a heavily plant stocked tank but none in the substrate. I want to experiment with specimens that feed on the water column, and while I cycle it there is some hornwort, duckweed and a pothos. The filter is a bit stronger than I predicted, so that means I have to get critters that like currents. Any suggestions are happily welcome!

 

[mbsqw1d]

Great subject, and thank you for all the useful information. Here is my new project:
View attachment 117686
12.7 Gallons, 23.6 x 8 x 15.75 inches
Shiruba 305 external filter
Heater (35W Archaea)
Light is coming, Fluval Aquasky 2.0
Substrate: ADA La Plata sand
I plan on a heavily plant stocked tank but none in the substrate. I want to experiment with specimens that feed on the water column, and while I cycle it there is some hornwort, duckweed and a pothos. The filter is a bit stronger than I predicted, so that means I have to get critters that like currents. Any suggestions are happily welcome!

Had to go and look up that sand, initially I saw "ADA" and thought, 'nutrient based substrate for plants', and then you said you weren't planting any in the substrate it didn't make sense haha but, that ADA sand is just sand (well, a nice looking sand).

Will you be adding some worn rocks/pebbles in there? Are you thinking of mainly epiphytic plants attached to wood?

Fish wise maybe you could look at those from hill-stream biotopes. Would you know your water source's GH?

 

[eatyourpeas]

Had to go and look up that sand, initially I saw "ADA" and thought, 'nutrient based substrate for plants', and then you said you weren't planting any in the substrate it didn't make sense haha but, that ADA sand is just sand (well, a nice looking sand).

Will you be adding some worn rocks/pebbles in there? Are you thinking of mainly epiphytic plants attached to wood?

Fish wise maybe you could look at those from hill-stream biotopes. Would you know your water source's GH?

Haha, yes, just sand. I love the warm color and the way the spider wood looks on it.

Parameters right now are: pH: 7.5 - KH: 80 - GH: 30

I am not too crazy about the typical epithytes since I already have anubias and java fern in another tank, and don't care for the look of java moss. Do you have recommendations? The tank is nice and tall and it would be great to get longish looking plants like aponogetons, but they are bulbs. Have not considered rocks at the moment. Will start looking at fish following your advice.

Fertilizing with critter poo and Seachem Flourish.

I absolutely love your tank in the picture! The right side looks like a very inviting kelp forest.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Haha, yes, just sand. I love the warm color and the way the spider wood looks on it.

Parameters right now are: pH: 7.5 - KH: 80 - GH: 30

I am not too crazy about the typical epithytes since I already have anubias and java fern in another tank, and don't care for the look of java moss. Do you have recommendations? The tank is nice and tall and it would be great to get longish looking plants like aponogetons, but they are bulbs. Have not considered rocks at the moment. Will start looking at fish following your advice.

Fertilizing with critter poo and Seachem Flourish.

I absolutely love your tank in the picture! The right side looks like a very inviting kelp forest.

Ah thanks, yeh I've always liked a backdrop of long vallis. Also serves the function of providing some shade for the anubias and crypts below, and the barbs hide in there when they get skittish..

30GH, so quite hard water then yeh?

Out of the epithytes, Buce plants seem to have become popular lately, haven't kept any myself though, yet

So whats the reason for not wanting to plant into the substrate?

 

[eatyourpeas]

Ah thanks, yeh I've always liked a backdrop of long vallis. Also serves the function of providing some shade for the anubias and crypts below, and the barbs hide in there when they get skittish..

30GH, so quite hard water then yeh?

Out of the epithytes, Buce plants seem to have become popular lately, haven't kept any myself though, yet

So whats the reason for not wanting to plant into the substrate?

Not a good reason, I'm afraid. Just wanting to see if I can create something different from what I have. I get to learn a lot when I have a new challenge. I need to see if Bucephalandra are legal in my state. I could just do a lot of marimo balls and watch them move, focusing on the livestock and still getting the benefit of plants.

We live on an island and have underground water. Can't even take a bath without feeling like it is tea water. Currently doing an alkaline buffer on another tank and that seems to work. I just have to keep track of parameters and adjust accordingly.

 

[HoldenOn]

Why not find a river or creek in your district and go and collect a couple of buckets of what you like and use that. Remember that there will be fish living there similar to the fish you want to keep in your tank. Go natural. Don't over think this stuff

He lives in Liverpool. Pretty sure its a primarily suburbia/urban area. Also, stuff from rivers can carry pollutants, pathogens, and bacteria that can negatively impact your tank. Not everyone lives in a pristine beautiful place like Hokitika .

 

[Essjay]

Liverpool is indeed a large city on the estuary of the river Mersey, which is apparently the river most polluted with microplastics in the UK.

As a child we used to go fishing in the stream near our house. All we ever found were sticklebacks. Not really the kind of fish most people want to keep; I don't.

 

[itiwhetu]

Are all the rivers, creeks and lakes that polluted in the UK, if so that is a real shame. I just don't know how lucky I am.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Are all the rivers, creeks and lakes that polluted in the UK, if so that is a real shame. I just don't know how lucky I am.

Possibly less so in Scotland and some parts of Wales I'm guessing. To be fair I have collected stones/pebbles from off the beaches around north Wales which shares the same sea as Liverpool's river.

 

[Essjay]

It's the rivers that flow through industrial areas that are polluted. I don't know why the Mersey should have such high microplastics though. Inland the water is a lot cleaner, though fewer people live there than in the cities. The stream I mentioned in my last post was actually the drainage between fields so apart from fertiliser run off it was clean. It contained just the one species of fish though.

I now live in a town on the river Tees and the estuary region of this river has the highest concentration of chemical plants in the UK. There has been a lot of work done on clean up since we've lived here. The chemical plants did a lot of research into the use of reed beds to clean effluent water which have been a great success. We now have salmon and sea trout in the river, unheard of a few decades ago.

 

[AilyNC]

Possibly less so in Scotland and some parts of Wales I'm guessing. To be fair I have collected stones/pebbles from off the beaches around north Wales which shares the same sea as Liverpool's river.

Would that be the Irish Sea?

 

[AilyNC]

Hokitika

I just googled it wow!