#planted tanks

[bettabubble]

cozy vibes

[dirtwaterplantsfish]

He lurks

[mandsleanan]

I know I've been in this hobby a long-ass time, but I remember when you could get a whole box of tropical fish shipped overnight by Fed-Ex, for like, 30 bucks.

Now even a small box of live animals is, what, around $60 from most vendors?

It wouldn't even affect me that much if there were still plenty of smaller stores run by hobbyists, alternatives to the Big Box stores. There were five Mom and Pop aquarium shops when we moved to this area in the late 90s, plus a couple smaller pet store chains that had an aquarium section.

Now there's two, and both of the chains have dropped their aquarium sections.

There's no shortage of people in the hobby, in this area. But I'd have to drive out of state for the closest Society that holds monthly meetings. Meetings in a town hall have become Facebook groups, fundraising auctions have become online fish-swaps.

As the hobby evolves, so will aquarists.

[aquariuminfobureau]

I mostly write about organisms and not the principles of fishkeeping. However people often ask me about two related phenomena, cycling and stocking. Aquariums are safe for fish and other animals because of the nitrogen cycle. This is what determines, moreso than the water volume, the carrying capacity of the tank. But many people seem to be confused - what is the nitrogen cycle?

'Cycling' refers to the cycle by which the toxin ammonia, which is excreted as waste by organisms, before it is turned to nitrite and then to nitrate by biological actors. In aquarist parlance 'cycling' refers to the process and duration of time, during which the nitrogen cycle becomes established and stable. Properly the cycle continues throughout the operation of the aquarium.

Ammonia, which contains nitrogen, is the principal excretory product of living animals, and they void it because it is a toxic byproduct of their own metabolic processes. Human urination is an example of a way in which animals lose excess ammonia, but other kinds of animal may excrete ammonia by means of different methods.

Fortunately other organisms can find a positive use for ammonia, which animals don't want. Their own metabolisms create nitrite from the ammonia they intake, by breaking it down and adding oxygen to the nitrogen. Then yet more microscopic organisms convert the nitrite to the similarly named and chemically related nitrate, which must also be maintained at low levels, but is far less harmful. Traces of nitrate are in fact beneficial to some aquarium organisms.

The nitrogen cycle originates from the decomposition of amino acid, and this is why test kits are available to test for dissolved organics, which are not themselves inherently harmful, but their buildup indicates strain upon the system. How much strain is acceptable depends on the kinds of animals that are living in the aquarium. There isn't really a single standard as to when there are too many dissolved organics, or even nitrate. But regular and sensibly proportionate water changes, help to keep both under control.

Because it involves the processes of different organisms, the nitrogen cycle is very obviously an ecological, as well as a chemical phenomenon. Both the natural processes of the cycle, and the technology by which the effects of the benign organisms are maximised, are known as biological filtration, or biofiltration. It is different from physical and chemical filtration, although the functions of filter media may overlap.

The good bacteria that are involved, colonise available surfaces throughout the aquarium. They are present on rocks and on substrates such as sand and gravel. Similarly they colonise sponges and various proprietary items such as 'bio balls'. At this point, I wish to explain the introductory principles of biofiltration, not to cover its different expressions. It is however worth pointing out, the more the better.

Stocking levels are problematic principally because the living animals themselves create strains upon the biofiltration. Furthermore they require inputs of food, excesses of which contribute to dissolved organics, and therefore the nitrogen cycle, when they are uneaten - thus, messy feeders create more bioload than other organisms, lowering the carrying capacity of the aquarium system.

Feeding behaviors thus determine the 'footprint' animals have on the biofiltration in their aquarium, moreso than their size. It is also the mass of an animal that contributes to its output of wastes, moreso than any single dimension, such as its total length. Another determinant is the metabolic rate of the animal in question, which determines the speed at which its wastes are generated and churned out into the water.

The nitrogen cycle is also why overfeeding is bad, because excess food must inevitably decompose. By definition, the aquarist can't be overfeeding, from the perspective of the nitrogen cycle, when the supplied food is being eaten; overfeeding as in overeating is a different problem. However if feeding your livestock and keeping them healthy begins to stress the cycle, then you have too much bioload in your aquarium.

Often in marine aquariums, 'live rock' and 'live sand' are mentioned. These terms mystify many people, although they are relevant to filtration. The rocks and sand in question are substrates already colonised by microscopic organisms, as play a role in the nitrogen cycle. All items already this colonised are thus 'live' biofiltration media.

Unfortunately there is a misconception that 'live' rock needs transporting from the sea. Such rock is shipped damp but emersed, killing benign and desirable organisms, and necessitating a period called 'curing' in which photosynthesizers are denied an energy source, and further mortality and decomposition ensues. The result is that only 'tough as boots' organisms survive, and some of these species are harmful to corals and such.

Clearly despite the appeal of 'live rock' as a ready made, natural reef, it's use is problematic and self defeating. A distinction just be made, between the use of 'living' filtration media, and the importation of artificially depauperate microenvironments for aquariums. It is better to take rock and sand from an established reef tank instead, to avoid unwanted guests. Although even impoverished live rock can introduce interesting and useful 'friends', these can arrive also from established, nuisance-free tanks

A counterpart to the use of live rock and sand in reef aquariums, is the Walstad style of freshwater aquarium. The Walstad type of tank is one in which living plants and soil substrates are employed instead of artificial filtration; more common than a strict Walstad setup, is a hybrid system that employs both naturalistic and 'normal' approaches in its running.

Sometimes it is said that planted tanks do not cycle, or that adding plants stops the cycle. Nothing could be further from the truth. True aquatic plants and the organisms called algae, play a role in the cycle, which is why algae bloom during the cycling period of a new aquarium, when the lighting is switched on. Adding plants to freshwater tanks, and macroalgae to marine aquariums, should be thought of as assisting the stabilisation of the nitrogen cycle.

[shrimpin-aint-easy]

Like a wolf howling at a full moon

[moonimii]

Skrunp video for the skrimp enjoyers out there

[accelldraws]

the other fish when it is time to feed them: Ah, dinner time? Splendid.

this one fish in particular: FOOD TIME!! FOOD TIME!!! OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY YES YES YES FOOD YES FOOD

love that guy

[coffee-n-cacti]

This vintage Garfield fish tank was such a rad find! Gonna cycle it for a few months and maybe add some teeny tiny shrimp.

[picturesoffishandotherthings]

In winter the sunlight hits this fishtank for about an hour; I'm home today so I managed to get a good video with good lighting; you can even see some of their iridescence.

Aaaaaah, they are so pretty! I'm so glad I got them. ^^

[fishhag]

Two male sparking gouramis showing off. Their colors are absolutely insane, I’m obsesseddddd

[wearenotjustnumbers2]

Even CNN is reporting the truth more now. But if you are held without being charged, you aren’t a prisoner, you’ve been kidnapped and are a HOSTAGE. And human rights organizations have said that the other 50%, who were charged, were mainly charged with throwing rocks, and that even most of that was made up.

For all the pro israel who came to my posts of Palestinian children celebrating their freedom, calling them terrorists and criminals. Israel is an occupation state, they don't need a reason to arrest you as long as you're Palestinian.

[bettabubble]

january 2023 vs january 2024

[dirtwaterplantsfish]

Mad about it.

[mandsleanan]

cistern [ sis-tern ]

noun

a reservoir, tank, or container for storing or holding water or other liquid.

Latest aquascape is a 5.5 gallon that has been functioning as both a quarantine and holding tank for fish and plants. It's sat next to Trickle on my partner's bureau for a few years, but ease of cleaning has always won over aesthetics. Now that I've set up a more devoted quarantine container, I can finally build its own aquascape.

Since they're the same aquarium make and model, Cistern's scape is to both complement and contrast its sister tank. Instead of black aquasoil, white sand. A piece of moss-covered spiderwood dominates Trickle, so any wood or stones would be subtle and small. Strong vertical lines from stems plants are the main feature. Trickle is a Nature Aquarium meant to evoke a forest path, Cistern is meant to be reminiscent of an underground cave or aquifer. Except instead of a source of clean water, it's going to be a source of plants I can trim for future builds.

Before I started I did take this one photo of the tank's tab. I've kvetched a few times about enshittifcation in the aquarium hobby, and I don't expect any of the tanks I buy now to be anywhere near the same quality.

I bought this 5.5 gallon in 1996. I was fourteen. This tank started as one of my breeding tanks, decades ago. Still holds with no leaks. Perfecto was bought by Marineland at some point, so these are irreplaceable in more ways than one.

I added sifted topsoil to feed the plants, then capped it with my chosen sand, banking it toward the back to add depth for bigger stems like the Hygrophila.

After waffling on whether to add any hardscape for weeks, I decided to forego it entirely, instead just scatter a few handfuls of gravel for additional surface area.

Then I spent additional days waffling on my choice of gravel, only to realize after putting some in that it's going to be mostly hidden by the plants anyway.

Carefully filling before putting in the stems. I love sand as a substrate, even if it flees en masse from the slightest current.

Planting at the back and working my way forward, based on expected size and growth rate. I ordered a bulk assortment of stem plants that got me a ton of bunches dirt cheap, but since none of them were labeled, I had to play Guess the Plant if it wasn't obvious.

Stay where I put you, you dicks.

View from above, slowly getting there.

Everything planted, just going to top the water off and let it cycle for a week. I wanted to give it a bit of time for the microfauna to establish before a voracious plakat starts hunting them. I'm pretty sure Booberry's already eaten all the scuds he was able to find in the neighboring tank. The filter media is mature so he can go in whenever.

A few days later and everything's straightened out. I'll have to trim and replant the tops in order to replace the glass cover.

After the first major trimming and once any melting is resolved, I'm going to install ledges around the surface, both to give Booberry a mossy spot to sleep, and to increase the effect of viewing an underwater cave.

[aquariuminfobureau]

If I were asked my own winning formula, for growing aquarium plants, then I would say the secret is in the substrate. Plants typically grow in soils, and although those plants with roots may flourish in the more usual gravel or sand substrates, what they really need is a layer of soil, deep enough for their root systems, the length of which varies by the species in question. Even epiphytic plants, those that grow attached to hard substrates off the bottom, and floating plants, will benefit from the dissolved nutrients provided by the soil layer below.

The soil should not be sourced from anywhere, because it might contain additives that would be unwanted in an aquarium. Composts labelled as suitable for ponds with wildlife and fish, are naturally composed in a way very safe and suitable for growing water plants, and without additives that might harm ornamental fishes, or other desirable tank inhabitants, such as shrimp and snails. Such a compost is the ideal substrate and growing medium for our plants, but not on its own.

Firstly the compost will dirty the water if it is disturbed, either by filling the aquarium after adding the substrate, or when animals like loaches or catfish, constantly and actively disturb the upper substrate. For this reason a layer or 'cap' of sand is added superior to the compost, because it is less messy. Other substrates should also be used for the capping down of the soil. But minor disturbance is temporary and inevitable, when the aquarist is adding plants.

Below the substrate a layer of laterite clay is advisable when growing soil rooted plants, although proprietary 'growing tabs' can instead be provided, and targeted at the roots of the growing plants. Laterite should not be the sole substrate in a planted aquarium, although I have seen laterite soils support lush and extensive growths of plants such as Echinodorus and Myriophyllum in the wild. This is because laterite absorbs and holds certain nutrients through cation exchange, that plants access when they reach down with their roots. Were laterite alone the substrate, a fertiliser would almost certainly need to be used for plant health. But it is fine to 'cap' laterite with compost, or to mix them together.

Some confusion exists about the necessity of CO2 dosing for vigorous plant growth. A number of devices are produced for the purpose of diffusing CO2, or carbon dioxide, into a planted aquarium. Plants uptake carbon dioxide, which we breathe out, and their metabolic processes transform it into oxygen, which animals breathe. Thus pond owners, particularly, refer to submerged water plants such as Elodea, as oxygenating plants. A great many of the plants that we grow submerged in our aquariums, would in nature grow semi-emerged or emersed in wet soil, as what water gardeners refer to as marginals and bog plants.

Good examples of marginal plants we grow in our aquariums, include the Hygrophila from Asia. The fast growth rate of plants of this nature, is so they can race upwards to monopolise access to life giving sunlight, and access atmospheric carbon dioxide. When their foliage is lush at the top, near to and above the water surface where it is of most benefit to the living plant, less of its energy is spent on the stems below. For this reason the growth height of these plants is limited, by trimming back their stems and taking cuttings off them. Such plants do especially benefit from extra CO2 in their aquarium water, but it can also be added as root tabs.

Other plants grow exposed for part of the year in the wild. Cryptocoryne are a very good example of this, and again, such plants have the 'aerial advantage' when they are growing emersed, that they lose when they are submerged, which is the case when we are growing them in our aquariums. Again these plants respond well to the diffusion or other provision of CO2. But it should be noted that adding CO2 will have the chemical effect of lowering the water pH. Such dosing by equipment is not always appropriate for an aquarium environment.

Proprietary liquid and tablet fertilisers, specifically aimed at aquatic plant growers, are widely available in aquarium suppliers today. But when the substrate is set up correctly and, maybe, some extra carbon dioxide is added, they ought not to be necessary at all. The other factor in plant growth is the wavelengths of the aquarium light, which should not be confused with the temperature of the light. Thus the optimal lighting for plants, is rich at about 650 to 660 nanometers, which is the red part of the color spectrum, and at 486 nanometers, which is a 'shorter' blue wavelength. Although the optimum and minimum will vary by the plant, for example those plants with more red pigmentation, have a higher dependence on the blue wavelength.

There is more than one way to provide these wavelengths, but the number and power of the lights will depend on the dimensions of the aquarium. As light passes downwards though the water, away from its source, it's intensity decreases along its way. The distance between the plant and it's artificial light source matters, but as with garden and wild plants, different aquarium plants have different needs and preferences when it comes to light. It really is impossible to generalise beyond the basic principles, for all plants and planted aquariums.

[shrimpin-aint-easy]

The shrimp are in there