Re: ph, gravel, and filters

["David A. Youngker" <nestor10@mindspring.com>]

>David
>when you say 32 years of tanks and only one that has ever had gravel.
>
>Do you go bare bottom on all your tanks then.
>Why?  Just out of curiosity, not being nosey.
>I only go bare bottom on fry rearing tanks.  This is only for ease of
>keeping clean.
>
>John Wubbolt

No bare bottoms, either. The statement was meant to refer to the sand to
which Bob objected. I've always like sand for appearances and ease of
maintenance.

That also means I've tried a fair number of sand types in order to
accommodate the habits and environmental requirements of the fish involved.
The combination I've finally settled on involves play sand and crushed
corals. I tend toward the 'blonde" sifted play sands for their uniformity,
although the last few batches have seemed awfully dusty and require extra
rinsing (more easily rinsed in 5-gallon buckets using only about a gallon of
sand at at time).

The corals are handy for two reasons. I usually use black sand in order to
"darken up" the substrate, and coral allows me to exert some measure of
control over the buffering. Fish like my blackwater types get a 4- or 5-to-1
ratio of play-to-coral sands. The brackish tanks (like the Knight Gobies I'm
working with now) and Central Americans get about a 3:1 ratio, Tanganyikans
get 2:1.

Almost all of my tanks get 10-15% water changes every 2-3 days, depending on
my work schedule. Problem fish get 10% every day, while fry tanks are
changed twice daily. Water chemistry is handled outside of the tanks, most
often in large Rubbermaid trash cans - there's a large one dedicated to
peat, and a smaller one in which my Rift water is allowed to stabilize.

I have a lot of diggers and sifters, and even some burrowers. The only sand
I've ever had a problem with came from a landscaper using crushed quartz: if
the sand comes from a man-made source, most usually quarry crushed, it's
simply to rough and sharp.

Oh, and to stem another possible question - all of my tanks are planted.
Heavily, but not nearly as much as the Dutch...

-Y-

David A. Youngker
http://www.mindspring.com/~nestor10
nestor10@mindspring.com




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