A couple questions: Sand/gravel Plants/AmmoLock

[KEN PINARD]

I have been reading a great deal lately about these topics in the NGs and
web sites; and finally decided that I am confused. So I would like to hear
your opinions.

I have about 2-3 inches of gravel in a 29g tank it is a UGF. I have never
known what the proper amount of gravel should be. As for Fish I have: 1
Angel, 2 Rasboras, 2 Large Tetras, 2 Black Tetras, and 6 Small things with
orange strips (about the size of cardinals). I also have a pengin 170 bio
wheel.

Is the gravel to deep for the proper filteration? Does it really matter?

I was considering going to sand because I wanted to start putting plants in
the tank as well. Is sand better than gravel to keep the plants "happy"?

Would having half sand/half gravel be good/bad? One side of the tank for the
plants and the other side for the UGF?

I have heard that to fine a sand will clump and form a solid mass. Does any
one have any comments on this?

Also, I had to recycle my recently. The ammonia when sky high, so I have
been putting AmmoLock in with each water change. Does the AmmoLock keep the
plants from abosorbing the Nitrogren? Or is it of no real affect.

PS I am not going to make any changes of course until my tank recycles.

[NetMax]

"KEN PINARD" > wrote in message
...
> I have been reading a great deal lately about these topics in the NGs
and
> web sites; and finally decided that I am confused. So I would like to
hear
> your opinions.
>
> I have about 2-3 inches of gravel in a 29g tank it is a UGF. I have
never
> known what the proper amount of gravel should be. As for Fish I have: 1
> Angel, 2 Rasboras, 2 Large Tetras, 2 Black Tetras, and 6 Small things
with
> orange strips (about the size of cardinals). I also have a pengin 170
bio
> wheel.

Small things the size of Cardinals might be Glowlight tetras.

> Is the gravel to deep for the proper filteration? Does it really
matter?

It might depend on the size of the powerheads. The extra depth makes it
more laborious when gravel vacuuming, so generally, it's recommended to
use less, unless you have deep rooting plants. The greater depth also
presents a greater risk of nasty anaerobic pockets developing.

> I was considering going to sand because I wanted to start putting
plants in
> the tank as well. Is sand better than gravel to keep the plants
"happy"?

A fine gravel will accomodate most plants. Sand has many attributes
which you would to familiarize yourself with, before changing. If only
for the plants, I would not change.

> Would having half sand/half gravel be good/bad? One side of the tank
for the
> plants and the other side for the UGF?

It just sounds un-neccesary, but not neccessarily bad. Sand & gravel mix
very well, with sand settling under the gravel. I would not try mixes
until you had some experience with both. When it comes to substrates,
undesirable results are difficult to correct. On the other hand, sand &
gravel are easy to filter apart through a screen, so you can remove it
all and seperate them from each other. Much easier than trying to
seperate similar sized gravels.

With your substrate aspirations, you might want to remove the UGF, to
give you more flexibility.

> I have heard that to fine a sand will clump and form a solid mass. Does
any
> one have any comments on this?

Yes :o) it does. The finer the sand, the closer it constitutes concrete
(sort of).

> Also, I had to recycle my recently. The ammonia when sky high, so I
have
> been putting AmmoLock in with each water change. Does the AmmoLock keep
the
> plants from abosorbing the Nitrogren? Or is it of no real affect.

AFAIK, the AmmoLock only changes the NH3 to NH4, which is still uptaked
by bacteria & plants.

NetMax

> PS I am not going to make any changes of course until my tank recycles.
>
>
>

[KEN PINARD]

Thank you for the information, it is very helpful.

On the question of sand/gravel. What I was considering was to put 1/2 the
tank as gravel (say left half) and 1/2 sand. Put the plants long the right
and let the fish swim wherever. Is this a reasonable idea or just crazy.

The "Small things" are GlowLights, I found a picture on line so I as able to
identify them (of course my wife says she remembers that now :)

Thank you again for the insight, it is very useful.

Ken


"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "KEN PINARD" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I have been reading a great deal lately about these topics in the NGs
> and
> > web sites; and finally decided that I am confused. So I would like to
> hear
> > your opinions.
> >
> > I have about 2-3 inches of gravel in a 29g tank it is a UGF. I have
> never
> > known what the proper amount of gravel should be. As for Fish I have: 1
> > Angel, 2 Rasboras, 2 Large Tetras, 2 Black Tetras, and 6 Small things
> with
> > orange strips (about the size of cardinals). I also have a pengin 170
> bio
> > wheel.
>
> Small things the size of Cardinals might be Glowlight tetras.
>
> > Is the gravel to deep for the proper filteration? Does it really
> matter?
>
> It might depend on the size of the powerheads. The extra depth makes it
> more laborious when gravel vacuuming, so generally, it's recommended to
> use less, unless you have deep rooting plants. The greater depth also
> presents a greater risk of nasty anaerobic pockets developing.
>
> > I was considering going to sand because I wanted to start putting
> plants in
> > the tank as well. Is sand better than gravel to keep the plants
> "happy"?
>
> A fine gravel will accomodate most plants. Sand has many attributes
> which you would to familiarize yourself with, before changing. If only
> for the plants, I would not change.
>
> > Would having half sand/half gravel be good/bad? One side of the tank
> for the
> > plants and the other side for the UGF?
>
> It just sounds un-neccesary, but not neccessarily bad. Sand & gravel mix
> very well, with sand settling under the gravel. I would not try mixes
> until you had some experience with both. When it comes to substrates,
> undesirable results are difficult to correct. On the other hand, sand &
> gravel are easy to filter apart through a screen, so you can remove it
> all and seperate them from each other. Much easier than trying to
> seperate similar sized gravels.
>
> With your substrate aspirations, you might want to remove the UGF, to
> give you more flexibility.
>
> > I have heard that to fine a sand will clump and form a solid mass. Does
> any
> > one have any comments on this?
>
> Yes :o) it does. The finer the sand, the closer it constitutes concrete
> (sort of).
>
> > Also, I had to recycle my recently. The ammonia when sky high, so I
> have
> > been putting AmmoLock in with each water change. Does the AmmoLock keep
> the
> > plants from abosorbing the Nitrogren? Or is it of no real affect.
>
> AFAIK, the AmmoLock only changes the NH3 to NH4, which is still uptaked
> by bacteria & plants.
>
> NetMax
>
> > PS I am not going to make any changes of course until my tank recycles.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[NetMax]

"KEN PINARD" > wrote in message
...
> Thank you for the information, it is very helpful.
>
> On the question of sand/gravel. What I was considering was to put 1/2
the
> tank as gravel (say left half) and 1/2 sand. Put the plants long the
right
> and let the fish swim wherever. Is this a reasonable idea or just
crazy.
>
> The "Small things" are GlowLights, I found a picture on line so I as
able to
> identify them (of course my wife says she remembers that now :)
>
> Thank you again for the insight, it is very useful.
>
> Ken
<snip>

Doing half & half as described works fine. It's not usually done, and is
certainly is not necessary to grow plants. It is fun and interesting to
see which fish take advantage of the different substrates. My Cytocara
mooris are sand-sifters, but when I moved them into a tank with a sand
substrate, they ignored it. : ( You just never can be completely sure
what any of them will do.

NetMax

[KEN PINARD]

Thank you, I might just give it a shot (well maybe next month, no time this
month).

Ken

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
>
> "KEN PINARD" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Thank you for the information, it is very helpful.
> >
> > On the question of sand/gravel. What I was considering was to put 1/2
> the
> > tank as gravel (say left half) and 1/2 sand. Put the plants long the
> right
> > and let the fish swim wherever. Is this a reasonable idea or just
> crazy.
> >
> > The "Small things" are GlowLights, I found a picture on line so I as
> able to
> > identify them (of course my wife says she remembers that now :)
> >
> > Thank you again for the insight, it is very useful.
> >
> > Ken
> <snip>
>
> Doing half & half as described works fine. It's not usually done, and is
> certainly is not necessary to grow plants. It is fun and interesting to
> see which fish take advantage of the different substrates. My Cytocara
> mooris are sand-sifters, but when I moved them into a tank with a sand
> substrate, they ignored it. : ( You just never can be completely sure
> what any of them will do.
>
> NetMax
>
>

[Reg]

KEN PINARD wrote:
> Thank you, I might just give it a shot (well maybe next month, no time this
> month).
<snip>
</snip>

>>Doing half & half as described works fine. It's not usually done, and is
>>certainly is not necessary to grow plants. It is fun and interesting to
>>see which fish take advantage of the different substrates. My Cytocara
>>mooris are sand-sifters, but when I moved them into a tank with a sand
>>substrate, they ignored it. : ( You just never can be completely sure
>>what any of them will do.
>>
>>NetMax
>>

I currently have such a 1/2 gravel, 1/2 sand tank. I divided the
midpoint of the tank with a few flat rocks just high enough to provide a
barrier between the sand and gravel. A bit of material mixes, but
that makes it look more natural anyway. I don't think the plants
actaully care. I find they stay rooted a bit better in the sand though.

Reg

[KEN PINARD]

Thank you Reg,

Now that our children are older, we have their "Permission" to remove
the Bright Red gravel in bottom of my tank. I think we are going to do
something like you did.

Question: did you put anything under the sand to stop it from seeping
throught the UGF filter? A fine mesh or just block it with some plastic?

Ken

"Reg" > wrote in message news:bFrVb.433316$X%5.296669@pd7tw2no...
> KEN PINARD wrote:
> > Thank you, I might just give it a shot (well maybe next month, no time
this
> > month).
> <snip>
> </snip>
>
> >>Doing half & half as described works fine. It's not usually done, and
is
> >>certainly is not necessary to grow plants. It is fun and interesting to
> >>see which fish take advantage of the different substrates. My Cytocara
> >>mooris are sand-sifters, but when I moved them into a tank with a sand
> >>substrate, they ignored it. : ( You just never can be completely sure
> >>what any of them will do.
> >>
> >>NetMax
> >>
>
> I currently have such a 1/2 gravel, 1/2 sand tank. I divided the
> midpoint of the tank with a few flat rocks just high enough to provide a
> barrier between the sand and gravel. A bit of material mixes, but
> that makes it look more natural anyway. I don't think the plants
> actaully care. I find they stay rooted a bit better in the sand though.
>
> Reg