Algae feed wall concept for bio film eaters

[Magnum Man]

So, I’ve not really mentioned this concept I stumbled on a while back… most of my tanks are heavily planted with terrestrial plants, so much so, that my South American tetra tank is shaded enough from the lights above ( mounted on the ceiling ) the fish are visible, but not in “the spotlight” and can be difficult to take pictures, it’s a very natural and pleasing effect… in my Hillstream tank, it’s not quite as shaded, but, any shading is a bad thing for algae growth, which the Hillstream’s need for food… one area of my tank, that helps that, is one of the side walls… both sides, are lined with 24 inch long emergent lucky bamboo stalks, 10 stalks per side, the stalks are held in plant clips, that hold them out a couple inches from the sides, at the top, and are allowed to root into some rocks at the bottom, and loosely cover ( visually ) the sides of the tank, yet with enough space between them, that the Hillstream’s come and go, as they please, between them… The one side butts up against another tank, and bio film grows there, but not heavy algae growth, the other side, is open on that end, and gets a lot of external light, growing a good amount of algae… the Hillstream’s keep the algae in check back there, and there is always no less than 4-5 of them back there… the bamboo covers it visually… it’s hard to take pictures of the fish back there,, but I bet a good portion of their food grows there…

I had tried to take some pictures recently of some new to the tank fish, that seem to naturally gravitate to that area, until they get used to the tank, because of the food source, and protective cover…

 

[GaryE]

I don't have many biofilm grazers in the usual sense. but I find plant roots from above in the water are great for biofilm. Fry and adults constantly graze in the tangles. It's an added positive with roots in tanks.

I bought an aquascaping book when I was a teenager, back in the 1970s. It was all about geometic shapes, submerged lights, and sterility. Plantless tanks (plants were messy) and sharp lines everywhere - tanks like discos. I really hope that style of tank never makes a comeback. We'll never be able to replicate nature in our tanks, but we can give it our best shot.