Jacks Rio 125 (to Be Named)

[Truck]

ok thanks for the tip , ive heard and researched pruning vallis, its grown 3 inches in 3 days and people just cut the top off? is this the correct way to do it? or should i pull the whole leaf of the stem?

 

[aaronnorth]

some say you should cut off the whole leaf, but if you cut it in one smoot cut with sharp scissors then it should survive

 

[onebto]

looking good truck nice one

 

[Truck]

looking good truck nice one

thanks

im having trouble distuingishing the different crypts, because i want to grow them into a sort of cascade, so they get higher up in the tank as you go farther towards the back, could anyone point out any differences between becketii and willissi?

 

[SuperColey1]

Becketti leaves are rounder and you can clearly see the veins underneath it. Tents to grow more upright.

Willisii/Lucens in more like a taller version of Wendtii Green in appearance but with thinner leaves and longer stems

AC

 

[Truck]

few more pics ive re-arranged the crypts willisi at the back and beckettii at the front

Ram

Ram again

crypts

shrimp

 

[Truck]

disaster! some of the tropica substrate has been disturbed and has clouded the water, damn, ive taken the peices out and done a 50% WC, is it harmful to fish or inverts?

 

[SuperColey1]

Not at all dangerous to fish. How much sand did you put on top of it? And how was it disturbed?

AC

 

[Truck]

i put 2 inches on top but at the front its slightly less, say 1.5 inch. i asked my sister to feed them and just prod the sand to release any gass, and she stirred the front part up just caught her , last time she goes even near my tank.

 

[Truck]

im buying 6 khuli loaches tommorow, do you think that the sand could be a problem, as ive heard they like to bury, so i thought it may be a problem?

 

[SuperColey1]

Your ram burrows too. Have you not seen?

Not a problem. The more the merrier that are moving the sand around.

I wouldn't bother prodding it. plant roots and the ram alone would sort out that 'myth'. The dangerous chemical 'hydrogen sulfide' that can develop under the sand becomes harmless almost as immediately it comes into contact with oxygen.

Read this thread for more info but it is another of those 'myths' that people like to warble on about:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=212113

AC

 

[Truck]

ok thanks, ive not seen the ram burrow, but he kind of filter feeds the sand sometimes

 

[SuperColey1]

Similar to Corys or Pitbull plecs, the ram filters the sand and moves it around. The plants keep oxygenating the substrate via their roots and therefore minimise anaerobic pockets.

Even if they do develop then the toxic substance (hydrogen Sulfide) is rendered harmless almost immediately it comes into contact with oxygen which as we know is plentiful in the water column otherwise the fish would not survive.

The only problem with anaerobic pockets is the smell if a large bubble comes out (rotten eggs. lol)

Kuhlis, Trumpet Snails, Corys, small plecs, Rams and many more will move the top layer and help this out but the more important thing is that by moving the substrate they are bringing the organic bits back into the water so that they can over time get into the filter.

My substrate sends a bubble up from time to time but it doesn't smell. I assume it oxygen from the roots that just gets trapped and when a fish's nose or snail interferes in the area then the bubble is released. My substrate has been in there since September 07!!! So it is now 16months old and I have no issues with it nor intend to replace it for a few years yet!!!

Aaron is better at chemistry than me so maybe he can explain how hydrogen sulfide is rendered harmless when it comes into contact with O. I just read things without understanding the whole of the theory but getting the answer to the questions I had.

AC

 

[aaronnorth]

The equation is H2S + 3/2 O2 --> H2O + SO2 or you can multiply it by 2 so you will have 2H2S + 3O2 --> 2H2O + 2SO2.

And it is the Sulphur Oxide that smells like eggs Having anerobic pockets is good for the aquarium, as it can convert nitrates into Nitrogen. It also allows plant roots to grow better, having a substrate high in oxygen can keep elemnts such as iron locked up in their oxide precipitates which plants cannot use.

 

[Truck]

oh awesome, so its a good thing

buying the khuli's today or tommorow and some reflectors , totaly forgot about them