Play Sand for Stingray?
- Thread starter CarloM12
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If you try to have different layers or types of substrate, you will make a mess and the fine sand will simply fall through the gaps. Only use one type of substrate, sand or gravel but do not bother putting anything under sand because it will simply mix.
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Grow plants in pots if you want them to have lots of nutrients. (see post #8).
Yes you can buy plants that are already in pots instead of buying them from the other shop.
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The 2 Arowanas will fight and the big one will probably kill and maybe even eat the smaller one.
If you do not have another big tank, then do not take the second Arowana from your friend.
Arowanas will eat anything that fits in their mouth. Bigger fish can be fed on white bait, prawns, squid, etc. Buy a packet of frozen whitebait, blue sardines & prawn from a fishing shop. Keep them in the freezer. For smaller fish you take out 1 or 2 white bait, blue sardines or prawn/ shrimp, defrost them, cut them into pieces that are small enough for the fish to eat, and offer 1 piece at a time.
When you feed prawn, defrost a prawn, break the head off and remove the shell, and pull the intestine (thin black thing) out of the prawn. Throw those bits in the bin. Then cut the remaining piece of prawn into bite size pieces and offer 1 bit at a time.
Your stingrays will also eat these foods and can be offered smaller bits.
Remove any uneaten food within 5 minutes of feeding.
For big Arowana you do the same thing but you don't have to cut the whitebait or shrimp into small pieces. A 12 inch Arowana is able to swallow a 3 inch long fish like a whitebait or blue sardine.
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Some good plants to try include: Ambulia, Hygrophilla polysperma & ruba, Ludwigia, Elodia, Hydrilla (looks similar to Elodia), narrow Vallis, Amazon swordplants. You can also try Banana lily leaves or Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) for the surface.
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CarloM12
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What about frozen sardines by Hikari from the freezer at fish stores? Does that work just as well? Also, I don't think you answered this yet, but if I have a Fluval Canister 306 and a 406 along with an Aqueon HOB 75 to filter the 125 gallon tank with the Arowana, the 3 stingrays which are far from full grown, one is 4-5 inches diameter the other two are 7-8 inches diameter and the 3 silver dollars, is that enough? Can I get the bait to feed the Arowana from Dick's sporting goods, or is that not as fresh as a frozen food from Hikari per say? Also, regarding the plants, if I buy those plants from PetSmart in the plastic tubes, and do the thing you told me with the pot, is that enough or do I still need to dose the tank with a fertilizer of some sort? And can I use the T8 LIghting that I already have from home depot, the spectrum is not that high but are there any plants that can live on 2600k? That's the spectrum of the two bulbs I have for the 75, they are Phillips bulbs and I guess two bulbs of 2600k would total to 5200k.
Yes they are fine but more expensive than bait from a fishing shop.
You can use bait from a sporting goods store but you are better off getting it from a fishing store because they will sell more and have fresher stock in their freezers. The sporting goods store might not sell much and the bait in their freezer could be old.
You can check the frozen bait, the individual fish in the packet should not be stuck together in a clump. If they are frozen into a clump then it means they have defrosted and refrozen.
Yes those filters should be fine for that tank with those fish.
You do not need to add liquid or tablet fertiliser if you put the plants in a pot with clay and garden fertiliser as described in post #8.
2600K is the colour temperature of the light produced by the globe. 2600K has a lot of red and yellow light but not much blue light.
Having two globes with 2600K does not make the light 5600K. You will only have 2600K light, which has lots of red and yellow light.
You can pick up daylight globes for a couple of dollars from any hardware store. They have a 5000K-6500K rating and are better lights. Visit a hardware store and see what they have. If you can find globes with a 6500K then use them. Below are 3 links to show you examples of different globes that range from 4000K, 5000K & 6500K.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/osram-116cm-28w-4000k-cool-white-fluorescent-tube-globe_p4331340
https://www.bunnings.com.au/nec-121cm-37w-straight-t8-fluorescent-lamp_p4329911
https://www.bunnings.com.au/osram-120cm-36w-biolux-fluorescent-tube_p4320431
Yes, that is the 6500K Daylight. This is the single best tube if you have one tube in the fixture. If your fixture holds two T8 tubes, you can use one of these 6500K and one of the 5000K also Phillips. Here's this one:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips...ht-Bulb-Natural-Light-2-Pack-409664/100613779
The Kelvin (K suffix) is what you look for, after T8 and length (48 inches). T8 tubes need to be replaced about every 12 months; they lose intensity the longer they burn and after 12 months they are not sufficient intensity to benefit the plants which will weaken and algae will increase.
Seachem Flourish Tabs come in a package of 10 or 40. These are useful for larger substrate-rooted plants like swords.
http://www.seachem.com/flourish-tabs.php
This is the Flourish Comprehensive Supplement. Make sure it is this one, as they make several products in the Flourish line.
http://seachem.com/flourish.php
I cannot answer about Severum eating plants. This species occurs in waters having no aquatic vegetation so presumably it is not a part of their diet, but that doesn't mean they might not be opportunistic feeders in an aquarium.
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CarloM12
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Ok, Byron so you use both the root tabs and the Flourish correct? I have two light fixtures, so I need two 2 foot bulbs. Also when you put the root tabs on the roots, you just put it into the play sand if that's what I go with, or do I need a layer of gravel? I can maybe get rid of the severums if they are eating the plants, I will see. Also another question I forgot to ask you, I run a powerhead in my tanks of 800 gph, will that get rid of too much carbon dioxide in the water? And is doing a water change of that volume once a week barely giving the plants any nitrates to feed on?
Yes, one tab next to each of the largest plants, pushed down in the sand so it is covered over; I put them an inch or so from the crown. The Flourish Comprehensive, once a week at less than the suggested dose, but that rather depends upon your plants, GH, fish load/feeding. It is possible to get trouble algae from too much fertilizer, the liquid.
I would have one 6500K and one 5000K, this is a nice natural daylight. It provides the necessary red and blue for photosynthesis, and green for a true colour rendition.
That seems a lot. You want good surface disturbance at one end, but not too strong a current within the tank, as this affects fish. Can you lessen the output?
You do not want nitrates, these are harmful to fish. Aquatic plants take up ammonia/ammonium as their preferred source of nitrogen. Only when this is insufficient in balance with light and the other nutrients will they turn to nitrate. That is because to use the nitrate, they first must convert it back into ammonium, internally, and that takes more energy; so plants will only turn to nitrate as a last resort so to speak. In most of our tanks there is sufficient ammonia/ammonium for plants when it is a low-tech or natural method planted tank. My nitrate is in the 0 to 5 ppm range because I tend to have a good stock of fish in my tanks, and this is where the nitrate comes from, decomposing organics primarily in the substrate. This is also your prime source for CO2.
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CarloM12
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Yes I know, but it's a sun sun powerhead and you can't turn it down. I might just take it off of the 75 completely and leave it the one on the 125 with the larger fish. Ok so can I just do water changes of 50% once a week on the big tank, and 30% on the 75 gallon? Can I put the tabs on every plant or just the big ones like anubias? Also, the fertilizer I can do once a week I think that's good enough. Last time the issue was that my plants were on LED lighting, and I wasn't using root tabs nor fertilizer, just Iron. The plant leaves of the java ferns, anubias, and the crypts would turn either brown or yellow and break off. As for the amazon swords, they would just become clear and break off. So hopefully these three changes can give me more success. What do the root tabs exactly do just curious? And last time I had a problem keeping the plants rooted into the sandbed, which was only an inch. Do I need to mix some gravel in there, or just thicken the sandbed, which I am going to use play sand again. And just curious, what is the spectrum of an average LED light, mine is Marineland on the 125.
That filter would be better on the large tank. Water changes should be at least 50% once a week; I do 60-65% on all my tanks.
The substrate tabs are a complete fertilizer same as the liquid (Flourish Comp), except the tabs break down very slowly and the plant roots take up the nutrients before they get into the water column to cause algae or fish issues. If you only have substrate-rooted plants, you may not need the liquid at all.
Anubias is a very slow-growing plant, and the tabs will not do much for this. And the rhizome (the thick "stem" from which the roots and leaves grow, must not be buried in the sand or it may rot. Anubias is best attached to a chunk of wood or rock. The liquid fertilizer will benefit Anubias, probably; being slow growing they require less nutrients and fish food does provide everything but not always sufficient.
If you have plants like swords with very extensive root systems, you need at least 2 inches of sand. I would aim for a level bed of about 2 inches, then move it a bit; but sand "piled up" tends to move down with the normal water movement, so 2 inches is good to start with.
The plant deficiencies you describe are likely light and nutrient related. The dual T8 tubes I recommend over this tank will solve the lighting, guaranteed; the tabs and fertilizer should balance well enough.
I have terrible experience with LED; I tried five different units, all failed and went back. I've repaired my fixtures to continue using T8 because I know it and it works for what I have. Spectrum varies depending upon how the light is manufactured. So much of the LED is high blue and very little red, and this will not work with plants. Red and blue drive photosynthesis, but red is the more important of the two. Green adds intensity and true colour rendition. A spectrum around 6000K has been shown to be ideal for aquarium plants. The 5000K and 6500K provide this balance very well.
The substrate tabs are a complete fertilizer same as the liquid (Flourish Comp), except the tabs break down very slowly and the plant roots take up the nutrients before they get into the water column to cause algae or fish issues. If you only have substrate-rooted plants, you may not need the liquid at all.
Anubias is a very slow-growing plant, and the tabs will not do much for this. And the rhizome (the thick "stem" from which the roots and leaves grow, must not be buried in the sand or it may rot. Anubias is best attached to a chunk of wood or rock. The liquid fertilizer will benefit Anubias, probably; being slow growing they require less nutrients and fish food does provide everything but not always sufficient.
If you have plants like swords with very extensive root systems, you need at least 2 inches of sand. I would aim for a level bed of about 2 inches, then move it a bit; but sand "piled up" tends to move down with the normal water movement, so 2 inches is good to start with.
The plant deficiencies you describe are likely light and nutrient related. The dual T8 tubes I recommend over this tank will solve the lighting, guaranteed; the tabs and fertilizer should balance well enough.
I have terrible experience with LED; I tried five different units, all failed and went back. I've repaired my fixtures to continue using T8 because I know it and it works for what I have. Spectrum varies depending upon how the light is manufactured. So much of the LED is high blue and very little red, and this will not work with plants. Red and blue drive photosynthesis, but red is the more important of the two. Green adds intensity and true colour rendition. A spectrum around 6000K has been shown to be ideal for aquarium plants. The 5000K and 6500K provide this balance very well.
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CarloM12
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ok, so can I do two 6500k's or just do one. Also, it says on the website based on three hours a day. Here's the link: https://www.homedepot.com/p/17-Watt...b-Daylight-Deluxe-6500K-ALTO-431998/204384429
And by the way, I think I made a mistake and these are the lights I actually have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips...nt-Light-Bulb-Daylight-5000K-392290/100122742
And by the way, I think I made a mistake and these are the lights I actually have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips...nt-Light-Bulb-Daylight-5000K-392290/100122742
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The linked tube is the second one I recommend, with a spectrum of 5000K. If your present T8 fixture takes two 48-inch T8 tubes, then one of these 5000K and one of the Daylight 6500K together will be good light, about as good as you can get.
As for how long they last, you cannot go by what they tell you about 9 years or 21 years or whatever. That is how long the tube will continue to light, at three hours per day. But as fluorescent tubes burn, their intensity (brightness) diminishes quite rapidly. I think I read somewhere that a tube intensity is 30% less after just a few months, and it continues to decline though more slowly after that. This is critical when you are using the tubes to promote plant growth.
Photosynthesis is driven by light intensity and spectrum. Each species of plant requires a minimum intensity of light and this varies from species to species. This is true of all plants, aquatic and terrestrial. If the minimum level of light intensity is not available, the plant cannot photosynthesize and it dies. Provided the light intensity is adequate for the species, photosynthesis will continue to occur (provided the spectrum is adequate and provided all necessary nutrients are available to the plant). The plant will photosynthesis to the max, until something is no longer adequate.
Everyone who uses T8 tubes knows that when they replace them, the tank light is noticeably brighter. I have found that with the Phillips 5000K and 6500K tubes, 12 months is about as long as they will last over a planted tank. I got up to 18 months with Life-Glo tubes, but these are made differently which is why they are four or five times as expensive. Over my smaller tanks that have one tube and where these are 24-inch tubes, I only use Life-Glo as it lasts longer then the 24-inch cheap tubes and produces much better light. But with all tubes the intensity lessens long before the tube will no longer light. As if you go past the average life of a tube, thee plants will begin to weaken and algae will begin to increase; this shows that the light has become too dim to adequately drive photosynthesis in plants, but algae are not so fussy and they can then take advantage.
So, replace the Phillips 6500K and 5000K tubes every 12 months. Some sources suggest replacing them alternately, so one tube will be replaced every January and the second tube every July. Once this is in place, each tube will be replaced at 12-month intervals, just not at the same time. This does mean a bit less intensity loss over the year compared to replacing both at the same time. I've not done this, but I do notice a difference as the tubes age.
As for how long they last, you cannot go by what they tell you about 9 years or 21 years or whatever. That is how long the tube will continue to light, at three hours per day. But as fluorescent tubes burn, their intensity (brightness) diminishes quite rapidly. I think I read somewhere that a tube intensity is 30% less after just a few months, and it continues to decline though more slowly after that. This is critical when you are using the tubes to promote plant growth.
Photosynthesis is driven by light intensity and spectrum. Each species of plant requires a minimum intensity of light and this varies from species to species. This is true of all plants, aquatic and terrestrial. If the minimum level of light intensity is not available, the plant cannot photosynthesize and it dies. Provided the light intensity is adequate for the species, photosynthesis will continue to occur (provided the spectrum is adequate and provided all necessary nutrients are available to the plant). The plant will photosynthesis to the max, until something is no longer adequate.
Everyone who uses T8 tubes knows that when they replace them, the tank light is noticeably brighter. I have found that with the Phillips 5000K and 6500K tubes, 12 months is about as long as they will last over a planted tank. I got up to 18 months with Life-Glo tubes, but these are made differently which is why they are four or five times as expensive. Over my smaller tanks that have one tube and where these are 24-inch tubes, I only use Life-Glo as it lasts longer then the 24-inch cheap tubes and produces much better light. But with all tubes the intensity lessens long before the tube will no longer light. As if you go past the average life of a tube, thee plants will begin to weaken and algae will begin to increase; this shows that the light has become too dim to adequately drive photosynthesis in plants, but algae are not so fussy and they can then take advantage.
So, replace the Phillips 6500K and 5000K tubes every 12 months. Some sources suggest replacing them alternately, so one tube will be replaced every January and the second tube every July. Once this is in place, each tube will be replaced at 12-month intervals, just not at the same time. This does mean a bit less intensity loss over the year compared to replacing both at the same time. I've not done this, but I do notice a difference as the tubes age.
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CarloM12
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Ok, so I'll just buy a 6500k two-foot bulb to complement the 5000. So would you recommend the fertilizer or the tabs, I will just be using play sand most likely. Also, what about the plants like swords and java ferns that I cannot use the tabs for? I know you mentioned the fertilizer can cause algae problems, and with the light on 8-10 hours a day that could be an issue. Also, do the roots of some plants need to grab on to something more than just sand, or is that just enough? I'm looking at amazon swords, java ferns, anubias, and I used to have Italian vale which I really like.
Of the plants named, the swords will benefit from substrate tabs. Java fern and Anubias are not rooted in the substrate, so they benefit from liquid fertilizer; these must be attached to wood or rock. Vallisneria will need the liquid, and substrate tabs might help but the issue here is that this plant sends out runners everywhere so substrate tabs need to be placed sporadically; one by each plant would be overkill and very expensive.
You might have to decrease the photo period, as 10 hours will likely be too much. Having floating plants helps with this, and fish do appreciate them as well. I have my lights on for 8 hours daily, 7 hours on the 70g. You need to know the GH of your source water, as this is your prime source of the "hard" minerals calcium and magnesium.
First, fish species have preferences for hard water or soft water or moderately in between water. You may be able to get the GH from your municipal water authority, check their website.
As for plants, as I said the GH is the prime source of calcium and magnesium (these two minerals make up the GH or water hardness). I have very soft water, with no calcium or magnesium, so I need to use more fertilizers to get this, whereas someone with moderately hard water would not.
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