substrate or no substrate?
- Thread starter Konigwolf
- Start date
Personally I don't like the look of most tanks without it.
I've never heard of a fish that prefers there to be none, not to say there isn't any though.
I sometimes see bare bottoms recommended (for various reasons) for breeding though.
I've never heard of a fish that prefers there to be none, not to say there isn't any though.
I sometimes see bare bottoms recommended (for various reasons) for breeding though.
i love the look when its an absoloutly perfect tank and there is no substrate (but also no mess)
but personally i prefer substrate.
but personally i prefer substrate.
I started to write a quick note and it turned in to this mess...!
SORRY...
In 2005, I started with crushed coral in my 125G Malawi tank.... fish were smaller and not a lot of tufa or TXHR.
Then I moved the 125G to my new office and changed out the crushed coral for small gravel in an attempt to go for a more natural look. Over time I have also added a lot of tufa and some more TXHR to give them a ton of hiding places...
I also, added a 55G sump to make water chages easier as the deep sink is 100' away.
In the past year I have been removing more and more gravel and now just have a couple of handfuls left.
Next, I am going to try something new...
I am going to remove much of the rock from middle and place a "modified" beige milkcrate on the bottom of the tank with the open towards the back of the tank. I say modifed because I am going to cut it down above where the handles are to make nit fit a little better. I am going to divide the open crate, (haven't gotten this far yet I may use eggcrate or PVC pipe sections or a combo of both), to create some larger hiding places for some of the bigger. Then cover the crate with the rock to hide it and the fish will access it through the back. This will also give me more tufa rock that I will break up into chunks of 1"-3" and I will fill in the bottom front of the tank with these.
I will probably add another crate and make a center pile as well as making a better return system from the sump...
My thinking here is from a maintence stand point as it is in my office. I can use my diatom and AC Quick filtering cartriges to remove the waste by just blasting around the rocks, chunks and crates.... This will also give the juvies, (I have a lot...) a network of passage ways of there own... I will also remove the large pleco, change up the lighting and grow more algae on the bottom of the tank...
My goal is to have an entirely green living bottom and center pile with more room than just the current rocks and less weight. I don't want have to disassemble everything to clean under the pile... just blast it and Diatom/Quick filter and polish the tank water in the tank... All the normal filtration will be running in the sump which will be off line....
Also, if anyone is missing... I can "probably" see exactly where they are from the bottom...
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...
MM
SORRY...
In 2005, I started with crushed coral in my 125G Malawi tank.... fish were smaller and not a lot of tufa or TXHR.
Then I moved the 125G to my new office and changed out the crushed coral for small gravel in an attempt to go for a more natural look. Over time I have also added a lot of tufa and some more TXHR to give them a ton of hiding places...
I also, added a 55G sump to make water chages easier as the deep sink is 100' away.
In the past year I have been removing more and more gravel and now just have a couple of handfuls left.
Next, I am going to try something new...
I am going to remove much of the rock from middle and place a "modified" beige milkcrate on the bottom of the tank with the open towards the back of the tank. I say modifed because I am going to cut it down above where the handles are to make nit fit a little better. I am going to divide the open crate, (haven't gotten this far yet I may use eggcrate or PVC pipe sections or a combo of both), to create some larger hiding places for some of the bigger. Then cover the crate with the rock to hide it and the fish will access it through the back. This will also give me more tufa rock that I will break up into chunks of 1"-3" and I will fill in the bottom front of the tank with these.
I will probably add another crate and make a center pile as well as making a better return system from the sump...
My thinking here is from a maintence stand point as it is in my office. I can use my diatom and AC Quick filtering cartriges to remove the waste by just blasting around the rocks, chunks and crates.... This will also give the juvies, (I have a lot...) a network of passage ways of there own... I will also remove the large pleco, change up the lighting and grow more algae on the bottom of the tank...
My goal is to have an entirely green living bottom and center pile with more room than just the current rocks and less weight. I don't want have to disassemble everything to clean under the pile... just blast it and Diatom/Quick filter and polish the tank water in the tank... All the normal filtration will be running in the sump which will be off line....
Also, if anyone is missing... I can "probably" see exactly where they are from the bottom...
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...
MM