POLL: Once you go salt, you never go back?

[Wiskey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6567619#post6567619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pandora
To Wiskey: have you ever had problems/concerns with the soil under your gravel? I've heard about this technique, but not a lot recently... I know it works, but the thought of a crash makes me nervous, too. In some ways, it's kind of like the idea behind a plenum.

I used florite for a long time in my planted tanks, it worked, but if you slacked on your dosing of ferts the tank went down, and co2 needed to be kept up, or algae.

I then read Diana Walsted's book on the natural planted aquariam, and setup a number of small experimantal tanks using diffrent soils and florite. The one that did by far the best (juged by both plant growth rate and lack of algae) was the one that I dosed ferts to in low quantities, and injected CO2 in low levels. My experiments were far from scientific, but I felt they served my purpose. After these tanks had run for a year, I shut them all down except for one, and setup the 180. The one I left up was a 10 gallon that is setup by the book, water changes every 4 months, no ferts, no c02, auto feeder, I never touch it, and it is algae free two, but the plants don't grow as fast.

What that rambling was building up to is,...

I only have about a year and 4 months under my belt regarding soil usage, but I have never found a better substrate to this point, and I have not had one crash. But remember the whole idea of this type of substrate if compaired to a salt water tank would be maintaing an extended crash .

HTH,
Whiskey

 

[Paintbug]

i would like to say i will always have a SW tank in the house, but i do miss my FW tank. i ended up giving away my 55g FW to my aunt when i moved. i dont really have anywhere to put it at the new house. but of course i moved the 75g SW tank . i had some very rare fish in that FW. i had 2 dwarf albino plecos that where the coolest. i also had a Dojo Loach that i have had for about 5 years. that was my boy! i could hand feed him. i may set up another FW tank. i may go with a Cichlid tank.

 

[fishfanv]

i started with fw & still have fw - a couple bettas, african cichlids & a community w/tetras, a gourami & cories. i spend time & money on both but definitely more on my reefs. i don't think i could totally get rid of my fw, i love my cichlids, but i love my reefs more.

 

[Kogo]

walstead's book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand planted aquariums. her pseudo scientific approach is easy to follow and understand and youll feel like an expert when your done.

i used a hybred of her method by using a thin soil layer locked down with gravel, but i also added some dead leaves to the soil to decompose and provide CO2. never touched the tank in over 6 months except to add topoff and trim. i used it as a quarentine for discus .... so you know it had to be pefect (LOL).

 

[javajaws]

I find it totally ironic that I have containers of potassium nitrate and mono potassium phosphate sitting right next to my low-nutrient, barebottom, big-skimmer, SPS tank.

 

[Kogo]

plant and reef guys: laughing out loud as they relate to the irony

strictly reef guys: confused and whondering why you dont just wet skim

 

[Wiskey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6568247#post6568247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by javajaws
I find it totally ironic that I have containers of potassium nitrate and mono potassium phosphate sitting right next to my low-nutrient, barebottom, big-skimmer, SPS tank.

I store mine under the salt tanks' stand . I use fleet enema for phospate though, it is a little easer to come by, but more emberissing to buy, you should have seen the look I got when I went into the pharmisey to buy that and tuns of epsom salt .

Whiskey

 

[javajaws]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6568303#post6568303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wiskey
I store mine under the salt tanks' stand . I use fleet enema for phospate though, it is a little easer to come by, but more emberissing to buy, you should have seen the look I got when I went into the pharmisey to buy that and tuns of epsom salt .

Whiskey

Don't forget the glycerin for your bubble counter and panty hose for your filter media while you're there...should add to the strange looks considerably.

 

[rbrice020378]

I started in FW and had always wanted to do salt.
One day I just emptied out a 29gal that I had and started a salt tank without any thought for what I was doing. That was about 4years ago.

 

[sean48183]

I just dig the ocean man. Everything about. Grew up in florida and now that i live in michigan it keeps from getting sick for the sea. But I've got to say my uncle who lived in florida had an oscar tank with a couple of monster oscars and they did fascinate me. They did all kind of weird things like slam their face into the glass when you put your face up to it and ate big lizards and hairy spiders we would catch outside his house. If i went freshwater I would definately get a couple of these dudes.

 

[Wiskey]

Bump

I finally got a chance to post a pic of my FW tank in this fourm, I don't want the thread to die so fast .

Whiskey

 

[alten78]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6574439#post6574439 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wiskey
Bump

I finally got a chance to post a pic of my FW tank in this fourm, I don't want the thread to die so fast .

Whiskey

:lol:

Ive had fw most of my short 27 years, very very very few places even kept salt here on the west side of c-town. That and lake erie is in my back yard so ive always been fascinated with the ocean, since it took me 25 years to see it for the first time.

The greenery of a nice planted tank would draw me back to fresh...

 

[demeyer2]

I have just a quick question about planted FW tanks, what kind of lighting do you guys use?

 

[Wiskey]

My 180 is lit by 6*55W PC (because I had them, I would have rather done 4*96W) and I use 6700K bulbs.

Whiskey

 

[demeyer2]

So not a lot of light is necessary, but a good amount is still required. I'm considering doing my first FW tank as soon as I get settled into a house.

 

[Wiskey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6575115#post6575115 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demeyer2
So not a lot of light is necessary, but a good amount is still required. I'm considering doing my first FW tank as soon as I get settled into a house.

On larger tanks (100-200 gal) somewhere around 2 W/G is a good place to be, on smaller tanks you want more like 3. W/G is not the best scale to go by, but it is the only refrence that we have.

HTH,
Whiskey

 

[pargolf]

I'm 50/50. 200 reef, 40 seahorse, 100 discus and a 90 planted angel fish. The planted tank is by far the most work. Either fighting algae or constantly trimming plants.

 

[eng55]

Ya I had that as my signature but got an email saying I had to change if for some reason. Started out freshwater with cichlids and oscars. Started up first saltwater tank in sept 05 and now all saltwater.
E

 

[NeilPearson]

I have a 2 gallon eclipse with a beta in it. Does that count?

It's about a year old and I've never done a water change... actually I think I have only replaced the carbon in the eclipse hood once in that time... He seems pretty happy though

 

[jgoodrich71]

I couple of years ago I took down a 30 gal reef and coverted it to a plant tank. Used my reef keeping knowledge on it. Had (3) 3ft VHO Aquasuns, used on RODI water with a Magnum 350 for filtration and CO2 reactor.

It turned out to be a lot more work than any reef tank. The plants just grew too fast. I had a few friends I would keep stocked with my trimmings (it would die in their tank, but I always had more to give them). I had about 60 cardinal tetra. That looked cool at first, then they just stopped schooling when they got comfortable.

I would like to give it another go, but I just don't have the time nor the space.

The only type of freshwater I don't like are cichlids. African are OK, but SA are just a waste of a good tank.