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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
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For a low maintenance aquarium that is easy to maintain, healthy, grows plants, is loved by fish, has crystal clear water, and is a beautiful environment, you need to have a deep substrate in your aquarium. Not one inch. Not 2 inches. But at least 3 inches of sand, preferably covering an inch of Father Fish soil with its unique additives.
I have many videos explaining how to set up these wonderful natural aquariums. Be sure to subscribe to Father Fish and watch more videos on natural systems. I promise you will be delighted.
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35 years ago the gentleman that taught me how to set up an aquarium said minimum 100 pounds of substrate in a 55. Best tanks I ever kept.
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT.
Father Fish absolutely
Interesting to see a fish shop treating aquariums like hobby tanks.
Nailed it.
Back in the 70's and 80's in New York some small pet shops where just like Father fish.
Those where the good pet shops but not all where good.
reminds me of ocean aquarium in San Francisco. Father Fish where is your hobby shop?
@@georgeb6822 its in Florida
@@Bushapes No vacuuming, low maintenance tanks
Yes! I read the title and instantly clicked. I do deep substrate beds in all my fish tanks and have great success, even in the one I don't use a filter in.
That is awesome!
I set up a 16 gallon with a deep substrate, soil capped with fine sand after 4 months I was Losing faith on this tank because plants were not growing and was about to tear it down and start something else but something told me to just wait and I’m glad I did the tank is now one and a half years old and it just keeps getting better especially for growing plants, I was told that the soil would only feed the plants for 6 months to 1yr, but they keep growing and staying green .
If you are not removing dead material it will continue to thrive indefinitely. Smart, that one, for patience has.
I’m totally convinced Father Fish. Can’t wait to set up my new tank using these principles!
I've used his store for at least 15 years tanks are constant. He also does salt water too.
I love deep sand beds no problem ever with nitrates
This is so interesting. Our 45 gallon planted community tank is 3 inches deep with dirt substrate, and when we had our 2nd kid it went almost a month without doing a water change, we just added water as it evaporated. I assumed it was the plants that kept the tank levels perfect, but this sheds more light on it. Amazing stuff.
Excellent Marc
I just came over here from My he Secret Life Living In Your Aquarium channel (and Facebook group) because one of the members recommended it. I am setting up a 20 long and was going to gather soil from a river bed lower than 6” deep to hopefully get a jump start on anaerobic bacteria, then add coarse sand on top of that. I’ve never tried using river mud and silt before, so I hope I don’t regret this. I will be using change water from my guppy tank to fill this over the next few weeks as I add plants, and I plan on taking nitrite/nitrate tests as I go to see if changes are happening
Sounds good. You want a minimum of 2" of sand on top of 1" of soil. Fine sand is preferable to coarse sand. We have a DISCORD channel where this is being discussed daily. Feel free to join in. It will be an opportunity to engage in conversation with others doing the same thing.
Link is on the COMMUNITY tab.
Welcome to Father Fish
I just discovered that channel and this one. By far the best two out there
So true, I NEVER see fish poop in my 29 gallon 😁
Those are very happy and healthy fishes; this is the first video I see of your channel, keep the good job up, I will subscribe.
It works because it's basically the same as occurs in nature.
Preciisely.
Same as reef tanks always use deep sand beds great video 👍
One old fishkeeper to another, great video.
Been keeping fish since 1968.
I just recently set up a planted 55 for shrimp, 3-4 inches of organic potting soil (Promix organic) under 1 inch of construction sand, works perfect.
I get an occasional gas pocket but nothing extreme.
Perfect, whipper snapper.
@@FatherFish LOL yeah I'm a newb, still learning new stuff after 50 years in the hobby.
Thanks for the videos, I love learning from the old pros. LOL
BTW the wild type striped Discus are the best IMO.
The nature aquarium shop that,.. I believe it was aquarium co-op, visited (in some town I don't remember), had very deep substrates. More like 10+ inches and they used little to no filtration and no water changes and those tanks had been healthy for many years. They didn't look too shabby either. Just lots of substrate and lots of plants and critters and voila! Virtually maintenance free aquariums.
Good friends from Myanmar. Shop is in SF.
@@FatherFish Bingo! :)
Hey Father Fish, I've been doing some research and learnt that back in the day, fishkeepers used to place iron nails underneath the substrate to supplement iron for the plants as a slow release supliment. Sounds crazy I know, but I'd like to know more about this practice and if it works or not. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!
We use iron oxide as a deep substrate supplement. Yes. It has the same effect of adding chelated iron to the substrate.
I accidentally made a Deep Substrate when i poured way too much Sand (or so i thought) on top of the dirt in my tank...4 years later and i havent had to dose ferts other than some roots tabs and everything is looking great. Maybe once a year i run a vacuum in a few spots to mix up the sand a bit but thats it.
Incredible!!!
I love you! This is the video I’ve been looking for! I want to do my new 125 gallon! I’ve been nervous! I’ll be watching more videos before I start 😍
Join us on the Father Fish Shoal for help and encouragement. discord.gg/GdakStEjAy
125 gallons ! 😮
More like litres right ?
@@mr.octopus6972 nope! Gallons!
@@MediTANKtion
OMG ! 😮 OMG ! 😮 OMG ! 😮🤯
@@mr.octopus6972 I know! I just got everything inside of it and mixed so I’m letting it sit for 24 hours 😍 I just ordered his plant package too!!! I’m so excited
very very useful video.
Thanks a lot
This is amazing!!!!
Great content. Playback speed recommended 1.75x
1.25 works well with no distortion.
Informative and exciting! Thank you.
Exciting like an airplane ride?
We need to spread the wisdoms! Most freshwater hobbyists have no clue about the sciences behind their aquariums. The ones that do have an understanding are usually limited to the nitrification cycle and how to measure ph, but that's only half the homework. There's the denitrification cycle, allelopathy, microbial biology, and fungi that can colonize and keep your aquarium healthy. There are very few individuals trying to educate people on the science and that's why the saltwater people refer to us as FRESHWATER SCRUBS! Time to step up our game
Justin Thillens so there is only one correct way? Salt water people tend to be superior aholes.
@@jerichoron knowledge is the way.
Justin Thillens I’ve been keeping fish for over 40 years. I do water changes and I can successfully keep any fish. So how is my way wrong?
@@jerichoron no, I said knowledge is the way. If you have done your research and you've learned from your experiences, then you have knowledge. If you're ignorant of what's going on in the tank, whether you're having success or not, you dont have knowledge. How you apply the knowledge is up to you.
We aren't advocating for everybody to use deep sand bed/walstad methods. We are just advocating for people to learn more about the nature of their aquariums
@@lcsaw21 Oxygenation is a necessary component for insuring that hydrogen sulfide doesn't make it into the water column. "No maintenance" more simply refers to an almost non existent need to do water changes after the necessary maintenance for set up has been completed.
I'm not here to defend anyone. I'm here to support the growth of knowledge amongst freshwater hobbyists and this channel is a great source of exactly that.
Oh im so looking forward to going through all your video's. New sub. Excellent information. Thank you so much.
Welcome aboard!
👋😁
@@marypaigeflynn4512 peek a boo 😀
Totally agree , great topic!!!!!
I use minimal substrate and use plant pots way easier to maintain and grow amazing plants and keep fish alive longer.
Never understood the low substrate around this community
My mind always said deeper but all I see is shallow substrate in media
Interesting video. Nice to be different
Boom
I'll be trying this asap
Great video Father Fish very educational and experienced.Do you have snails in all tanks that fish will not eat? How often do you change water in like the 29 gallon tanks? That 200 gallon cichlid tank how is the bottom so clean with all those big poopin cichlids? I just see sponge filters in the smaller tanks is that all you need for filtration/ thanks in advance...sorry for all these questions. want to try to do a 20 gallon tank with plants and a trio of angel fish....🙏
The deep sand bed is the key to success
So glad i found this video. What kind of filter are you running on the first tank of the video, the 200 gallon Frontosa tank?
It's a sump filter
Piekne akwaria i rybki
cool info and yes I agree it works best
Brave, Time Epoch Videos.
It's so easy I always want to touch up things but really got nothing to do.
Like AT ALL !
Two full weeks now into this technique and already everything I got in there is growing and thriving.
Baby fishes quadrupled in sise, snails tripled in size.
Some of my plants that I saved last minute from wintering are now back to their summer look. Some have doubled in size already. I had to do cuttings 😮
No visible waste at the bottom or bad odors.
It's like magic !
@FatherFish just one problem. Microfauna can't thrive in there because it gets all eaten up pretty quick. I will have to continue to raise them in a jar until I find a solution.
Got any tricks under your sleeve ?
add a small handfullof dry leaves every week. As they build up microfauna will have paces to hide and multiply
The Uaru are doing well BTW.
I feed them my excess Amazon frogbit!
Good to know!
Awesome
I'm setting up a 4" deep sand bed; adding California blackworms and planting swords and crypts. I have a geophagus (red head tapajo, just one) going into the tank with angels, tetras and corys.
Since there is only one geophagus going into the tank, in your experience with earth eaters and cichlids, do you ever have a problem with them disrupting your deep sand beds?
The geo will not disrupt the bed but will polish off the worms.
LOL! I was afraid of that! I will have to be prepared to replenish the worms periodically or try breeding them. Thank you Father Fish for all of your advice!
Love your channel ❤️ thank you
Question I'm completely new to all this. I thought if you have a planted tank, you don't need a bubbler that the plants would give it oxygen?
bubbler provides circulation. Often important
Amazing tanks!!
I’m pretty sure you got this comment before but is it ok if the soil got exposed from a fish digging it up, will the nutrients crash the tank? What do you think about plenums? Thanks in advance!
Plenums are a net zero. A little dirt will hurt nothing.
Thanks! because I’m trying to do a marine seagrass tank with your method might get a jawfish. :>
Thank you for your wisdom. May I ask your opinion on akadama for substrate instead of dirt?
It is OK but does not contain enough mineral to last more than about a year. It is volcanic ash.
There are no biologicals and apparently little iron. It should be mixed with a rich garden soil and capped with sand. It can be used as a dressing on top of sand. I have been experimenting using it as an alternative to sand. Expensive stuff.
nicee👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you 😃
Hello. When I was researching deep substrates, I read that when you gravel vac , don't disturb the sand/dirt substrate to much, because it disrupts the bacteria and other organism layers . If you know the reason why then can you please elaborate on this further. Thank you.
Two reasons. 1 - it makes a mess
2 - it destroys the anaerobic layer
@@FatherFish Thankyou for the quick reply. I have a 16gallon planted aquarium. I'm using aqua iron sand substrate by Oliver Knott with Seachem root tabs . It's a 5cm ( 2" ) sand bed. (1) Is that deep enough? (2) Do you need a soil substrate with a sand cap or is my way good ok? (3) Have you ever experienced a sludge substrate that smelled? I've had that in the past , not with the current substrate though. But, ADA amazonia soil. Hopefully the current substrate don't experience that..
@@urbansk8r231 you dont need to gravle vac, just keep a good circulation in the tank and crap will move to the filter intake. I stoped gravle vac my main tanks almost 10 years ago.
Well my plants are swaying on the other side of the tank, so I guess I'm getting good flow. Whether it's flowing to my intake is is something I'll have to look at. Thankyou for the advice.
@@urbansk8r231 If your intake is taking in it is flowing.
How do you feel about quartz pool filtration sand as a cap? Do you suppose duration will help the moam to dull the stark white of its appearance?
perfect
👍👍
Love the video. I totally want to try this on my 45 tall aquarium, as the lights I have will be able to reach the plants easier. Any preference on a brand/ type/ size of sand?
any sand will do. Pool filter sand is excellent.
Not mentioned, but the sand allows you to vacuum bed and keeps the soil from getting kicked up.
You can do this any organic potting soil or for less layer, there's the very Expensive ADA soil. At like 40 dollars a bag, 3 bags avg for 55 gallon.
I never vac
@@FatherFish i don't either but that because I have canister filter that where the outflow pushes all the stuff to the intake. Is this what you do to?
@@emmanuelgutierrez8616 No. The deep sandbed is thje key to success.
@@FatherFish amazing, thanks.
Having the soil under thw sand cap, will it affect ph? Raise or lower it depending on what elements are in it?
Yes. It acts as a buffer the keep the Ph stable.
I understand that plants use nutrients from grave and grow and keeping nitrates under check. But in non planted aquarium, what is the benefit.. Will this not increase nitrate level in non planted tank if we don't do gravel vac
I do not use gravel. Sand separates the anaerobic from the water column and breaks down nitrate into nitrogen gas, harmless.
Harry, Father Fish is referring to Denitrification, a process largely carried out by anaerobic bacteria. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrate, and denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate into nitrogen gas. Thus, even without plants, there is still a nitrogen cycle, and in fact a variety of bacteria are in competition with plants for the assimilation of nitrogen.
"Nitrification-Denitrification can result in substantial losses of N [nitrogen] to aquatic ecosystems. In aquaculture ponds, one investigator found that only 43% of the added fishfood nitrogen could be recovered in water, soil, and fish; the remaining 57% of added N was believed to be lost through denitrification."
"I did some experiments to see if soil alone (no plants) could remove nitrates from the water. I used duplicate plastic bottles with tapwater and a soil/sand substrate. I added nitrates to the water and then measured both nitrate and nitrite levels twice a week for 32 days. I found that even in bottles containing a hefty 250 mg/l nitrates, nitrates started declining substantially within one week and were completely gone within 1 month. During this experiment, nitrites appeared in the water at 3 days indicating that some nitrate respiration [anaerobic bacteria converting nitrate to nitrite] was also occurring. In similar bottles without the soil/gravel substrates, which would have very little bacterial activity, nitrate levels remained high."
- Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, Walstad.
Can i use potting soil from lowes like orgainc soil or all purpose? And use the multi purpose sand from lowes?
yes
will the deep substrate help floating plants to grow, as they arent planted into the substrate
the fish will
I am sorry if it was in the video and I missed it but what happens to fish poop? doesn't it just sit in there and keep releasing ammonia building up over time?
It is consumed by microfauna until it is small enough to sift into the sand where it is broken down by soil to become nutrients for plants.
@@FatherFish thanks for sharing the wisdom!
@@FatherFish That makes sense.
Same thing that happens to make compost!
@@rdred8693
Get snails and shrimps and daphnea and red worms and a loache of a bottom feeder.
Food retains 80% of its nutrients after being pooped. It may be eaten and pooped over and over before finally going into the sand.
Don't over feed (you can do it just once or twice a week in VERY small quantities) fishes will thrive I promise.
It's a complex thing to immitate nature. But nature does not need you.
Fish eats - fish poop - snail eat - snail poop - repeat - repeat - poop goes in substrate - microfauna eats - microfauna poop - bacteria eats - again - plant eats and release oxigen - plant filter poisons in the tank - algues grows - microfauna reproduce - microfauna eats algues - fish eats microfauna ...
and repeat 👍
Father fish what kind of soil do you recommend for plants to put under my sand?
i have 3or4 inches of sand in my ten gallon and im trying to make a monte carlo carpet without co2 but with ferts
Probably will not work. The best way is to grow the Monte directly in dirt emergent, with only enough water to wet the dirt. Cover with saran wrap and put a light on top 24/7. In about a month you should have a lush carpet and can then fill with water after about 1/2" careful sand capping.
What water changes do u do , do u run filters also
water change as needed, increase in nitrates, drop in Ph, etc. Filters as needed to control detrius.
How do you clean the sand? Mine had cories in it that like to snuffle around and admittedly the biggest problem is me messing things up by moving stuff around so the sand flies everywhere and poop goes under the sand. Should I just adjust the sand back then leave it as it is and only vaccum stuff off the top even though there's poop underneath?
You have not watched my videos explaining the purpose of deep sand. Waste is broken down by the sand into nutrients that feed plants.
Can a deep substrate aquarium work without plants?
Can it still be self sustaining, no water change tank?
And if there are no plants, can it just be setup with plain sand?
Yes
What kind of Dirt are you using? I have a deep substrate and I used a combination of Miracle grow potting mix and sand.
That works. See my video on substrate ingredients.
What's the benefit of deep substrate? I often have heard of rotten substtate because lack of air fluctuation.
Every naturally occurring body of water on earth sits on or over a deep substrate. That along should give you pause....
Dirt is the foundation of the earth's living layer. It is,l in a word, foundational.
I have recorded at least 25 videos about substrate. I invite you to engage in their thesis. In the final analysis you must answer your question for yourself. My channel contains some small part of the research. "Dig" to your heart's content.
@@FatherFish Well each body of water in the nature doesn't have a piece of glass beneath it. Therefore there is many different types of substrates beneath the water, through which new water out of the ground flows, up to the lake for example. There is a lot flow through beneath it.
I'd say there is many beneficial bacteria and other micro organism living in the sand but sand is known to have issues with water fluctuation due to its thickness/tightness(?) which leads to bacteria dying off cause of lack of oxygen.
My idea is having small lavastones on the bottom, medium sized gravel on top and sand on top of that to ensure enough cycling water.
@@HyeonsikLi Do your thing.
@@FatherFish yes Father.
@@HyeonsikLi Malaysian trumpet snails will aerate the soil an in my opinion do the best job at it and are essential to any dirted an sand tanks
Awesome video :) Thank you so much. I'm new to the hobby and am looking to start a low-tech planted neocaridinia tank to start off in a 5.5 gal. Is it necessary to have a layer of soil underneath the sand, or is a very deep layer of sand good enough for a deep substrate?
I have about 3 inches of sand but did not do a bottom mud layer. I also have Malaysian trumpet snails because i was told they are good for helping nutrients get down into the substrate. Will the anaerobic layer form naturally over time? I am working on getting it more planted. It is a 44 gallon tall.
Yes Catherine. Overtime an active deep substrate will develop. No need to fertilize, just keep a good supply of plants going.
@@FatherFish Thank you so much! I've only had the tank for a month with a few Cory cats and a hillstream loach. It had come with two angelfish but my sister took them. Now i get to plan my fish and plants! More excited about the plants right now💗
@@catterloom Sounds terrific Catherine. Hve fun and besure to share on
DISCORD for pics and ideas.
A small tank, height of 6 inches, nearly a 2 galloon tank - if the substrate is 3 inches, it takes up nearly half the height of the tank. Would that be sufficient or can I reduce the substrate depth to 2 inches? If so, can each layer of mud and sand be an inch respectively? Also, can we use white sand above the layer of mud?
1/2" soil 1" sand
@@FatherFish also please tell if it is fine using white sand
@@swethagurumoorthy8169
Yes it is ! Any sand will do.
Wash it previously tho.
Hey! Great video I cant wait to try it, will this technique work with goldfish and snails that churn substrate?
yep. add an extra inch of sand. If they are strong diggers top with gravel large enough they cannot move it.
@@FatherFish thanks father! One other question I am having mixed answers on, for deep substrate beds, will running a sponge filter with an air pump ruin the chemistry?
@@michaelweeks3670 I use sponge filters in almost every tank. They are perfect.
@@DEXTER-TV-series I have a 1/2 hp blower.
What kind of soil? I’ve also read sand becomes anaerobic and develops ammonia pockets... what are your thoughts on that? Thank you.
Never heard of ammonia pockets. Sounds like worthless advice.
How do plants do without the soil layer? Currently have a tank with only sand that I would love to plant!
The substrate should be about 3" deep. As it ages it becomes more and more viable for plants. Try a few fast growing types.
Do you have to use sand, or can you use small gravel for the deep substrate?
You must use sand.
@@FatherFish Thanks, I watched another video and saw this but couldn't find my original post to remove it. I wish I found your video's years ago.
@@FatherFish Why must only sand be used ? Can it not be small gravel?
@@weirdscience6820 Preventing washout is a primary function of the cap. Gravel allows flow to washo soil out from the substrate. Sand does not. Also, sand has greater surface area than the same volume of gravel, allowing foe the cultivation of more bacteria.
@@FatherFish Thank you
My 10 gallon was already set up with sand I’m trying to get it to be 3 to 4 inches of sand in total. And begin with ryzome plants and moss
Is CaribSea super natural aquarium sand suitable for this type of setup?
Yes. It is fine. You will need one pound per gallon. A 20 gallon tank will cost you $40. for their sand. It is mined sand, nothing special.
A 40 lb bag of blasting sand at Tractor Supply is $10.
A 50 ;b bag of pool filter sand at any pool supply store is about $15.
Loews sells sand for .10 cents a pound but it needs to be rinsed.
No need to convince me . I have a three layer substrate in my 14 gal cube. Crushed lava rock , organic substrate and small gravel. It is seven inches in the back sloping to four inches in the front. With my minimal filtration surface area is important.
Nice William.
What's up father fish! Guess what???? I went to the beach and brought home some sand! For my tank to put on top of my gravel to deepen and improve my substrate. What's next ?? Do i need to strain and wash the sand,let it dry before I put it in my tank???
Sounds great!
did u add sand over just pure gravel?
does it have soil? if not then can plants grow in that sand and gravel without mud or soil?
do you allow the gases to build up below the sand and let it release itself?
Yes. They are harmless.
@@FatherFish Thanks. What sand are you using? coarse pool filter-sized grains or fine like play sand?
May I know what breed of fish is the one with black body and bright red tail and fins? In the first tank about 2 minutes into the video.
Ratnbow shark
Interesting. I have about 1" of soil, then 3" of natural river sand on top of that (even has a bit of gold specks in it as it's a gold bearing river) and a well-respected fish store told me it would not support my plants and sold me a bottle of fertilizer and said my plants would not grow in my substrate without it and that they get their nutrients from the water thus the need for weekly fertilizer drops. Was this all BS to sell me something I don't need?
Yes. That is what roots are for.
@@FatherFish : I you were me, would you return the fertilizer? Or is ok to use it?
@@AG-6969 If it is liquid fert try to return it and exchange for plants or fish. Tablets can be pressed deep into the substrate and are useful.
@@FatherFish Thank you!
@@AG-6969
The first question I ask myself is "would I drink this" ?
If not, then why give it to my fishes . . .
Can you recommend a particular brand of sand or soil?
ANY will do. My favorite is washed pool filter sand.
How deep should a 55 aqueon gallon tank be with Extra Fine Controsoil?
1.5" soil and 3" sand
Hey Father Fish, awesome tanks! I want to breed some rare fish but I am concerned about not vacuuming detritus in their tanks. I want to use a setup that's easy to maintain, replicate and that will keep my fish as healthy as possible. My current dilemma is - do I keep a spotless bare bottom tank with a lot of maintenance or do I use a deep sand bed and let it do its thing? How often do you vacuum in those tanks and make water changes? Give me some of that sage-like advice!
No vacuum cleaning! Little waterchanges occasionally.
Please tell me how you deal with mold on unsubmerged wood like that.
A little late , but does it have to be sand? I have a tank height of 60 cm and got substrate at a height of almost 25cm at rhe back and 15 at the front,. It's mostly aquasoil, gravel and lava chips.
The issue is the permeability of the substrate. Gravel moves water too quickly allowing nutrients from the soil to leech into the water. Sand slows the flow to a speed commensurate with the cilia of the microfauna's ability to move water.
@@FatherFish right thank you, I'll just add a touch of sand i on my gravel hills, the front nit is sand so, should be okay,
I've always thought sand chocked the substrate underneath from getting air or water and make the so called anaerobic bacteria.
Much thanks! 🔥
😀
I’m looking for a good capping substrate. I wanted to use pool filter sand but it seems to have some chemical on it that produces a nasty orange film. My next choice is river sand or play sand. Do you think the smaller grain size will cause me problems down the line?
The orange film is not associated with pool filter sand. It is probably a diiatomaceous algae or a bacterial growth in your system, not dangerous and will clear up over time.
Play sand has clay and lots of dust. It is difficult to clean.
River sand is ideal, better than pool filter sand. Use it direct from the water with all of its attached organisms.
The finer sand is actually preferable.
Father Fish Thank you, going with the river sand
@@FatherFish thats funny i am building my first tank right now and beacause i'm on a budget i just went down to the river and collected some sand. I had some doubt though because i thought that it might be too fine for a deep substrate. I stumbled across this video while trying find out what type of substrate is actually recommended. Thanks alot for the video and this comment. I also found some really nice driftwood by the river btw really enjoying the hobby and i dont even have any fish yet.
@@FatherFish thats funny i am building my first tank right now and beacause i'm on a budget i just went down to the river and collected some sand. I had some doubt though because i thought that it might be too fine for a deep substrate. I stumbled across this video while trying find out what type of substrate is actually recommended. Thanks alot for the video and this comment.
Its been 2 months, Its 10 gallon tank with 1 betta fish , I have 3inch soil+sand substrate + lots of small rocks, the surface of sand above is getting black? is it bad?
there are no plants inside water.
Why no plants? Add some sand and plants.
@@FatherFish yea, but actually i don't get plants where i live, so i just have plant which float.
I would like to do this in my 55 gallon father fish, but don't know if it's a good idea since I have crayfish in there, cherax pulcher ( thunderbolt crayfish), any suggestions? I do have about five ten gallon shrimp tanks I could try this in. It makes sense to do it.
The crayfish will not disturb the substrate but they will eat all of the plants you try to grow. Shrimp tanks are perfect.
@@FatherFish I had an idea, kind of an experiment, I wanted to get your thoughts on it, and see if you would like to be in on experiment with me. I'm not going to say what the idea is on here, would rather discuss it with you through email. My email address is cavergirl1984@gmail.com the experiment has to do with aquarium substrate, and I figured it would be something that would interest you. Email me and I will tell you more about it.
Do you use dirt out of the backyard or more like organic potting soil?
potting soil is usually preferable
How about water changes?
What soil do you use ?
Watch my vid on ingredients of a dirted tank. ruclips.net/video/azRa1wnAcSU/видео.html
What kind of substrate garden soil?
ruclips.net/video/azRa1wnAcSU/видео.html
Is it better to use coarse or fine sand?
does not matter. I prefer fine
I love the angel koi in the one tank
does this work with gravel?
THE GRAVEL MUST BE AT LEAST 6" DEEP.
I'm going to try this method. Can someone advise a substrate depth for a 550 litre tank that's 750mm height 1200mm long and 600 deep? Was thinking 3 inches of dirt then 3 inches of sand. Thanks in advance
No more than 2" of dirt. 4 or more inches of sand.
@@FatherFish thank you for getting back to me. I really appreciate your time. Love your videos
yknow.. i did def notice my plants doing much better after adding an inch or so of sand to an already established tank with maybe an inch of substrate before, that new sand plus the malaysian trumpets has been doing wonders for my vals haha! only problem is having to get so much sand lol
Dear Father Fish - thank you for your sharing. Do we need soil at the bottom layer for saltwater/brackish tanks? Is it Ok to have just sand for the substrate 6-8 inches deep? I don't plan on having plants in these saltwater tanks as I really cannot find any in my local area.
no. Collect deep sand from salt or brackish water.
Where is Father Fish website with his store
Can you do slopes in the soil or does the sand level out and expose the soil?
You can make sloped by ading baffles to prevent sliding.
Do saltwater aquariums need dirt in their substrates as well, or do they just need 3 inches of sand? Also, is it okay to use tap water in my saltwater aquariums?
sea mud if you can get it. Straight sand if not. Use tap first time setup. After that use RO or distilled
@@FatherFish Do you recommend doing water changes at any point after the initial set up?
hi! do you boil the dirt? how do you prepare the dirt? is it like one finger height of sand and inches of dirt? pure black dirt in my country is difficult to find, because ppl uses to sell it mixed with horse shit. May i use pure worm poop (humus) instead black dirt? thank you
Good questions.,
I never boil anything. Why kill the many good bacteria just to get rid of one bad bacteria. The good will overwhelm the bad.
1" of dirt to 2" of sand.
Horse manure is perfect. Mix with some peat or fine mulch.
@@FatherFish thank you for your reply
@@FatherFish well...i watched that video about natural aquarium...so we could say the dirt can be used in it since the ph is alcaline to help to balance the system or not? So if you put horse manure in it, if the ph is acid the system would go crash?
@@SonnyBurnett2012 The system requires the dirt to be 2" under the sand. It must not come in contact with open water. Sand acts as a semipermeable barrier between open water and substrate soil.
@@FatherFish sometimes i try to imagine...if the plants will grow with dirt, u shouldnt replant it on the tank, right? Or well have algae bloom. So you can keep the tank for years since you dont replant to make dirt leaking to the water, right?
Your method is in some sense like Diana Walstad's natural aquarium but differs in many respects. For eg she says 1 inch dirt and 1 inch gravel and you say gravel is like poison. Will you kindly shed some light on this.
Walstad described the natural flow of water through substrate as it is channeled by bacteria and micro organisms. Gravel allows substantial mechanical water flow. Sand does not. In order to reduce oxygen levels sufficient to create anaerobics water flow must be reduced to its biological speed. This can only occur in gravel if it is substantially deep. Her own research mitigated against the use of gravel.
@@FatherFish thanks.
Certainly an experienced aquarist can keep a healthy aquarium with gravel. Only a small percentage of novices can do so. I have instructed hundreds of new fish keepers to set up dirted tanks. The failure rate is non existent. The only failures occured when the novice stirred up the substrate in an attempt to clean it.
Wisdom right there.
this is one for the books. thank you so much
Good day to you sir I am very pleased to see the video I really appreciate your knowledge and I'm keeping in mind when the same thing I'm new at the hobby I also want to ask do you have an easy organic way to kill the string algae without killing anything else. I hope you may reply
@@johnprofessionalexoticshri5276 hi
I love your tanks. I'm a Peace River native and also a fan of deep sand beds in my planted tanks (5 so far). So happy I found your channel as there is always so much to learn in this hobby. Your tanks are inspirational.