RE: NANFA-- sand bed and plant "filtration"

HOOVERJ_at_wes.army.mil
Thu, 6 Nov 2003 19:04:47 -0600

Todd wrote:
>>>Use sand substrate with vallisneria, Sajjad... There's no reason to have
to
maintain a nutrient load that'll make algae grow...
We're rolling on a year now with the sandbeds (6 systems now), and I'll
_never_ use another substrate again.<<<

Geoff wrote:
>>>I have grown
vallisneria in red flint gravel for as long as I have kept fish. I am
just too dang lazy to measure water parameters, but I know that my fish
do very well in this setup...I throw out handfuls
of the stuff every few months.<<<

Jan writes:

We are using a similar setup for gar -- largely because of suggestions Todd
made when I requested advice on filtering large plastic circular tanks.

Our tubs are 3/4 full 240 gallon tubs - aerated but not mechanically
filtered. Bottom is covered with several inches of play sand, and surface
is covered with aquatic plants (which I periodically harvest and destroy).
The tanks were "seeded" a week prior to stocking with a few livebearers
(feeder guppies, gambusia). Gar were added after that.

Tanks and fish are doing well, although the water is a little green now.
This may be due to intense sunlight (tanks are in a greenhouse). The gar are
definitely happier and are feeding more (which may be contributing to the
green water).
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